Analysis of capacity development in educational planning ...unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001909/190955e.pdf · Analysis of capacity development in educational planning and management

Analysis of capacity development in educational planning and management in Ethiopia

Dramane Oulai, Candy Lugaz, Alemayehu Minas, Haileselassie Teklehaimanot

International Institutefor Educational Planning

Rethinking capacity development



Dramane Oulai, Candy Lugaz, Alemayehu Minas, Haileselassie Teklehaimanot

In collaboration with

Marc Bernal and Marcus Edward


The views and opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of UNESCO or 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 end of the volume.

Published by: International Institute for Educational Planning7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix, 75116 Paris, [email protected]

Cover design: IIEPTypesetting: Linéale ProductionPrinted in IIEP’s printshopiiep/web/doc/2011/05© UNESCO 2011

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.iiep.unesco.org

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Contents

List of abbreviations 6

List of tables 8

Foreword 9

Summary 10

Résumé 11

Introduction 12

1. The education sector in Ethiopia: an overview of its organization and achievements 171.1 The education system 171.2 Decentralization of education in Ethiopia 211.3 Initiatives to enhance the delivering capacity of the education sector 261.4 Lessons learned 27

2. Assessment and � ndings of the study 302.1 Human resources management 302.2 Organizational arrangements 422.3 Technical environment 452.4 Motivation and retention of educational planners and managers 49

3. Strengths and challenges of educational planning and management in Ethiopia 553.1 Strengths 553.2 Challenges 56

4. Strategies to develop the capacities of educational planners and managers in Ethiopia 60

Conclusion 65

References 67

Annex 1. Terms of reference for the implementation of the study on capacity development in educational planning and management in Ethiopia 70

Annex 2. Individual questionnaire administered to educational planners and managers at the federal, regional and woreda levels 82

International Institute for Educational Planning www.iiep.unesco.org


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List of abbreviations

ABE Alternative Basic Education

AED Academy for Educational Development

ARM annual review meeting

ATP Advanced Training Programme (IIEP)

BESO Basic Education Strategic Objectives

BOFED Bureau of Finance and Economic Development

BPR business process reengineering

CBSP Capacity Building Strategy and Programme

CSRP Civil Service Reform Programme

DAG Development Assistance Group

DFID United Kingdom Department for International Development

EFA Education for All

EMIS Education Management Information System

ESDP education sector development program

FDRE Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

GDP gross domestic product

GEQUIP General Education Quality Improvement Programme

GER gross enrolment ratio

GNI gross national income

IICBA International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa

IIEP International Institute for Educational Planning

IMF International Monetary Fund

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency

JRM joint review mission

KETB Kebele Education and Training Board

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MEDAC Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation

MOCB Ministry of Capacity Building

MOF Ministry of Finance

MOFA Ministry of Federal Affairs

MOFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development

NCBP National Capacity Building Programme

NER net enrolment ratio



List of abbreviations

7

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

ODI Overseas Development Institute

PASDEP Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty

PIM Programme Implementation Manual

PSCAP Public Sector Capacity Building Programme

REB Regional Education Bureau

SGP School Grant Programme

Sida Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

SNNP Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples

TDP Teacher Development Programme

TVET technical and vocational education and training

TWG technical working group

UIS UNESCO Institute for Statistics

UN United Nations

UNCT United Nations Country Team

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scienti� c and Cultural Organization

UNESS UNESCO National Education Support Strategy

USAID United States Agency for International Development

WEO Woreda Education Of� ce

WOFED Woreda Finance and Economic Department



8

List of tables, boxes, � gures and graphs

Tables

Table 1.1 Evolution of enrolment in Ethiopia, from 1994/1995 to 2004/2005 20Table 1.2 Actors involved in the educational planning and management process

in Ethiopia 25Table 2.1 Process of recruitment of educational planners and managers (in percentage) 32Table 2.2 Educational planners with experience as a school teacher (in percentage) 34

Boxes

Box 1. Among the tasks for which you are responsible, which ones do you � nd the most dif� cult to complete? 40

Figures

Figure A1. A selection of issues to be considered in an analysis of capacity development policies and strategies 81

Graphs

Graph 2.1 Distribution of planners by their highest level of academic quali� cations (in percentage) 33

Graph 2.2 Academic background of the planners who responded to the questionnaire 34Graph 2.3 Planners’ number of years of experience in educational planning

and management (in percentage) 35Graph 2.4 Planners who have been evaluated over the past two years (in percentage) 36Graph 2.5 Appreciation by the educational planners and managers of the relevance

of the training they received with the tasks they are expected to perform (in percentage) 39

Graph 2.6 Educational planners and managers who have at their disposal a computer to perform their work (in percentage) 47

Graph 2.7 Planners with access to the Internet in their of� ce (in percentage) 48Graph 2.8 Planners who use the Internet for work, at the federal, regional

and woreda levels (in percentage) 48Graph 2.9 Educational planners and managers’ appreciation of the usefulness

of staff meetings organized in their department (in percentage) 50Graph 2.10 Educational planners and managers’ number of years of experience

in their current post (in percentage) 53Graph 2.11 Educational planners and managers who have already tried to obtain

another post since their appointment to their current post (in percentage) 54



9

Foreword

Capacity development is an important mandate of many international organizations. Much of their work aims to strengthen national capacities through training, technical advice, exchange of experience, research, and policy advice. Yet there remains considerable dissatisfaction within the international community regarding the impact of many such efforts. While these have usually strengthened the skills of individuals, they have not always succeeded in improving the effectiveness of the ministries or organizations in which they are working. These shortcomings call for continued research into how capacity development policies and strategies can be made more effective.

In this context, UNESCO received funds from the Norwegian Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs to focus on ‘capacity development for achieving the Education for All goals’. The objective has been to identify appropriate strategies for UNESCO and others. Within UNESCO, IIEP has coordinated this work. A wide range of activities was undertaken, including detailed case studies on three countries (Benin, Ethiopia and Vietnam), a series of thematic studies and literature reviews, and consultations with experts. The focus has been on educational planning and management, since stronger capacities in these areas should lead to signi� cant improvements in the education system as a whole.

IIEP’s work has led to the identi� cation of the following important principles:

• The type of capacity development being considered here only works in a sustainable manner when there is national leadership and ownership, and when international efforts match national priorities and strategies.

• Strategies need attention at several levels: the capacities of the individual, the effectiveness of the organization (for example the ministry of education), the norms and practices which rule public management as a whole, and the political, social and economic contexts.

• Any intervention must recognize the intrinsic values of ownership and participation. When it aims only to identify partners’ weaknesses or to strengthen the positions of those already powerful, the deepest sense of capacity development is lost.

The series Rethinking capacity development has been prepared within this framework.

Khalil MahshiDirector, IIEP



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Summary

The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of capacity in educational planning and management in Ethiopia by identifying actual constraints and good practices, in order to present appropriate strategies to improve these capacities. The study is based on a series of interviews and � eld visits to the Federal Ministry of Education in 10 of the 11 regions.

Following an overview of the organization of the education sector in Ethiopia and the main lines of progress achieved over the past years, the study presents the core � ndings of the � eld work conducted in the country, focusing on four main issues which have an impact on the capacities of educational planners and managers: human resources management, organizational arrangements, the technical environment and the motivation of educational planners and managers.

Even though good progress has been made on these issues over these past years, it is a matter of urgency to overcome challenges which still characterize the system. Among them are the following: the high level of staff turn-over which contributes to the lack of institutional memory in planning positions; shortfalls among educational planners and managers who need stronger skills in key planning tasks such as strategic planning, data collection and analysis, projections and simulations; a lack of consistency in an adequate pro� le for the position; in some locations the lack of recognition of the post of planners – in particular related to statistics or EMIS – as a permanent position.

This study identi� es several strategies for addressing these challenges and for improving the capacities of educational planners and managers in Ethiopia. These strategies are either envisaged for the short, medium or long-term, and cover several dimensions such as initial and on-the-job training, human resource management (criteria and process of recruitment of planners, evaluation procedures, motivation), communication � ows inside of� ces and between the different levels of planning and the quantity and quality of resources for planners to carry out their tasks.



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Résumé

L’objectif de cette étude est d’évaluer le niveau des capacités en plani� cation et gestion de l’éducation en Éthiopie en identi� ant les contraintes rencontrées ainsi que les bonnes pratiques, a� n de présenter quelques stratégies visant à améliorer ces capacités. Cette étude repose principalement sur une série d’entretiens et d’enquêtes de terrain conduits auprès du Ministre fédéral de l’Éducation ainsi que de dix des onze Régions.

Après une revue de l’organisation du secteur éducatif en Ethiopie et des principaux progrès atteints ces dernières années, l’étude présente les résultats clés de l’enquête de terrain menée dans le pays, en se concentrant sur quatre thèmes principaux qui ont un impact sur les capacités des plani� cateurs et gestionnaires de l’éducation : la gestion des ressources humaines, les arrangements organisationnels, l’environnement technique, et la motivation des plani� cateurs et gestionnaires.

Même si des progrès ont été réalisés dans ces domaines depuis plusieurs années, il est urgent de dépasser les dé� s qui caractérisent encore le système, parmi lesquels les suivants : le niveau de rotation du personnel est élevé, et contribue au manque d’une mémoire institutionnelle aux postes de plani� cation ; les plani� cateurs et gestionnaires ont besoin de compétences plus fortes dans des tâches clés de la plani� cation comme la plani� cation stratégique, la collecte et l’analyse de données, les projections et simulations ; ils n’ont pas toujours le pro� l adapté à leur poste ; dans certains endroits, le poste de plani� cateur – en particulier lié au statistiques ou au SIGE – ne semble pas être systématiquement reconnu comme un poste permanent.

L’étude identi� e plusieurs stratégies visant à dépasser ces obstacles et améliorer les capacités des plani� cateurs et gestionnaires de l’éducation. Ces stratégies sont envisagées sur le court, moyen et long-terme, et couvrent plusieurs dimensions comme la formation initiale et continue, la gestion des ressources humaines (critères et processus de recrutement des plani� cateurs, procédures d’évaluation, motivation), � ux de communication au sein des bureaux et entre les différents niveaux de plani� cation, quantité et qualité des ressources à la disposition des plani� cateurs pour mener à bien leurs activités.



12

Introduction

Rationale and objectives of the studyNumerous efforts have been made by a wide variety of actors to develop and strengthen the capacities of UNESCO Member States to plan and manage their education systems. These efforts, which combine training courses, workshops and technical assistance missions, have regularly strengthened the skills of individuals. However, they have seldom succeeded in transforming the organizations to which these individuals belong, in particular the ministries of education. There is a need, therefore, to examine the reasons for this relative failure and to propose innovative and relevant capacity development policies and strategies.

In this regard, IIEP was given the responsibility for preparing a UNESCO policy paper on capacity development for achieving the EFA goals. After discussions within UNESCO and with the agencies offering � nancial support – the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – it was decided that IIEP would undertake two main activities to help UNESCO draft this paper:

• an analysis of approaches and good practices in capacity development, and • detailed case studies of capacity development modes in three focus countries – namely,

Benin, Ethiopia and Viet Nam.

These countries were selected after discussions with national governments, the UNESCO Education Sector at Headquarters, the relevant regional cluster and national of� ces, and UIS. They were chosen on the basis of their diversity in size, the importance of their capacity development activities, the degree of involvement of external partners in their capacity development operations, and the regional distribution of these countries.

This particular study focuses on Ethiopia and assesses its capacity in educational planning and management at the federal, regional and district levels. It identi� es the main challenges and proposes appropriate policy measures. More speci� cally, the study aims to:

• assess current organizational and individual capacities in educational planning and management;

• analyse how government policies, strategies and practices enhance or constrain the development of such capacities;

• identify particularly successful capacity development policies, modalities and strategies;• suggest ways of strengthening integrated capacity development policies and strategies.

The terms of reference of this study are given in Annex 1.

Operational de� nitionsThe two key terms – capacity development and planning and management – need a clear de� nition as they can be interpreted in a number of ways. In this regard, we need to be aware of two risks. On the one hand, it is essential that the analysis does not become too vast, and therefore super� cial, by examining the many different issues related to capacity development (such as governance, public management reform or accountability). On the other hand, we should not focus only on a small number of issues, such as training needs or capacity gaps, without paying attention to the



Introduction

13

wider factors impacting upon this process. The following conceptual de� nitions are used in this study.

Capacity development

The term capacity development can be, and has at times been, given a broad interpretation, in a similar way as the term development. A well-known de� nition used by the OECD Development Assistance Committee, for instance, interprets capacity development as “the process whereby people, organizations and society as a whole unleash, strengthen, create, adapt and maintain capacity over time” (OECD, 2006: 12). According to a second and very different de� nition, capacity development refers to the reinforcement of civil servants’ professional skills through training activities organized by international agencies. If the � rst interpretation is accepted, an analysis of capacity development would cover a very wide and potentially confusing set of issues, while adopting the second, much more restrictive de� nition would lead to the neglect of key issues that have an impact on the performance of individuals and organizations – for example, staff management or organizational structures.

In this context we interpret capacity development as a process with four complementary dimensions:

• improving the skills and performance of individuals; • improving organizational performance through rethinking the mandate, structure and internal

management of the organizational units within which individual of� cers work; • improving the public administration to which these units belong through a re� ection on public

service management; • improving the social, economic and political context within which of� cers work and within

which education systems develop by limiting the constraints and strengthening the incentives within the external environment.

The � gure in Annex I (p. 81) presents the various dimensions of capacity development in a somewhat simpli� ed manner. It shows the four above-mentioned dimensions: the individuals who work within the organizational units, which form part of the public administration and function within a speci� c context.

The individual of� cers (i.e. the educational planners and managers) have a mandate, as re� ected in their job descriptions, and perform certain tasks, which may be different from their mandate. Their effectiveness depends on a combination of quali� cations, experience and training, on the relevance of this combination to their mandate and tasks, and on the presence and strength of incentives, as well as the absence of inhibitors.

The individual of� cers work within an organizational unit. This can be the planning department within the MOE, but planners and managers also work at the regional or district levels, and the unit can then be the Regional Bureau of Education and its planning department or the Woreda Education Of� ce (in Ethiopia, a ‘district’ is called a woreda). Each of these units has a mandate to ful� l and tasks to perform. Their effectiveness depends on the performance of the individual of� cers as well as three organizational elements. The � rst is the way in which internal management facilitates the ef� ciency and motivation of individual of� cers, for instance, through the development of ef� cient internal communication, clear lines of accountability and supportive supervision. The second is the relevance of the organizational structure: whether it re� ects the unit’s mandate and is suf� ciently clear and simple. The third is the degree to which the necessary human, material and � nancial resources and relevant information are available.



14

Introduction

The organizational units in our analysis all form part of public administration. Three issues are of speci� c importance in this area: (1) the distribution of tasks among units and their level of autonomy; (2) the existence of an education policy and a capacity development strategy; and most importantly, (3) the management of the public service, including, for instance, recruitment and evaluation criteria and procedures and their impact on staff performance.

Finally, several factors related to the political, economic and social context may have a positive or harmful impact on the performance of the public administration and its of� cers. Among these factors is the ease with which employment can be found outside the public sector, as well as the support of development partners (for instance, international and bilateral development agencies, NGOs, and so on) which may in� uence the building of national capacity through their contributions to the design and implementation of the capacity development policy of the country.

Educational planning and management

Good planning and an ef� cient management system are the essential bases for any progress towards achieving the EFA goals, given the limitations in the � nancial resources available to education. Good planning helps with the making of rational choices in investment strategies and between the delivery systems, while ef� cient management raises the performance of the education system in providing quality basic education to all. Lack of skills in planning and management, together with an inoperative organizational structure in the education sector, can constitute serious obstacles to the functioning of education systems and therefore hinder their chances of achieving the EFA goals. For these reasons, the UNESCO policy paper and the case study in Ethiopia focus on capacities in educational planning and management. Previous studies – in particular, the training needs assessment carried out by IIEP in 2005 at the request of USAID and the Academy for Educational Development (AED) (IIEP, 2005) – emphasized the strengths but also the challenges facing educational planning and management in Ethiopia, which constitute obstacles to achieving the EFA goals (see Annex 2 for further details of the conceptual framework).

In order to undertake the analysis of capacities in these areas with success, the main planning and management tasks were covered following the logic of the planning process: sector analysis (data collection and analysis); policy formulation; plan formulation; programming of the plan activities; implementation; and monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of these activities.

Methodology of the studyThis study involved descriptive and analytical research on three sources of information:

• review of existing of� cial documents and data on capacity development in the education sector, and in educational planning and management in Ethiopia in particular;

• interviews organized with a wide range of individuals from selected target groups; • data collected through questionnaires administered to educational planners and managers

at the federal, regional, and woreda levels (Annex 2).

For the data collection process during the � eld work and for data analysis and interpretation, a research team composed of IIEP staff, national researchers and international consultants was set up. The team members included two IIEP staff, an international consultant, two high-level national consultants who were selected on the advice of the Ethiopian Ministry of Education (MOE) and the UNESCO Cluster Of� ce, and � nally the UIS Regional Education Advisor based in Dar es Salaam, who has worked in Ethiopia in the recent past. Throughout the implementation process, several sessions were organized with the head of the Planning Department at the Federal MOE in order to



Introduction

15

discuss the coverage of the study and the progress being made, and to report some of the early � ndings.

The � eld work, undertaken with the support of the UNESCO Cluster Of� ce, consisted of two � eld missions, each of two weeks’ duration: the � rst one was organized in November 2007 and the second in March 2008.

The � eld study involved interviews and focus group discussions with a wide range of actors, comprising the following:

• staff at the Federal Ministry involved in planning and management, including the Planning Department head and planners;

• of� cers at the Federal Civil Service Commission and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED);

• staff at the Regional Education Bureaux (REB) and Woreda Education Of� ces (WEO) in charge of planning, � nancing and human resources;

• senior of� cers working in the Bureaux of Finance and Economic Development at the regional (BOFED) and at the woreda level (WOFED), as well as in the Regional Civil Service Commission;

• education advisors of key development partners. The team met with the Task Force for Capacity Development in Education, which is chaired by the head of the Planning Department at the MOE and composed of representatives of the major international partners. The team also had the opportunity for separate discussions with the education advisors and representatives of the following agencies: the Academy for Educational Development (AED), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), UNESCO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of the Netherlands and the World Bank;

• a European Union consultant and an Overseas Development Institute (ODI) fellow, both of whom have been working as advisors to the head of the Planning Department at the MOE;

• the head of the Department of Educational Planning and Management at the College of Education at Addis Ababa University;

• several former trainees of the IIEP Advanced Training Programme (ATP).

At the request of the MOE, the research team visited ten Regional Education Bureaux (REB) (all the regional states – Afar, Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambela, Harari, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP), Tigray, and two city administrations: Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa – except for the Somali region, which was not visited), as well as two to three WEOs per region. Each region was visited by two members of the research team, except for three regions (Gambela, Dire Dawa and Harari), which were visited by one researcher. These interviews permitted the gathering of a rich base of information on the process of educational planning and management in Ethiopia, as well as on the strengths and challenges of this process.

In addition, individual questionnaires were prepared by the team and distributed to the educational planners and managers in the Planning Department at the MOE, the ten REBs and the WEOs that were visited by the researchers. The objective of using such questionnaires was to complete and complement the qualitative information collected during the interviews. Overall, 74 questionnaires were completed by such of� cers within the framework of this case study. The questionnaires were completed by nine planners working at the Federal MOE, 26 regional planners, and 38 planners of WEOs (74 planners overall).



16

Introduction

The present report is based on the analysis of these data, taking into account the results of previous studies carried out recently in Ethiopia on the same topic (in particular, IIEP, 2005; Watson, 2005; World Bank, 2005).

Structure of the reportThis report presents and analyses the main � ndings of the � eld study, examines key challenges to the capacity development of educational planners and managers in Ethiopia, and identi� es strategies that could help in overcoming these constraints.

The report will examine the following topics:

• overview of the organization and progress achieved in the education sector in Ethiopia;• assessment and � ndings of the study;• main strengths and challenges of the educational planning and management system in

Ethiopia; • suggested capacity development strategies; • conclusion.



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1 The education sector in Ethiopia: an overview of its organization and achievements

Ethiopia is a federal country of 1,221,900 sq km with a population estimated at 77.4 million in 2005 (IMF mid-year estimate for 2005). It is sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous country, after Nigeria. The population grew at an average rate of 2.2 per cent between 1990 and 2000, and if the same rate of growth persists between 2005 and 2010, the total population of the country will reach 82.3 million in 2010 – an increase of almost nine million in � ve years. The population is very young as 44.8 per cent are under 15 years old (World Bank, 2004 ), indicating the enormous efforts to be undertaken in order to provide educational opportunities for all those who need education.

The country has an economy based on agriculture. The growth of the economy has been robust over the past few years (11.9 per cent in 2004, 10.5 per cent in 2005 and 9.6 per cent in 2007)(IMF; Ministry of Finance and Economic Development ) and real GDP is expected to continue to grow at a rate of 8.4 per cent in 2008 and 7.7 per cent in 2009 (IMF estimate) as a result of sustained growth in agriculture, horticulture and services as well as in� ows of donor aid and direct foreign investment. Nevertheless, the per capita income in the country, which stood at US$170 in 2006, remains at a very low level. This explains the generally low level of civil servant salaries observed in the country.

The government has launched a new development programme called the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), which is based on Ethiopia’s strategy of agriculture-based industrialization. The plan is expected to bene� t from a massive investment in infrastructure with a view to facilitate the conduct of business in the country. The largest component of the federal budget will be for capital investment in road building, agriculture, health and education. Educational development is at the top of the government’s development agenda.

Ethiopia receives EFA Fast Track Initiative funding and is one of the seven Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) pilot countries.

The following sections present: the education system in Ethiopia; its decentralization framework; the initiatives undertaken to enhance the delivery of capacity in the education sector; and the main lessons learned.

1.1 The education system

Main characteristics

The general education system in Ethiopia is framed as ‘8-2-2’ which represents:

• primary education of eight years (up to Grade 8) from age 7 to 14;• two years of general secondary education (Grades 9 and 10) for ages 15 and 16;• preparatory education (senior secondary), Grades 11 and 12, for ages 16 and 17.

There are three national examinations involved in the above structure. At the end of Grade 8, all regions administer a primary school-leaving national examination. At the completion of Grade 10, all students are expected to sit for the Ethiopian General Secondary Certi� cate Examination administered by the Ethiopian General Education Quality Assurance and Examination Agency. This



18


examination is instrumental in assigning students to either the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system (of 10+1, 10+2 and 10+3) or the academic preparatory stream after which another national exam is administered (at the end of year 12), which serves basically as a means of placement of students in different faculties of universities.

In addition, there is a formal integrated system (Alternative Basic Education) and parallel sub-systems of non-formal programmes of education and training, including special education, which complement the existing structure of education.

The curriculum development of general education is the shared responsibility of the MOE and REBs. The federal MOE prepares the curriculum structure, which is discussed and enriched by the professionals in the respective regions. Consequently, primary school textbooks and guide books are developed and produced by the regions in the mediums of instruction of their choice. For Grades 9 and above, the development and production of these materials is the responsibility of the federal MOE and is generally undertaken by engaging commissioned writers.

Trends in education sector development

The Ethiopian Government has shown a strong commitment to educational expansion and has registered consistently high results in expanding educational services at all levels since the adoption of the New Education and Training Policy in 1994 and its derivative, the 20-year Education Sector Development Program (ESDP).

The ESDP has been in progress in phases of � ve-year cycles. It is continuously redressing the shortcomings in order to achieve quality universal primary education by the year 2015 with corresponding expansion in the successive sub-sectors. This is in line with the objective of increasing the literate pool of the Ethiopian population while producing the high- and middle-level professionals required for accelerating economic growth.

The ESDP I was developed in 1994/1995 against the backdrop of very worrisome indicators of the education system, most of which are documented in several assessments. At the time, the sector was characterized, among other things, by a very low primary school gross enrolment ratio (GER) of 51 per cent, a secondary school GER of 15 per cent and a tertiary education GER of about 0.8 per cent. Gender disparity was also very high at all levels, so much so that the combined primary and secondary school enrolment rate for girls was 29 per cent, while that of boys was 42 per cent. Furthermore, the sector had been suffering from inadequate facilities, insuf� cient trained teachers, overcrowded classes, and a shortage of text books and other teaching materials.

In the years following the roll out of the ESDP, most of the hurdles in the primary schools have been gradually overcome. By the end of 2004/2005, the number of public primary schools built across the country had increased by 53 per cent, reaching over 19,412 (MOE, 2007: 3). The � gure for the pre-ESDP roll out in 1994/1995 was 8,434, thus showing more than a two-fold increase. Consequently, primary school enrolment by the end of 2006/2007 (1999 Ethiopian Calendar) stood at over 12, 657,342 students compared to 2,063,635 a little over ten years earlier. Compared to the estimated 14,753,159 school-aged population of the country, this gave a total gross enrolment rate of 85.8 per cent (78.5 per cent for girls and 92.9 per cent for boys). For 2006, the net enrolment ratio (NER) at primary level was estimated at 65 per cent.

When enrolment in the parallel mode of delivery known as Alternative Basic Education (ABE) is considered, the cumulative GER becomes 91.3 per cent. According to the MOE’s Annual Education Statistics issued in February 2007, there were 6,425 ABE centres across the country, located mainly in the pastoralist and hard-to-reach communities. With all of these accounted for, the sub-sector



The education sector in Ethiopia: overview of its organization and achievements

19

had an annual growth rate of 11.3 per cent between 1998/99 and 2002/2003 alone (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 2004: 3).

Urban-rural disparity has also been decreasing steadily in favour of the latter as the result of the building of a large number of schools in the rural areas. During the period under review, 83 per cent of all newly built schools were in rural areas and this resulted in a primary school geographical coverage of over 64 per cent of the country. Consequently, a 75.7 per cent increase in the primary school gross enrolment rate has been registered compared to just 24.3 per cent for the urban localities. There has been a marked improvement in gender parity at the primary education level as well, reaching 0.84 towards the end of 2006/2007 (MOE, 2007: 16).

Though the expansion of secondary education has not kept pace with that of primary education, the gross enrolment rate has increased considerably, thus registering 33.2 per cent (41.6 per cent for boys and 24.5 per cent for girls) by 2006/2007 (MOE, 2007: 9). This is nearly double the total enrolment ratio recorded in 1994/95 when the new Education and Training Policy was adopted and the roll out of the Education Sector Development Programme started.

The technical vocational education and training sub-sector, which was at a rudimentary stage at the turn of the last decade, has made tremendous progress since 1994/1995. This was supported by Proclamation No. 351/2004, giving impetus to its expansion and thereby “providing broad and multilevel foundations” (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 2004: 5). According to the Ministry of Education Annual Abstract issued in February 2007, there were 269 technical vocational education and training institutions versus a mere 17 in 1994/1995. Thus there was a total enrolment of 123,557 students, of which 50.3 per cent was female by the end of 2006/2007 (MOE, 2007: 11). This is an impressive 50-fold increase compared to the enrolment of 2,338 students recorded in 1994/95 (Leka, no date: 6).

The higher education sub-sector has not been well developed. Its participation rate of under 1 per cent is “one of the lowest in the world even by sub-Saharan Africa’s standard which is 3 per cent with its undergraduate intake not more than 9,000 towards the end of the last decade” (Yizengaw, 2003: 2–3). During the past � ve years, however, higher education in Ethiopia has expanded both in terms of infrastructure and programme areas, and there are currently 21 public universities (eight of them old and 13 new ones), along with eight private university colleges with a total enrolment of 210,456 students in undergraduate and post-graduate programmes. This has resulted in an annual average increase of 33 per cent since the last ESDP II (2002/2003 – 2004/2005) and the current ESDP III (2005/2006 – 2010/2011) (MOE, 2007: 53). Indeed, the annual intake has also increased over the years, registering an annual intake rate of 30,000 in 2003/2004 compared to around 3,500 in 1994/1995 (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 2004: 13). To address the quality issues that accompany such an accelerated increment in the sub-sector, various interventions have been and continue to be implemented within the context of the Higher Education Reform Project since 2004. This includes the establishment of the Quality Assurance Agency and Pedagogical Resource Centers, and giving internal managerial autonomy to the universities, among other things (Yizengaw, 2003: 2–3).

Education � nance has also shown considerable growth over the period considered. The education expenditure, which was Birr 1.36 billion (13 per cent of the national budget) in 1994/1995 (MOE, 1996) has increased to Birr 4.64 billion (or 16.7 per cent of the national budget) in 2004/2005, with over 50 per cent of it consistently allocated to primary education over the period in review.

The quality of the education system as a whole and of the primary education sub-sector in particular remains unsatisfactory, although it is improving. For example, the MOE Educational Abstract of



20


2007 reports that 49.6 per cent of secondary school teachers, 97.6 per cent of � rst cycle primary school teachers and 59.4 per cent of second cycle primary school teachers are quali� ed. This is in contrast to the target of 98.3 per cent for the � rst cycle and 63 per cent for the second cycle primary education, respectively, by 2005/2006 (MOE, 1996: 19–20). On the other hand, at the primary level, the pupil-teacher and pupil-section ratios need attention, given the current � gures of about 62 and 69 respectively (MOE, 1996: 19-20). These two � gures are in contrast to the standard pupil-teacher and teacher-section ratios of 50.

Table 1.1 gives the evolution of enrolment, gross enrolment ratio (GER) and gender parity index in primary education, two years of general secondary education, preparatory, higher education and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Ethiopia from 1994/1995 to 2004/2005.

Table 1.1 Evolution of enrolment in Ethiopia from 1994/1995 to 2004/2005

Enrolment 1994/1995

Enrolment 2004/2005

GER 1994/1995

GER 2004/2005

Gender comparison 2004/2005

Primary education

2,063,635 11,448,641 51% 79.8% GER girls 78.5%

Two years of general secondary Education

n/a (no such cycle existed

then)

860,734 n/a (no such cycle existed

then)

27.3% GER girls 24.5%

Preparatory education

n/a (no such cycle existed

then)

92,483 n/a (no such cycle existed

then)

n/a (not computed in the

EMIS)

GER girls 27.3%

Higher education (colleges and universities)

6,354 * 191,165 ** ** **

TVET 2,634* 106,336 ** ** **

Source: Ministry of Education, 1997-. * These � gures refer to government institutions only.** Enrolment rates cannot be calculated as the relevant age brackets for these levels are not yet de� ned.

Recently, the Ministry of Education and Regional Education Bureaux have come up with a package that pools donors’ resources to address four priority quality issues under the umbrella programme called the General Education Quality Improvement Programme (GEQUIP) (MOE, 2007a).

The programme intends to improve the quality of students’ education outcomes in the general education sub-sector by improving the quality of teaching and learning as well as the capacity of federal, regional and woreda education of� ces to deliver. The major pillars of the programme consist of the Teacher Development Programme (TDP); curriculum, textbooks and assessment; management and administration; and the school improvement and School Grant Programme (SGP).

1.2 Decentralization of education in Ethiopia

The decentralization framework

Decentralization was introduced in Ethiopia under the 1995 Constitution, thus giving rise to the federal system of administration. Since then, Ethiopia has become a federal country, composed of nine regional states – Afar; Amhara; Benishangul-Gumuz; Gambela; Harari; Oromia; Southern




21

Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP); Somali; Tigray – and two city administrations – Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Each regional state has its own constitution with legislative, executive and judiciary domains of government. Similarly, the woredas (district levels) under the regions, and the municipalities under the city administrations, have their houses of representatives and executive and court systems. There are about 700 woredas and 250 municipalities in the country. Below the woredas, there are the kebeles which are the lowest form of government. There is an average of about 20 kebele administrations below each woreda. In total, there are about 15,000 kebeles in the country (Ministry of Education, 2006: 5).

In Ethiopia, education is organized according to the overall system of federalism in the country. The Federal Ministry of Education is headed by a minister and three ministres d’États responsible respectively for the general education, TVET and higher education sub-sectors. All the nine regional states and two city administrations have their respective Regional Education Bureaux (REBs), under which Woreda Education Of� ces (WEOs) are organized. The Dire Dawa and Harari regions are exceptions to the rule as they have neither sub-city administrations nor WEOs: these regions are indeed much smaller than the others, and the REBs liaise directly with the schools for administrative purposes. Below the woredas, the Kebele Education and Training Boards (KETB) are the educational planning and management government organs at the community level.

From a � nancial point of view, the federal government allocates block grant resources to the regions, which in turn allocate resources under the same format to the woreda councils. Each level shares the transferred resources to the different sectors including education. The woreda councils allocate resources to WEOs and schools.

The educational administration at each level is politically accountable to its government, and technically to the upper level of administration. However, the relationship between each administrative level is not hierarchical: “accordingly, the Ministry of Education has no direct line authority over the Regional Bureaux of Education” (Ministry of Education, 2006: 5).

Planning and management responsibilities at different levels of the educational administration

The Ethiopian system of educational planning and management is both a bottom-up and top-down exercise. Resource requests and plans and budget proposals come from the lower tiers, while target setting, resource allocation and the approval of proposals descend from their respective upper levels. But since the legislative line (i.e. the different levels of houses of representatives) and the executive and the technical line (i.e. the sectoral bureaux and of� ces) are also involved in the process of planning and resource allocation, several horizontal and vertical interactive and consultative processes are imperative.

The following sections present in more detail the roles and responsibilities played in educational planning and management by the federal Ministry of Education (MOE), the Regional Education Bureaux (REBs), the zones, the Woreda Education Of� ces and the Kebele Education and Training Boards (KETBs).

The federal MOE

With regard to the planning and management of education, the federal MOE is responsible for:

• formulating national education policy;• setting education and training standards at all levels of education;• monitoring implementation and ensuring that standards are respected;



22


• formulating the general framework of curricula of education and training.

In this context, the MOE Planning Unit monitors the implementation of policy interventions and ensures that the REBs and WEOs have the capacity to plan and manage education at their levels. This requires that this unit has the requisite skills to capacitate the REBs and WEOs. Presently, the MOE Planning Unit comprises the unit head and 11 planners.

The Regional Education Bureaux

The Regional Education Bureau (REB) is the Ministry of Education’s equivalent for the regional state. The bureau is staffed with key professionals to plan, manage and assess the delivery of education within the region. The REBs plan and provide for access to formal education, organize teacher training programmes and develop curricula at the primary level. The REBs also prepare strategic plans for the region at the federal level, within the approved framework. The organizational structure of the REBs generally encompasses two major departments, namely general education and TVET. The general education department is further subdivided into units such as the curriculum unit and the supervision unit. In addition to those major departments, several smaller units form part of the organizational structure, such as planning, legal services, public relations and � nance.

The REB answers to two agencies – the regional council (on policy, planning, management and � nancial matters) and to the sector ministry (on policy and standard matters). More precisely, the REB has the following major responsibilities:

• to plan, administer and direct education from the pre-school to junior college level in line with the country’s education policy;

• to provide basic education to all in the region;• to monitor the implementation of education policy in the region;• to adapt the national curricular framework, particularly that of primary and pre-primary

education, to the region’s speci� c needs and culture;• to build, rehabilitate, maintain and repair educational establishments (secondary schools,

TVET and teacher training schools) in the region;• to train, employ, manage and dismiss teachers and other educational staff;• to supply educational materials and equipment, and issue certi� cates;• to license the establishment of private institutions of education (primary, secondary and

middle-level TVETs);• to initiate and enhance the participation of the community.

The organizational structure of the REBs includes the establishment of education planning units. These units typically comprise three to four planners and, in some cases, an Education Management Information System (EMIS) coordinator. Like the federal level, the planning unit at the regional level is responsible for strategic and annual planning, as well as the management and dissemination of education data. The unit also undertakes policy studies and provides support to planners at the woreda level.

The zones

In some regions, particularly the larger ones such as Oromia, zones were created as an intermediary level between the REB and WEO levels. “The zone is another tier of governance situated between the region and the woreda with a limited administrative role, with much coordination and without legislative power” (Ministry of Education, 2006: 5). In others, such as SNNPR, zones are endowed with greater responsibility in the managing of education.




23

The Woreda Education Of� ces (WEOs)

Woreda Education Of� ces (WEOs) are the primary educational authorities responsible for the establishment and implementation of all educational activities – primary, secondary and TVET – at the district level. They monitor the delivery of instruction in schools and mobilize resources for the operation of schools. The sub-city education administrations are the equivalent of woreda education of� ces in city administration.

The WEO is administratively subordinated to the Woreda Council, and also professionally and technically answerable to the REB. Its speci� c mandates are the following:

• planning education for the woreda up to secondary level; • ensuring standards and the accreditation of institutions;• implementing and evaluating projects;• administering primary and secondary schools;• monitoring and supervising programmes;• enhancing community participation by establishing administrative boards, PTAs and other

committees;• developing interschool integration and coordination;• allocating budgets to schools;• building the capacities of educational personnel in the woredas.

In principle, all WEOs have a planning unit comprising a head and one or two planners, one of whom very often handles the EMIS function. These of� ces engage in strategic and operational planning for their level. All plans are based on the regional education plans and local district needs.

At the WEO level, the planning activities include data collection from the schools and preparation of the woreda plan. The WEOs are also responsible for school-mapping and micro- planning exercises that involve planners, school supervisors and the heads of the secondary schools within the woreda. In carrying out these activities, the WEOs receive support from the kebele education of� ces (in municipalities), the experts and team leaders of which contribute to the inputs for the woreda education plans. WEOs are supposed to undertake preliminary analysis of the data they collect and provide feedback to the schools before they forward it to the REB. They also have the responsibility of training kebele education of� cers, recruiting, training and deploying teachers and head teachers, as well as supporting kebele of� ces.

The Kebele Education and Training Board (KETB)

The KETBs have fewer responsibilities in educational planning, but play an important role in the actual implementation of policies at the pre-primary and primary levels of education. Their staff comprises two to � ve people usually recruited among primary school teachers. They are responsible for:

• collecting educational data up to the primary level and forwarding it to the WEOs;• monitoring the operations of the school in the kebele;• participating in the evaluation of teachers’ performance;• organizing and facilitating community participation and support;• paying attention to the disciplinary affairs of teachers and students.



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Planning and management role of other ministries

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED)

Under Proclamation No. 256/2001, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development inherited all the responsibilities previously assigned separately (by Proclamation No. 4/1995) to the former Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (MEDAC). Federal responsibilities for planning, budgeting and aid management were thus assigned to a single ministry. There was a major reorganization and integration of the previous MOF and MEDAC structures. MOFED is currently organized into three main wings, each headed by a state minister, covering economic development, economic cooperation and public � nance respectively. Three of the wings are involved in educational affairs at the macro level in their respective domains. The regional share of the block grant budget subsidy is affected by this Ministry.

The Ministry of Capacity Building (MOCB)

The Ministry of Capacity Building was created in 2002 in the context of increasing democratization and decentralization of the system. It was charged with implementing the National Capacity Building Programme – developed as part of the Civil Service Reform Programme launched in 1998 – at all levels of government, and across all sectors, including education. In the context of increased decentralization, it was indeed essential to build the capacities of governments and civil servants working at the local level. The Ministry of Capacity Building was created in order “to provide policy directions, coordination and implementation support” with regard to capacity building (World Bank, 2005: 7) and, more speci� cally, to:

• initiate national capacity building policies as well as prepare and implement programmes and budgets accordingly;

• ensure that the necessary capacity is created for national capacity building;• perform other activities necessary for the enhancement of capacity building at all levels.

A survey carried out in 2008 on capacity development initiatives led in the education sector in Ethiopia assessed the impact of the Ministry of Capacity Building at the time of the survey and reached the following conclusion: “the impact of the Ministry has not yet been fully felt, probably due to its novelty (it was created only in 2002). Its role has been limited to the preparation of the major (forthcoming) PSCAP (Public Sector Capacity Building Programme)(which will impinge indirectly on education service delivery); handling the community and parent-teacher mobilization aspects of the ESDP (...). It appears, however, that the Ministry has not kept abreast of, or contributed to, some very signi� cant and innovative capacity building experiences in the education sector, particularly those sponsored by USAID” (Watson, 2005: 20).

The Ministry of Federal Affairs (MOFA)

The role of the Ministry of Federal Affairs is to:

• oversee the administration of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa;• give assistance to the regions with particular emphasis on the less developed ones.

The Ministry of Construction and Urban Development

The Ministry of Construction and Urban Development has an important role in the design, construction and contracting of educational projects. It has responsibility for urban policy and planning, and hence plays an important role with respect to Ethiopia’s municipalities.




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Decision-making in a decentralized context: a summary

The responsibility for planning and managing education in Ethiopia is therefore entrusted to a number of federal ministries, the REBs, the WEOs, the KETBs and the community, for different aspects and at different levels. Development partners also play a role in this regard. Table 1.2 summarizes the distribution of responsibilities among the main actors involved in the process of educational planning and management.

Table 1.2 Actors involved in the educational planning and management process in Ethiopia

Priority de� nition

Setting standards

Sector analysis

Policy formulation

Plan formulation

ImplementationMonitoring

and evaluation

Federal Ministry of Education

� � � � � � �

Ministry of Economic Development

� � �

Ministry of Capacity Building

�

Ministry of Federal Affairs

� � � �

Ministry of Construction

� � � � �

Regional Education Bureau

� � � � � � �

Woreda Education Of� ce

� � � �

Kebele Education and Training Board

� �

Community �Development partners

� � � � �

Source: Data from various issues of MOE education abstracts.

This study focuses on capacity in planning and management at the MOE, REB and WEO levels and has not dealt with activities at the kebele level or within other related ministries.

1.3 Initiatives to enhance the delivering capacity of the education sectorWhen the decision was taken in 1995 to set up a federal decentralized management structure, the � rst step was the initiative to build the delivering capacities of the newly established sub-national education management structures. This began with the mobilization of a large number of staff from the Ministry of Education to the regional states (Freeman, 2005: 7), thus laying the foundation for the present federal government structures. This was followed by continuous orientation and



26


technical support in the key areas of project planning, evaluation and reporting by the Ministry staff at the time.

A coordinated and systematic effort to address the sector’s capacity limitations followed the adoption of the Education Sector Development Program in 1995 in partnership with development partners and stakeholders in the sector. In this regard, a coordinated effort by the bilateral agencies, such as USAID, Sida, the Irish Development Cooperation, Government of Belgium and DFID, and multilateral agencies, such as UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank, has been instrumental.

One particularly important initiative was the training of woreda education of� cers by the MOE, supported by USAID as part of its ‘woredas capacity building initiative’ in the context of the Basic Education Strategic Objectives (BESO) project. The programme was implemented between 2004 and 2007. The training focused on planning and management, and reached about 4700 woreda education of� cers. It is expected to continue under GEQUIP, supported by USAID and UNICEF, during which 400 and 300 of� cials will be trained in a three-year period.

In 2006-2007, a speci� c training programme in educational planning and management was designed for the heads and planners of REBs, as well as for planners from the central level. This training was delivered by IIEP with the support of the MOE and USAID/Academy of Educational Development (AED)/Basic Education Programme. It consisted of training teams rather than individuals and covered about 300 planners.

In addition, the MOE and the REBs have been sponsoring their respective staff to enrol in summer courses as well as undergraduate and post-graduate programmes that would enhance their managerial and leadership capacity. This is, of course, in addition to the fragmented capacity strengthening interventions undertaken during the last ten years in collaboration with other bilateral agencies, notably the Irish Development Cooperation, JICA, the Governments of the Netherlands and Finland, and multilateral ones such as UNICEF and UNESCO. For instance, from 2003 to 2007, JICA trained planners from the regional and woreda levels of the Oromia Region on school mapping and micro-planning. In 2007 UNICEF, in collaboration with Addis Ababa University, carried out a training programme on the same topic for the Amhara Region.

The capacity development initiative was not limited to the management aspect of the system. Key quality inputs such as teachers, curriculum and other related inputs intended to improve the teaching-learning process have also been targeted. The Teacher Development Program (TDP) is one of these and it has been in progress since 2004. Its major areas of intervention are pre- and in-service teacher training, school leadership and management, higher diploma in interactive teaching and learning, and the English Language Improvement programme.

The other major area of capacity building, focused on improving the institutional and technical capacity of the federal MOE and the REBs, included the collection, storage, analysis and dissemination of education data. Since 2006-2007, training and technical support is available to statisticians and data encoders at all levels of the structure with the support of the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), following the diagnostic study conducted in 2003 (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, European Commission and UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2004).

Since 2005, these efforts of the MOE have been supported by technical and � nancial development partners, including the Government of the Netherlands , the UK Department for International Development (DFID), USAID, Irish Development Cooperation (IDC), Sida, the World Bank, and UNESCO. The Ministry of Education and these partners have set up a task force chaired by the head of the planning department at MOE, with a representative of the partners’ group serving




27

as secretary on rotation. The task force also acts as a ‘think-tank’ group for identifying areas of capacity gaps that need to be tackled.

The latest development in the capacity building initiative is the production of a manual by the MOE in collaboration with UNICEF (Ministry of Education, 2006), which serves as a reference for day-to-day management tasks and a training package for organizing in-house training. The manual emphasizes “practical ways of decision-making and implementation [that] can be strengthened at all levels, with particular emphasis on local level actions such as woredas and school levels” (Ministry of Education, 2006: 1). It deals with issues such as educational policy planning and decentralization, human resources and decentralization, school-level responsibilities and school cluster resource centres, community mobilization for resources and management, and school infrastructure, among other things. It is a comprehensive reference intended as an in-house training guide for continuous managerial and leadership skills development.

These various capacity-building initiatives have been further reinforced by the federal government’s overall civil service capacity building programme, which was introduced as early as 1996. The reform process, which then began as a series of measures, developed into the Capacity Building Strategy and Program (CBSP) in 1998/1999 with technical assistance from the World Bank. The latter subsequently coordinated the support for its implementation by bilateral and multilateral agencies, beginning in 2001.

The programme was later known as the National Capacity Building Program (NCBP) with the purpose of strengthening “working systems to improve organizational effectiveness and rapidly develop human resource in the public sector” (Freeman, 2005: 10). Currently, it is referred to as the Public Sector Capacity Building Program (PSCAP) and is being implemented under the leadership of the Ministry of Capacity Building. The programme has six sub-programmes, of which Civil Service Reform embeds staff capacity building components. This sub-programme has as its overall objective the promotion of the development of an ef� cient, effective, transparent, accountable, ethical and performance-oriented civil service at the federal, regional and local levels. The World Bank’s review of the programme in 2006 concluded that “PSCAP represents a real commitment by the government of Ethiopia to bring about genuine transformation in district and local governance” (Freeman, 2005: 10). This indicates that “capacity is being developed despite the rapid decentralization the country has undergone devolving power down to the lowest tiers (over 600 woredas) that took effect over the last 15 years” (Bines and Woods, 2007).

1.4 Lessons learnedMuch progress has been made in Ethiopia in recent years to develop the education sector as well as its capacities at different levels. Education is indeed recognized as a priority at the national, regional and woreda levels, and most education indicators have improved during the period. The different initiatives described above, starting with education reform in the country in 1994 to the recent elaboration and production of a manual on decentralization by the MOE and UNICEF, show the growing importance the Ethiopian government and its development partners attach to capacity development in order to enhance the development of education in the country.

Through these various initiatives, the education management structures have been revised and improved, and at the same time the general framework as well as the long-term development goals of the education system have been de� ned with responsibilities clearly de� ned for each level of administration. Thousands of managers and planners, in addition to thousands of teachers, have been trained and deployed to all levels of education administration. Many education of� ces at different levels of administration have been equipped with modern computing and communication



28


systems, though a large number of of� ces still need to be equipped. Some of these decentralized education of� ces are operating very effectively. Not only the Regional Education Bureaux but also the Woreda Education Of� ces are now able to prepare their own long-term and operational one-year plans, although these plans vary in their quality and realism. An assessment of the USAID WEO training programme showed that 67.7 per cent of the planners trained were able to produce adequate woreda education plans (USAID/BESO II, 2005). These efforts have been carried out with strong support from the governing bodies at the federal, regional and woreda levels, but also from the local communities and the population at large. External partners and donors also strongly support the development of the education sector and of the capacities throughout the system (Watson, 2005: 6).

However, in spite of these positive changes, several studies emphasized the challenges that still characterize educational planning and management in Ethiopia. A training assessment of educational planners and managers conducted by IIEP at the request of AED/BESO II and the Ministry of Education emphasized in particular the following (IIEP, 2005):

• There is a lack of linkage in the planning process: “the policy demands that woreda plans feed into regional plans which themselves are sources for the national plan. It seems however that the process is much more top-down and is guided mainly by targets, set at the national level and reproduced at the lower levels, without much adaptation. The regions and the woredas de� ne their own plans, which take into account these targets, but the plans do not seem linked in other ways and the planning processes seem to take place separately. The fact that targets are not adapted leads to the existence of some very ambitious policy objectives, which will be nearly impossible to achieve” (IIEP, 2005: 5).

• “Planning is mainly input-oriented” (...), “the strategic vision to go beyond such type of planning and develop alternative solutions, more appropriate to the speci� c challenges of each region, seems to be lacking” (IIEP, 2005: 15). In addition, “while the efforts to collect data and to publish regular reports are signi� cant, the analysis itself remains very descriptive and even somewhat mechanistic, following a similar format in all regions. There is little examination of relationships between indicators and nearly no re� ection on the possible reasons for signi� cant changes in some. (...) The capacity to analyse data, to de� ne, on that basis, priorities and develop plans remains limited” (IIEP, 2005: 14).

• The system is characterized by a high staff turnover, as well as by a large number of vacancies. This problem is well known in Ethiopia and has been emphasized by other studies.

• Technical criteria and professional experience are not always taken into account when appointing heads of of� ces. In addition, some heads emphasized their “need for strengthening their strategic leadership and management skills”. They noted “that they are expected to undertake strategic planning, but have never received practical training on what this implies” (IIEP, 2005: 13).

• Training programmes for educational planners and managers are not always closely linked to the planning process, and they lack practical orientation. “The training offered is mostly linked to donor-funded support for speci� c activities. In general, it is a unique event of short duration, not linked to a professional development plan or career promotion opportunities and fragmented in nature” (IIEP, 2005: 18).

• Educational planners and managers suffer from limited material and � nancial resources to carry out their activities, particularly at the local level.

Another challenge indicated by Watson (2005: 6) and related to the capacity development of educational planners and managers is the fact that “personnel incentives are weak”.




29

However, it is worth mentioning that these challenges differ from one region to the other, with some regions having more resources and stronger capacities than others.

Keeping in mind the results of these studies, the following sections of this report will assess the strengths and weaknesses of capacities in educational planning and management as they stand today. This assessment will be based on the analysis of the views and perceptions of planners and managers, as expressed during interviews and in response to the questionnaires. It will also draw on the discussions with different groups of partners in education during the � eld missions and on the analysis of existing documents and reports.

This assessment will help to identify strategies to enhance capacities in educational planning and management in Ethiopia.



30

2 Assessment and � ndings of the study

The following sections examine in detail the various aspects of capacity development in educational planning and management in Ethiopia, with an emphasis on cross-cutting issues, such as human resources management, organizational arrangements, the technical environment and logistics. These are key areas that in� uence the way in which of� cers, and thus educational planners and managers, ful� l their mission in a speci� c organization, and hence their capacities.

The analysis is based on discussions and interviews held with the different actors met during the � eld study, as well as on the analysis of the questionnaires administered during the survey to a sample of educational planners and managers working at the different levels of the administration. This data is analysed in the following sections as a whole sample, and when relevant, per level – for example, federal, regional and woreda level – in order to get both the global view and the detailed, level-wide views.

The analysis will sometimes highlight concerns expressed by the actors encountered during the � eld study, while quoting the actors. The interactions with these actors allow a better understanding of the contextual environment within which the planning and management activities are carried out in the country.

At the end of each section, a short summary of the main strengths and challenges related to each issue will be highlighted.

2.1 Human resources managementDespite several steps that have recently been taken to improve the management of educational professionals, particularly regarding their recruitment and evaluation, speci� c constraints remain in these areas. This section analyses key issues that have an impact on the capacity development of educational planners and managers, for example, recruitment procedures, the existence of a clear job description, the characteristics of the evaluation process as well as of the training programmes delivered to these of� cers, and the civil service reform.

Recruitment procedures

Guidelines prepared recently by the Federal Civil Service Commission, and adapted at the regional level, de� ne the procedures and criteria to follow when recruiting staff working at the federal, regional, zonal and woreda levels. These guidelines require the announcement of vacancies for the recruitment of educational professionals. This is done through advertisements in local newspapers and on the of� ce’s notice board. Applications are received and scrutinized by the of� ces concerned. A College Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in a relevant � eld is the minimum requirement for recruitment for an entry-level position corresponding to the job of planners. Interviews and exams are organized for the selection of appropriate candidates. Speci� c attention is also given to the professional experience of the applicant. The education administration at each level is autonomous in undertaking this recruitment process.

Such procedures have several characteristics which, if applied, can impact positively on the capacity development of educational planners and managers:



Assessment and � ndings of the study

31

• A speci� c level of quali� cations is required for such positions, and more attention is supposed to be given to the professional background of the applicants.

• Transparency characterizes the recruitment of educational professionals: vacancies are announced with the detailed job description and the required pro� le for the candidate; the positions are open to all competing applicants.

• Such transparency is guaranteed by the existence of a set of guidelines to which applicants can refer if they wish to contest a decision that is taken on their application; a control is also supposed to be made by the regional service commission, which is to check compliance with the legal recruitment procedures.

Most of the planners met by the research team during the discussions highly appreciated these recent changes in the recruitment procedures. They consider indeed that the present process allows for more transparency and gives more importance than before to quali� cation and professional experience criteria. Little information was given to the research team concerning the nature of the recruitment procedures before this reform; however, it seems that they were less objective and neutral and sometimes guided by political considerations, as may be the case in many other countries. The result is that of� cers are assigned to key positions without the necessary quali� cations and professional background.

According to the planners met during the � eld study, a positive step, at least in theory, was the recent establishment of these rules. However, several planners complained about the fact that such rules are far from being implemented and respected. Discussions with the planners as well as the data collected through the questionnaires enable us to draw the following conclusions with regard to the actual implementation of these rules.

Several actors met during the � eld study emphasized in particular the fact that a vacancy announcement does not always lead to competitive recruitment for a position. The of� cers interviewed acknowledged that they were either promoted to the position without any competition (by secondment) or that they were transferred from a unit to the one they occupy. For instance, in one WEO, an of� cer indicated that: “there was not proper planning in this WEO before. Now there is a post for planning. A planner was recruited (...) but the post was not announced. The head recommended a person, who was then appointed to this post.” The Human Resources Department head of one region visited by the team stressed that: “the process is transparent but some problems such as assignments remain”.

An analysis of the planners’ questionnaire responses con� rms the view that a vacancy announcement does not always lead to competitive recruitment. Indeed, as shown in the last line of Table 2.1, only 36 per cent of the planners who responded to the questionnaire said that they were recruited for their position on the basis of competitive recruitment (22 per cent external and 14 per cent internal). Others were recruited through promotion (31 per cent), transfer (22 per cent), nomination (10 per cent) or secondment (1 per cent). There are some differences between the federal, regional and woreda levels: while at the federal level the staff transfer mode was most frequently used, at the regional level four modalities (promotion, internal and external competitions as well as staff transfer mode) were used almost evenly. At the WEO level, promotion was the dominant mode of recruitment followed by internal competitive recruitment.



32


Table 2.1 Process of recruitment of educational planners and managers (in percentage) (N = 74)

PromotionInternal

competitive recruitment

External competitive recruitment

Nomination Secondment Transfer

MOE 0 11 22 11 0 56REB 24 28 20 4 0 24WEO 42 21 8 13 3 13Total 31 22 14 10 1 22

Source: Individual questionnaires.

It appears, therefore, that the recruitment process does not yet systematically follow the new rules. In such cases, little attention may be given to the quali� cations required for the post and other factors seem to be of greater importance. This may lead to contradictions: of� cers with no background in educational planning and management may be assigned as educational planners and managers, while others with the relevant quali� cations will be denied such positions.

1. During the discussions with the planners, it became clear that the criterion of academic quali� cations for the professional positions – at least a College Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in educational planning and management or in a relevant � eld – is often dif� cult to respect. The of� cers met during the survey indicated that the main dif� culty in respecting this criterion lies in the lack of a pool of quali� ed professionals at the different levels and especially at the woreda level from which applications are received. This situation usually leads to delays in � lling vacancies, as was the case for instance in one REB visited by the research team, where the EMIS post has been vacant for a long time because of the “shortage of educational planners and managers in the region”. In addition, the emphasis may sometimes be put on diplomas and degrees rather than on experience: the head of one WEO in Oromia emphasized in this regard that “according to the new recruitment rules, we need to � nd degree holders. However, we cannot � nd such candidates for all positions, and therefore we have to wait for staff with degrees”. In some cases, this has resulted in the recruitment of new graduates with the relevant level of academic quali� cations, but with no, or limited, experience in the education sector.

A number of education of� ces try to overcome these constraints through different solutions. One solution has been to hire secondary school principals and teachers, who are then trained on the job by an experienced of� cer in planning. The Education Bureau of Dire Dawa is an example where secondary mathematics and science teachers were recruited and trained on the job as planners. This has been a successful strategy leading to the building of a strongly performing team of planners for the of� ce. In case no candidate with the minimum required diploma is found, the heads of of� ce opt for a more experienced candidate, to make up for the lack of quali� cations. They argued: “to run of� ces sometimes we must compromise; if there are no candidates with a diploma in educational planning and management, we recruit according to experience”.

2. Because of these various situations, many planners do not have adequate quali� cations for their posts.

3. Indeed, as shown in Graph 2.1, 22 per cent of the planners who completed the questionnaire do not meet the required academic quali� cation criteria, as their highest level of education




33

is the end-of-secondary school certi� cate (6%) or teacher training certi� cate (16%). This is particularly the case in WEOs where 28 per cent of the of� cers who responded to the questionnaire had a teacher training certi� cate, while another 9 per cent had only an end-of-secondary school certi� cate. We notice that the quali� cation pro� le of the planners at federal MOE level is not much higher than that of the other levels. This is worrisome in a context where these planners are supposed to design national plans and help the regions and woredas in the elaboration of their own strategic plans; they are also required to undertake studies and provide advice on critical issues identi� ed in the implementation of national or regional plans.

Graph 2.1 Distribution of planners by their highest level of academic quali� cations (in percentage)


In addition, their quali� cations are seldom related to planning, as emphasized by Graph 2.2. Only 12 per cent of the planners who completed the questionnaire have quali� cations in this area, and overall, 28 per cent related to education or public administration. Twenty per cent of them have quali� cations in teaching and pedagogy, while 52 per cent have quali� cations in other areas such as mathematics, biology, history, geography or other subjects (such as language). This situation was con� rmed during the discussions with several planners. For instance, the research team met a woreda planner who was appointed to this position although he had a degree in biology and no experience in educational planning and management. In another WEO, the physical education expert was designated by the of� ce head as the acting statistician to � ll in the vacant post: this of� cer appeared to be quite worried about this situation, as he had “no experience in statistics”: “I did not volunteer for that position. If at least I had some background in mathematics ... but this is not the case. I am not con� dent for this post. I feel apprehensive.” The planners met during the � eld survey frequently complained that the right person was not in the right position.

11

56

33

5

81

14 9

28

53

9 6 16

63

15

0102030405060708090

End of secondaryschool certificate

Teacher trainingcertificate

Bachelor's degree Master's degree

MOE

REB

WEO

Total



34


Graph 2.2 Academic background of the planners who responded to the questionnaire


4. In addition to the fact that a number of planners are without the requisite academic quali� cation, the majority of them have only limited experience in educational planning and management. Their professional experience extends mostly to teaching, as shown in Table 2.2. Graph 2.3 presents the distribution of planners who responded to the questionnaire by the number of years of experience in educational planning and management. Overall, most of these planners and managers (78 per cent) had less than ten years’ experience in this area, with more than 45 per cent having less than � ve years’ experience. Furthermore, data show that 63 per cent and 57 per cent of the planners working at the federal and regional levels respectively have less than � ve years’ experience in educational planning and management. At the woreda level the situation appears to be much better, with 66 per cent of the planners having more than � ve years’ experience in educational planning and management, and 34 per cent of those having more than 11 years’ experience in this area.

The fact that many planners working at the federal level have less experience in educational planning and management than those working at the regional and woreda levels is surprising as one would have expected more experienced planners at the federal than the other levels. Given that planners at the federal level help reinforce the capacities of those at the regional and woreda level, it would be normal to have more senior planners and managers at the former level.

Table 2.2 Educational planners with experience as a school teacher (in percentage)

Work place Experience as a school teacher No experience as a school teacher

MOE 89 11

REB 58 42

WEO 89 11

Total 78 22


12 15

1

20 18

4

30

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Educationalplanning andmanagement

Educationalmanagement

andadministration

Publicadministration

Teaching andpedagogy

Mathematics,sciences,biology

History,geography

Others

Num

ber

of r

espo

nden

ts

Field/Academic discipline




35

Graph 2.3 Planners’ number of years of experience in educational planning and management (in percentage)


Job description

The existence of a clear job description for an of� cer is an important element for appreciation of the tasks meant to be carried out and objectives to be achieved. It facilitates a better understanding of the role that each individual or unit has to play in order to achieve ef� ciently the targets set. It also has the advantage of facilitating the identi� cation of appropriate pro� les for candidates seeking a given employment opportunity in a given unit or department. Such a job description, when it is clear, can facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of the work done by the professional staff of the planning and management units.

The survey gave rather mixed information as to the existence and clarity of such job descriptions for planners and managers in the Ethiopian education system. Indeed, most of the planners who responded to the questionnaire (78 per cent) indicated that they had a proper job description. However, during the meetings and discussions the research team had with planners at different levels, most of them considered that they did not have speci� c job descriptions and, if they existed, they were very old and not adapted to their current day-to-day activities. A job description may also only exist for a department and not for individuals. This is the case, for instance, of the planners working at the federal level.

However, several of� cers emphasized during the discussions that new job descriptions should be developed within the framework of the ongoing civil service reform commonly known as ‘Business Process Re-engineering’ (BPR), on which more information will be given later.

63

38

57

35

9

34 32 29

5

45

33

19

3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Less than 5 years 5 to 10 years 11 to 25 years More than 15years

MOE

REB

WEO

Total



36


Evaluation process

The Ethiopian Government has established new procedures in order to improve staff evaluation. Of� cers in the public service are now to be evaluated by their supervisors every six months based on the individual of� cer’s work plan. Most of the planners met during the � eld study emphasized that they had been evaluated recently – at least once during the past two years. Graph 2.4 con� rms this information, but also shows that 21 per cent of the planners who responded to the questionnaire refute this assertion. However, based on the analysis of the existing data and during the discussions with the planners and their supervisors, it is not possible to con� rm (for those who were evaluated over the past two years) whether the evaluation effectively took place every six months or not. While additional information may be needed to verify the regularity of the six-month evaluation, it is apparently not yet a system applied to all staff.

Graph 2.4 Planners who have been evaluated over the past two years (in percentage)


� Recruitment of educational planners and managers: main strengths and challenges

Strengths: • Existence of guidelines on recruitment procedures. • Announcement of vacancies.• Quali� cation requirements for professional positions.

Challenges:• Vacancy announcement does not always lead to competitive recruitment.• Planners do not always have the required quali� cations for the post.• A majority of them have only limited experience in educational planning and management.• When they exist, job decsriptions are too old and may not be adapted to the planners’ day-to-day

activities.

Evaluated over the past

two years 79%

Not evaluated

over the past two years

21%




37

The research team noticed mixed feelings among the planners concerning their appreciation of the evaluation procedures. Many greatly appreciate the usefulness of the new rules but a few others were not completely satis� ed:

• Some of� cers consider that it allows for a more objective evaluation: “I prefer this new way of evaluation. Before, the focus was on personal behaviour; now it is outcome based.” Indeed, even if it has limitations and does not lead to automatic reward, they appreciate the fact that the evaluation report is kept in their personal � le and can be taken into account in future applications.

• Other of� cers complained that their evaluation does not lead to any reward nor help them to improve their performance: “in principle, there must be a reward and recognition of good work. But this does not happen in practice. The evaluation is not used to identify a person who needs training”; “at the end of the evaluation form, there is a box for needed training, which is never or seldom � lled by the head of the of� ce, even though he notices that we need training”. Others highlighted that “the process is purely mechanical, to see if the performance was achieved or not”, and does not lead to any overall discussion about the work of the of� cer.

Such differences of opinion are not surprising, given the individual character of these evaluations.

Training programmes for educational planners and managers

In Ethiopia, different actors provide training for educational planners and managers: the MOE at the different levels, external partners, as well as existing national and regional institutions.

Training programmes carried out by the MOE at the different levels

According to their mandate, each administrative level – federal, regional, zonal, woreda and kebele – is responsible for providing advice and support to the lower administrative levels in ful� lling their mission and implementing the national education policy. This includes the training of of� cers working at these levels.

Most of the planners and managers encountered during the � eld study expressed their dissatisfaction with the training programmes organized by the upper levels of the administration. Common criticisms were that these programmes lack regularity and frequency, and of� cers are not consulted about their training needs. For instance, as regards the training programmes delivered by the REB, a planner working in one WEO said: “the requests for training do not come from the bottom; the process is only top down. The REB has its own plan. If our request is in line with their plan, they provide training. But they do not consult us. When they need data, they organize short-term training sessions. Their training is not based on our day-to-day work.” In another region, a planner working at the woreda level emphasized the following concerning the training sessions

� Evaluation of educational planners and managers: main strengths and challenges

Strengths: • New rules for staff evaluation: of� cers are to be evaluated by their supervisors every six months.• This allows for a more objective evaluation.

Challenges:• The evaluation does not help the staff to improve their performance.



38


delivered by the REB: “they decide on their own the content of the programme, they don’t ask us our needs.” Similar comments were made about the support given by the federal level to the regions. Indeed, as stressed by a planner working at the regional level: “sometimes they support us because they need data and need us to prepare the plan well. But I don’t think that they have a plan to train us.” This situation may be explained by the absence of a budget line for training at the different levels, but above all, it re� ects the lack of priority given to this issue in the policy.

Educational planners and managers, as well as elected of� cials, also receive training from the representative of� ces of the Ministry of Capacity Building at the different levels. These training sessions are organized within the framework of the Business Process Engineering (BPR), a new approach introduced by the government in 2006 in order to improve the performance of the civil service, and which we shall comment upon later. The sessions focus on more generic management issues related to strategic planning and � nancial management. Most of the planners met during the study complained that these training programmes are not focused on education. They also considered the programmes limited in scale and not regular enough to have an impact on their job performance.

Training programmes organized by external partners

As already indicated, several aid agencies and international organizations, including UNESCO through UIS and IIEP as well as UNICEF, USAID and JICA, have in the past few years developed and organized training programmes for educational planners and managers, covering a wide range of of� cers.

These training programmes focused either on individuals or teams. Some of them relied on a cascade approach, so that higher level of� cers were later able to train lower level of� cers. The ef� ciency of the cascade training mode will depend not only on the degree of staff turnover, but also on the resources available for the training to be organized by the trainers.

Self-learning materials were also developed in some cases. The of� cers met during the � eld study emphasized the usefulness and their appreciation of these training programmes. However, some of them commented on the lack of continuity in training.

Existing training institutions

The Educational Planning and Management Department of Addis Ababa University, one of the oldest departments in this university (established in 1962), provides pre-service training in educational planning and management at the diploma and post-graduate levels. The department launched an MA in Human Resources and Organization Management in 2006 and a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy in 2007.

The department also organizes summer courses in educational planning and management for of� cers who cannot attend full-year courses. The students are sponsored by their respective REBs. In this regard, the head of the department emphasized that the university has a “good connection with the REBs”. A number of educational planners and managers from the MOE and the REBs have participated in these training programmes.

Regional universities – such as Debub University, Alemayay University and Mekele University – are also developing training programmes. Some focus on the training of heads of schools through distance training modes and others on education professionals working in REBs and WEOs, but these training programmes remain on a small scale.




39

Planners’ opinions on the ongoing training practices

From a general point of view, the planners met during the � eld study emphasized their appreciation of these different training programmes. In total, about 40 per cent of the planners consider these training programmes very relevant to the tasks they are expected to perform (see Graph 2.5). However, 34 per cent of them consider the programmes “relevant but only somewhat”.

At the woreda level, more than 12 per cent of the planners and managers who responded to the questionnaire considered the training received not relevant. These more negative results are probably related to the fact that the planners are not always consulted on their training needs, and that these programmes are therefore not adapted to their day-to-day activities. In addition, it seems that only a few follow-up studies are carried out on these programmes.

Graph 2.5 Appreciation expressed by the educational planners and managers of the relevance of the training they received to the tasks they are expected to perform (in percentage)


Training needs

In spite of the numerous training programmes carried out with educational planners and managers during these past few years, many people still need to be trained. Graph 2.5 shows, for instance, that nearly a third of REB staff had not received any training in educational planning and management. The continued need for training, notwithstanding the many courses and workshops, can be explained by several factors, in particular the fact that planners without the required quali� cations and professional experience are recruited to planning posts. In addition, planners at the different levels face a huge number of tasks to deal with, which increase in the context of decentralization and for which they are not necessarily trained. Finally, staff turn-over is high in Ethiopia, and thus the regular training of of� cers is required. This speci� c issue will be developed later.

44

56

42

25

4

29

44

35

12 9

43

34

7

15

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Very relevant Relevant, butonly somewhat

Not relevant No trainingreceived

MOE

REB

WEO

Total



40


Educational planners and managers met during the � eld study emphasized this lack of skills to ful� l their day-to-day activities and in particular, their lack of familiarity with these tasks. The tasks found to be the most dif� cult to complete were the following: strategic planning, data collection and analysis, projections and simulations, as well as project implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting. Box 1 provides some answers from the planners who responded to the questionnaire in this regard, which con� rm the feelings expressed by most of the planners during the discussions.

Box 1. Among the tasks for which you are responsible, which ones do you � nd the most dif� cult to complete?

“Planning is the most dif� cult task.”“Preparing a plan and reporting.”“Strategic planning preparation; budget estimation and monitoring; data collection.”“I have dif� culty in conducting good and effective strategic planning and obtaining real data.”“Educational planning and reporting educational tasks.”“Preparing the plan and evaluation.”“Projections and simulations.”“Gathering data from schools and preparing statistical abstracts.”“Collecting data.”“Developing new databases for various education issues.”“Because of limited experience, working on statistics is somewhat dif� cult.”


� Training programmes for educational planners and managers: main strengths and challenges

Strengths: • Several actors provide training for educational planners and managers: the MOE, external partners

and national and regional institutions.• Capacity development is a priority for the MOE and external partners.• Planners and managers highly appreciate the training programmes.

Challenges:• Training programmes lack regularity, frequency and continuity.• Of� cers are not always consulted about their training needs.• There is a lack of regional institutions offering training programmes at the diploma and undergraduate

levels. • Training programmes are not always evaluated after their implementation so as to measure their

impact on the development of capacities.• Training programmes are not always based on training needs or on well thought out development

plans elaborated by the REBs or MOE. At the REB level, 29% of the of� cers who replied to the questionnaires considered the training they received not relevant to their needs.




41

The civil service reform

As indicated in the previous section, several initiatives have been taken in the past few years to reform public sector management. The Civil Service Reform Program (CSRP) was introduced in 1998, in parallel with the � rst phase of decentralization to the regions. This programme was “designed to improve the ef� ciency, effectiveness and transparency of public institutions, while seeking to build on the bureaucracy’s reputation for discipline and compliance” (World Bank, 2005: 6). It included several components, one of which related to human resources management. However, as emphasized by the World Bank, the

implementation of the CSRP proved cumbersome, partly due to its attempt to plan the entire process and ‘get it right the � rst time,’ and partly because the executing of� ce was understaffed and over-controlled. (...) The important Human Resources Management component was virtually ignored. This created impatience and frustration within the civil service as well as in the public at large. This initial experience, combined with the capacity problems experienced in implementing the sector development programmes in health and education, not least at the regional level, changed the government’s approach to reform of public sector management. (World Bank, 2005: 6)

On the basis of this experience, in 2001 the government launched the National Capacity Building Program, and created the Ministry of Capacity Building in order “to provide policy directions, coordination and implementation support” in this regard (World Bank, 2005: 7).

In the context of the National Capacity Building Program, the focus for the education sector includes the following:

• “Education and training, including elementary education (quality of education, medium of instruction, � nance and administration);

• technical, vocational education and training: systemic and structural reforms to improve quality, and � nancial and administrative mechanisms;

• a similar strategy for higher education; and• civil service reform programmes focusing on expenditure management and control; human

resources development; service delivery; top management; ethics; revenue systems; and the justice sector”. (Watson, 2005: 4)

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is a key element of this programme:

BPR is an approach to achieving measurable performance improvements by fundamentally re-examining, rethinking and redesigning the processes that an organization uses to carry out its mission. BPR is about change management and will necessitate fundamental changes to existing processes and the creation of new ones. Reengineering will bring about comprehensive changes not only to processes but to management structures, people, regulations, information management etc. Developing a more service-oriented and outcome focused approach is a key aspect. BPR will involve the development of strategic plans for institutions/of� ces at all levels of the sector and will likely involve restructuring and reorganization. (Ministry of Education, 2007: 41)

The education sector was chosen as one of the pilot sectors to implement this reform. The internal structure of some regional and woreda of� ces was already revised in this framework. Some of� cers interviewed during the � eld study indicated that they had been consulted in this regard. Training programmes were undertaken on strategic planning and � nancial management. As the reform was still under implementation, it is too soon to evaluate its impact on the management of education of� ces or the capacity development of educational planners and managers.



42


2.2 Organizational arrangementsThis section analyses the way in which the political and administrative linkages between the different layers (federal government, regional states, the woredas, the kebele, and the education bureaux and of� ces) play a role in the process of planning and managing the education system in Ethiopia.

Political linkages

From the political decision-making point of view, the federal government, regional councils, woreda councils and kebele councils are autonomous bodies that have distinct responsibilities regarding the development of education within their own respective areas of competence. They approve education sector development plans and programmes, and decide on the budgets of the education bureaux and of� ces for which they are responsible.

The federal MOE develops a framework for the national targets in consultation with the REBs for the development of education, which are shared with the other autonomous bodies such as regional governments, woredas and kebeles, which in turn set their own targets, based on local conditions. The regions have full authorization to implement education policy in their respective areas. Nevertheless, the policy decisions at this level of government must be made within the general framework set by the federal government – as per the proposals made by the federal Ministry of Education with regard to the sector development strategy and targets, norms and standards.

Likewise, the other lower levels of government must take decisions that comply with the general framework of the federal government policy. Since these various bodies have the responsibility of setting budgets, recruiting the required personnel, as well as building and equipping educational institutions, a strong leadership is required for each of them in order to ensure the success of such a policy.

The REBs and WEOs are headed by senior civil servants (in general, a senior education of� cer) appointed by the political branches of the regional or woreda governing board (council). Ideally, these of� cers should have political and technical skills, so as to negotiate and communicate with the government at each level, as well as develop, implement and monitor the education policy in the region/woreda. However, as noticed during the � eld studies, such combined requirements are rare and heads of of� ces seldom have this ideal pro� le. Indeed, several criteria are taken into account in the appointment to this position: (a) minimum quali� cation requirements; (b) the person should be from the nationality or ethnic group of the woreda; and (c) the woreda education head should be loyal to the party governing the woreda. The criterion of minimum quali� cations is often given less importance in the appointment process, in comparison with political considerations. This has three implications: as far as possible, speci� c attention should be given to the technical skills of heads of of� ces; they should receive training in this regard, in particular in educational planning and management; in such a context, the role of planners as technical advisors to the political heads becomes even more crucial.

Administrative linkages

Vertical relations within the education administration

From the administrative and technical linkage angle, the REBs answer to the federal MOE, while the woreda or zonal education of� ces are in turn answerable to the regional bureaux. The WEOs supervise the technical work of the kebele of� ces.




43

The national Programme Implementation Manual (PIM) indicates that the steering committee for the Education Sector Development Plans (ESDP), whose members are from the federal Ministry of Education and regional bureaux, has overall responsibility and accountability for the implementation of programmes in the regional states. This inter-linkage between the federal Ministry and the REB ensures coherence between the sector development targets set at the national level and the regional targets which embed regional characteristics in the regional plans.

In most REBs, meetings are organized with the heads of WEOs, with a regularity that differs from one region to the other – either yearly (for example, Addis), twice a year (for example, Afar and Gambela), or quarterly (for example, Tigray). In SNNPR, it was indicated that one zone education bureau organizes meetings with WEOs every three months. During these meetings, “each WEO or sub-city education administration presents its own report, and shows the strengths and weaknesses”, as indicated by a REB head. Issues and concerns in education are discussed during these meetings; the objective is to seek consensus on the many issues discussed. These meetings are highly appreciated by the WEO staff members who attend them; they consider this a useful tool for sharing experiences. The skills of planners in negotiating, coordinating and consensus building are critical to the success of these meetings.

At the national level, Annual Review Meetings (ARMs) and Joint Review Missions (JRMs) are organized by the planning department of the federal MOE. ARMs gather the planners working at this level with the REB heads. Financial partners join them during the JRMs, which are organized once a year. These are two tools used to monitor the implementation of the Education Sector Development Program (ESDP). JRMs focus on a speci� c theme, while ARMs monitor the achievement of national targets. The outcomes of the JRMs are presented at the ARMs. These meetings are part of a mechanism set up for monitoring progress and identifying implementation problems. However, a number of woreda and REB educational of� cers who attended these meeting expressed the view that they did not focus on their particular problems and did not help in their recurrent problems of adjusting their own plans and aligning them with the national plan objectives.

It should be mentioned here that although these meetings are used to coordinate and monitor the planning and implementation of the national education policy agenda, the upper level of the administration has no direct authority over the lower levels of administration – that is, the head of the planning unit at the federal level cannot sanction a non-performing head of the planning unit at the REB level. Similarly, the head of the planning unit at the REB cannot sanction the planners at the woreda level. The upper level of the administration can make recommendations only to the head of the governing bodies responsible for the non-performing planning of� cers, or any of� cers, and it is up to these bodies to decide what to do in such cases of non-performance.

Horizontal relations within public administration

There are also inter-administrative relations at each level, between the education administration and the � nance and economic arms of the governments. The relations between the WEOs and the Woreda Finance and Economic Department (WOFED) were particularly emphasized during the case study. Thus, while for technical matters the WEOs are answerable to the REB, for resource and budget management they rely entirely on the WOFED. At this level, a � nancial pool system was put in place by the woreda administration in all the regions, so as to manage more ef� ciently the � nancial resources of the woreda for all sectors, including education, and in particular:

• to help woredas bene� t from the economies of scale when buying supplies in bulk for the technical services (putting together the purchasing requests from several departments) during the procurement processes;



44


• to better use the limited quali� ed � nancial managers available at the woreda level (in many woredas there is a real scarcity of people who have an accounting and � nancial background).

The education of� ce therefore has to harmonize its procurement plan with the activities of the pool.

Although the � nancial and human resources may be in too short supply to satisfy all the needs, an ef� cient use of the available resources will help improve educational services delivery. However, the discussions held with the WEOs and with the WOFED during the � eld visits for this work reveal a deep miscomprehension between the two bodies involved in the � nancial management at this level of public administration.

The WEO claimed that the pool system is not friendly to the education sector as their requests are not met by the pools in a timely fashion. They expressed the view that the pool managers being placed under the responsibility of different ministries – among them, education – did not respond promptly to their demands. In addition, it was emphasized several times that teachers had to attend the woreda administration on school days to get their salaries paid.

On the other hand, of� cials from a � nancial pool visited by the research team stated the view that the problem with the education sector is that the WEOs do not usually prepare their procurement plans suf� ciently ahead of time for the pool to treat their requests in a timely manner. They explained that many WEOs sent purchase requests for a number of items to the pool one day and demanded that the items be purchased the next day without going through the normal procurement procedures imposed on them. The � nancial pool also mentioned that the lack of immediately available � nancial resources constituted a constraint to responding to the requests of the various sectors at the same time. In addition, the WEOs did not put a procurement plan in place well in advance.

The pool managers recognized the need to better collaborate with the education sector, and emphasized the need to support this sector in better planning the procurement of necessary items. The pool visited was currently testing an experience with a system of mobile teams visiting cluster schools on schedule for the payment of teachers who lived in remote areas; they intended to generalize the system once the test had been validated.

The issue of accountability to the public

The review of the political and administrative structures shows that the education administrations at all levels of the system are answerable to the political bodies that have the authority to appoint and evaluate the head of educational administrative units under their respective jurisdiction. However, our analysis did not focus on the relationship between the political bodies and the general public. It is true that in a democratic society, elections provide an opportunity for the people to judge the work accomplished by politicians during their mandates. Nevertheless, in Ethiopia as elsewhere, elections alone may not be suf� cient to convey to politicians the opinions of the public on their performance in a speci� c sector. Neither do elections allow easily for a process of communication between those in charge of the school network and those who bene� t from this service, namely the parents. As a result, the election process may not put much immediate pressure on the educational decision-makers.

It may be worth considering regular meetings between the public and the decision-makers in the � eld of education, where the education system’s plan and performance can be discussed with the public and where comparisons can be made between woredas, kebeles and schools within a region or woreda. Such meetings may help a broad audience of policy-makers, legislators, media and civil society and parents’ groups to understand and interpret the role played by education planners and managers. It is in such meetings that these constituents can engage the policy-makers, holding




45

them accountable for the education system’s performance in improving access, quality and equity. Public reporting of plans and information about progress may allow civil society organizations and the public to assess the commitment of the decision-makers. This may lead, among other things, to greater emphasis being placed on the importance of appointing quali� ed planners and administrators to the woreda and regional education bureaux.

2.3 Technical environment

Computing facilities and IT skills

Despite the quickly evolving situation at the regional level due to multiple sources of funding, a general assessment of the existence of computing facilities and IT skills can be considered as follows: the level of equipment is very disparate and needs to be standardized. Some regions bene� t from recent infrastructure (such as Amhara and Oromia), while others are using a nine- to ten-year-old park (or system) (such as Tigray). Yet all encounter problems of organization and maintenance, such as viruses, a lack of network administration, machines being used simultaneously for training and data processing, different departments sharing the same network, and so on.

The research team noticed important differences in the computing facilities available at the federal, regional and woreda levels, an observation that was con� rmed by the planners who responded to the questionnaire (Graph 2.6):

• At the federal level, the MOE is well equipped with computers in nearly all the of� ces. All the planners who responded to the questionnaire have their own computer or share one with a colleague. A training centre equipped with 12 computers (that were seven years old but functioning well) at the MOE is used for basic training and has an Internet access point.

• The REBs seem to be well equipped overall, and only 12 per cent of the planners who responded to the questionnaire indicated that they do not have access to computers for performing their work. The research team noticed during the � eld visits that, generally, the head of the REB’s of� ce is well equipped with computers, printers, fax and telephone, even in remote regions such as Afar. Some of them are even equipped with a television.

� Organizational arrangements: main strengths and challenges

Strengths: • Existence of a framework to harmonize and coordinate plans and strategies, as well as to monitor

the implementation at various levels.• Meetings are regularly organized between the different levels, which aim at facilitating the sharing

of experiences.

Challenges:• The higher level of administration cannot impose sanctions on failing woreda education of� ces;• Lack of speci� c competencies of planners at the federal level to assist those at the regional and

woreda levels. • Limitations in the effective use of the woreda � nancial management pool system arising from a

staff shortage and the absence of a harmonized procurement plan. • Meetings between the different levels of the education administration should include special

sessions focusing on the analysis of particular problems facing the planning and mangement of the REB and woreda of� ces. Such sessions will lead to better sharing of information.



46


• The situation is more worrying at the woreda level, where 56 per cent of planners do not have access to computers. The level of equipment at the WEO level is very different from one of� ce to the other. The following two examples are useful to illustrate this situation: in one WEO of the Afar region, the planners indicated: “we put in the plan document the data collected from each school and analyse it (number of repeaters, drop-outs, enrolment ...). We calculate manually, with a calculator, as we don’t have a computer”. In contrast, a WEO in the Addis Ababa region was very well-equipped with a new computer, a printer, a photocopier and a television. However, the � rst example seems to be more frequent than the second. Several planners emphasized this lack of IT tools as a key challenge, or even the main challenge, they face in undertaking their day-to-day activities.

Graph 2.6 Educational planners and managers who have at their disposal a computer to perform their work (in percentage)


Another key problem is related to the lack of IT skills: when of� ces are provided with computers and other tools, the of� cers frequently do not know how to use them. In the Oromia region, the statisticians of some WEOs were trained to undertake the data collection. Yet overall, the level of skills at this level is very low and data entry is still being organized at the regional level (with a lot of basic equipment problems). This situation is worsened by the shortage, in most WEOs, of IT professionals able to develop programmes and adapt the data base to the needs of the information users.

Connectivity to the Internet

Overall, the access of planners to the Internet is low, with differences between the federal, regional and woreda levels. Most of the planners working at the federal level mentioned having access to the Internet (Graph 2.7). All Regional Education Bureaux (as well as some zones and woredas) are supposed to have access to the Internet. However, half of the regional planners who responded to the questionnaire mentioned that they do not have Internet access.

89

11

62

27

12 15

29

56

42

26 32

0102030405060708090

100

A computerdedicated to me

A computer that Ishare with my

colleagues

No computer

MOE

REB

WEO

Total




47

Graph 2.7 Planners with access to the Internet in their of� ce (in percentage)


A key issue, then, is the one related to the use of the Internet for work. Quite logically, we notice the same differences between each level in this regard (Graph 2.8). However, it appears that not all of the planners at the federal level who have access to the Internet use it for their work.

Graph 2.8 Planners who use the Internet for work at the federal, regional and woreda levels (in percentage)


78

22

48 52

5

95

29

71

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Acces to Internet No access to Internet

MOE

REB

WEO

Total

67

33

50 50

9

91

0102030405060708090

100

I use Internet for my work I don't use Internet for my work

MOE

REB

WEO



48


These problems are related to the level of connection to the Internet within the country, and in particular at the woreda level, where it is very low (5 per cent). For the time being, the cost of a permanent connection for setting up a reliable and ef� cient system that would allow remote sites to access a centralized database is not affordable. The ongoing Woreda Net Project aims at delivering video conferencing, web services, IP telephony and messaging at the federal, regional and woreda level of government. There is also the School Net Project, which is speci� c to the education sector. However, information on implementation progress has been rather dif� cult to obtain. According to an Ethiopia Telecommunications Corporation declaration, the coming months will see an increase in upgrading projects (through Sudan and Djibouti terrestrial connection) which appear very promising in terms of decreasing connection costs.

In addition to the problem of Internet connectivity, a key challenge consists of getting people to use the Internet in their work and getting organizations to promote the use of the tool for this purpose.

Logistics and other material resources

Logistics are a major concern for many educational planners and supervisors, in particular those working at the woreda level.

An important step in the education management process is preparation for the beginning of the school year. This implies the programming of the required inputs (school facilities, textbook supplies, provision of teachers, and so on). This programming exercise has to be based on reliable school enrolment projection data as well as other education data. Unfortunately, in Ethiopia, as in many other developing countries, population projections are unreliable as they are based on an outdated population census for which data are not disaggregated by WEO. Two other factors play a role in this regard: rapid population growth and the creation of new woredas.

In the absence of reliable local population data, the estimates for the following school year intakes are based on data collected by the heads of the schools in the school catchment area. Every year, after the school year has begun, the school heads and the school management committee presidents visit the families in their catchment areas in order to collect the names of all children aged six. These children (whose parents claim them to be six years old) are expected to register in school during the following school year and therefore they represent the new intake for the coming school year. These data, as well as other data on student � ow rates (repetition, promotion and drop out) within the school system, are used by the schools for preparing their plan for the following year. They are also transmitted to the WEO and REB for the same purpose. This process is essential for the regional and woreda levels, which have to determine the number of new teachers required and classrooms to be built, as well as the required equipment and textbooks.

Unfortunately, not all schools are able to provide the valuable intake data projections to their respective woredas, because a good number of WEOs lack a reliable communication system and good means of transportation for the school supervisors. Furthermore, when data are provided, they are not checked by the supervisors at the school level before they are forwarded to the WEO. The implication for the planning exercise is that plans and programmes are based on unreliable or incomplete sets of data. It was reported on several occasions by school supervisors at the woreda level that they are not able to visit in a year all the schools for which they are responsible because of transportation problems. Two or three school supervisors very often share the same motorbike, or have to use their own salaries to pay for transportation fees in order to visit schools. The lack of transportation is considered by many education planners and supervisors as one of the most discouraging factors in accomplishing their activities. For example, in Benishangul Gumuz, the




49

distance from the REB to one woreda is 840 km; there is no shortcut and some schools are more than 100 km away from the WEO.

Another problem relating to material resources is the overall equipment of of� ces. While the federal MOE and most of the REBs are generally provided with suf� cient – and good – resources, this is not the case for WEOs. These of� ces often lack even basic equipment or are provided with old equipment .

2.4 Motivation and retention of educational planners and managers

Factors of motivation and lack of motivation

Several factors were emphasized by the planners interviewed during the � eld study as playing a key role in their motivation at work.

Factors of motivation

Many of the of� cers pointed out that their salaries and fringe bene� ts are not enough to allow them a decent living. They believe that salaries and bene� ts are key incentives. However, recognizing that the current economic situation in the country may not allow the government to raise signi� cantly the salaries of civil servants, these planners and managers emphasized other determining factors of motivation that are not of a � nancial nature. One planner working at the woreda level said: “Non-salary incentives are very important for me in my job and are more important than the salary.” Several planners placed high emphasis on recognition of their work and performance. Some of� cers emphasized the impact on their motivation of their supervisor’s oral recognition of their good work. The positive evaluation of their of� ce’s performance – for instance, a certi� cate of good performance to the education sector, given by the zone or the region – can play a role in this regard.

The staff’s work and performance recognition has an even more important impact on their motivation when it is taken into account and used for further promotion, as emphasized by a regional planner: “Before coming here I worked in a WEO. I did a good job and then was promoted at the region. My work was recognized. This motivates me.”

� Technical environment: main strengths and challenges

Strengths: • Many of� ces have some basic equipment, including some IT equipment.• The potential use of IT for professional improvement is being recognized.• Many planners have access to the Internet, though there are signifcant differences between the

federal, regional and woreda levels.

Challenges: • The level of IT equipment is very disparate within the country and needs to be standardized.• In most WEOs, there is a shortage of ICT professionals who are able to develop programmes and

adapt the database to the needs of the information users. • There is a lack of sustainability of provision and maintenance of hardware and software for the

planning departments.• For a good number of WEOs, there is a lack of a reliable communication system and of good means

of transportation for the school supervisors.



50


Other factors related to human resources management were emphasized as playing a key role in the motivation of educational planners and managers. These include the existence of a clear job description, training opportunities for planners to improve their skills, and the opportunity for planners to participate in meetings within and outside their of� ce. The planners who responded to the questionnaire highly appreciated the meetings organized within their of� ce: 55 per cent of them consider these meetings useful and 39 per cent very useful (Graph 2.9). They consider these meetings as helpful tools to share experiences with colleagues, and to be informed of their of� ce’s activities. According to most of the planners interviewed, such meetings are organized regularly within of� ces. For instance, planning department meetings take place on a monthly basis at the federal MOE. In several WEOs, weekly meetings are organized with the department heads, as well as monthly meetings with all the staff.

Graph 2.9 Educational planners and managers’ appreciation of the usefulness of staff meetings organized in their department (in percentage)


More generally, the decentralized context seems to contribute to the motivation of of� cers working at the regional, zonal and woreda levels. The of� cers working at these levels of the administration see themselves as important contributors to positive changes taking place in their respective, autonomous organization. They believe their work is more focused on achieving concrete development objectives and they directly witness the results of their activities on the ground. In contrast, at the federal level, the high degree of autonomy of the regional and district levels does not necessarily meet the agreement of all the planners who feel a certain sense of powerlessness in relation to their colleagues at these decentralized levels, especially the REB level. They sometimes feel detached from the reality as they are not directly involved in the implementation of the education development programmes, and also because they do not seem to be quali� ed enough to support, train and guide those of� cers working in regional of� ces. Indeed, as emphasized by some planners working at this level: “Our mandate is to build the capacities of the lower levels, but the capacities that we have are not better than the ones that they have. The regions have more possibilities to build capacities than the federal level.”

The general interest of the population in education also seems to play a role in this regard. The interest of the elected bodies for education was stressed in several cases. Educational planners and

Not useful

6%

Useful 55%

Very useful 39%




51

managers are encouraged by the general enthusiasm that policy-makers and the entire community demonstrate for educational development.

Factors with a negative impact on planners’ and managers’ motivation

Several factors are considered as having an inhibiting effect on education professionals in Ethiopia. Many planners complained in particular about the heavy workload stemming from the quarterly and annual reports that they must prepare for internal and external consumption (for their own of� ces, for the line ministries such as Regional Finance Bureaux and for donors, especially those that do not give direct budget support). This was above and beyond all the other tasks that they have to deal with at the different levels (data collection and analysis, the development of partnerships with different kinds of actors, monitoring and evaluation, and so on). Those most quali� ed in planning are often too overloaded with work to counter other planners’ lack of skills.

The dif� cult working environment, expressed in terms of a lack of of� ce equipment and communication systems such as computers, telephones and the Internet, in particular for EMIS experts and statisticians, was ranked highly during the discussions on factors contributing to the lack of motivation. A lack of transport (vehicles to get to schools they supervise) constitutes another obstacle for the planners to perform their work ef� ciently and to ful� l their mission. For example, a planner working at the woreda level expressed the following: “It is a hard working place compared to the zone. We have no means of transport. Communities need help but we do not have the resources to support them.”

Another complaint from planners met during the � eld study is related to the pro� le of the of� ce heads. As already emphasized, the criterion of minimum quali� cations is often given less importance in the appointment process for heads of of� ces compared to political considerations. This creates problems when the politically motivated appointees have little knowledge of and experience in the education sector. Some of the planners met during the study complained about this situation. They viewed their heads of of� ces as lacking in knowledge about their work and therefore not able to appreciate and evaluate properly: “If the head is less quali� ed than the person being evaluated, he will not identify the problems. I receive no comments from my boss. My views are respected but without sharp scrutiny because they lack capacity.”

The lack of support was also presented by many planners as a real challenge. For instance, one WEO of� cer said to the research team:

I was before a teacher in secondary school, got my diploma in educational planning and management and was then promoted to this of� ce. I received no assistance, no orientation from the beginning. I requested training and only got one week’s training, as well as documents. I will change position soon to be a TVET expert in this of� ce. I am happy to leave this post because it is dif� cult to plan if you have only received some basic training many years ago. If you are assisted it is good; otherwise, it is too dif� cult.

Moreover, and as already emphasized, a common complaint among all the planners is that “the right person is not in the right position” – that, for example, the pro� le of of� cers (their quali� cations and professional experience) is not taken into account enough in the recruitment process. This contributes to the planners’ overall lack of motivation for two reasons: � rstly, they know that their quali� cations, good work and performance will not automatically be taken into account in the recruitment process; and secondly, they work with people who do not have the adequate pro� le for the post.



52


These factors contribute overall to the planners’ motivation, or lack thereof, in their day-to-day activities and in ful� lling their mission. They also in� uence retention in the profession.

Staff turnover

Identi� ed in previous evaluation studies as a major problem (IIEP, 2005; Watson, 2005), staff turnover remains a signi� cant threat to sustainable capacity development, according to different actors interviewed during this study. The problem is not restricted to the education sector, as it concerns the whole public sector. While it is not clear whether this phenomenon is stronger in the education sector than in other public sectors, it is a major problem for the education sector. An assessment undertaken by USAID for the BESO II project in 2005 showed that of the total number of education of� cers trained by USAID in the sampled woredas, 28 per cent had left their of� ce within one year, or less than a year, after the training (USAID/BESO II, 2005). Another assessment conducted in 2007 indicated that 50.9 per cent of the trained woreda education of� cers from the sampled woredas had left the WEOs (USAID/BEP, 2007).

Several of the planners met during the � eld study were new in their positions at the time of the survey. This was con� rmed by the planners’ responses in the questionnaire concerning the number of years spent in their current position: as shown in Graph 2.10, nearly 60 per cent of the planners in the sample had been in their post for less than three years. However, to be relevant, these results should be analysed in the light of the current administrative structure’s duration (some woredas had been created only recently).

� Factors motivating and demotivating educational planners and managers

Factors for motivation: • increased salaries and bene� ts;• recognition of their work and performance;• existence of a clear job description;• the possibility of attending regular training sessions, relevant to their day-to-day activities; • meetings within and outside of� ces; • for planners working at the regional and woreda levels, the decentralization framework and

increased responsibilities at the local level;• the population’s general motivation for education.

Factors for demotivation:• low salaries; • a heavy workload; • lack of resources, poor working environment; • lack of proper supervision and support; • lack of training;• quali� cations, professional experience, good work and performance are not always taken into

account for promotion.




53

Graph 2.10 Educational planners and managers’ number of years of experience in their current post (in percentage)


How often education professionals change their jobs was also investigated in this study. There is a high tendency for them to change jobs regularly and this is re� ected in Graph 2.11. The graph shows that in total nearly 60 per cent of the planners had already tried to obtain another post since occupying their present post (a post that 63 per cent had occupied for less than three years, as shown in the graph above). The situation is quite different when the data are analysed separately, however. At the regional level, 64 per cent of the planners had not yet tried to obtain another post. Planners at the federal and woreda levels are the most inclined to change positions. Evidently, the high proportion of planners who tried to change jobs can be taken as an indicator of their level of dissatisfaction with their current positions.

67

33

68

12 8

59

24

8

63

21

7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Less than 3 years 4 to 6 years 7 to 9 years

MOE

REB

WEO

Total



54


Graph 2.11 Educational planners and managers who had already tried to obtain another post since their appointment to their current post (in percentage)


The level of staff turnover may have several possible explanations. At the different levels, of� cers may be appointed according to political considerations, while less importance is given to their quali� cations and professional experience, or the of� ce’s institutional memory and needs. This may lead to a situation where of� cers remain in their position for only a short period of time. Another consequence is the dissatisfaction of some of� cers with such practices, which disregard the professional pro� le. They may therefore prefer to leave the sector for another one where their professional pro� le would be more recognized. The factors that contribute to staff motivation, or the lack thereof, also play a role in staff turnover. The following factors were particularly emphasized in this regard:

• civil servants’ low salary levels; • the many vacant posts and the ensuing heavy workload for some planning staff; • the poor working environment (lack of � nancial and material resources);• the lack of supervision and support from the hierarchy;• the lack of career perspectives.

Some remote regions and districts are also unattractive to highly quali� ed professionals who prefer to seek employment in the regional centres or in the capital city.

11

44 44

9 5

23

64

11

32 30 27

9

21

29

41

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Tried to obtain apost within the

same office

Tried to obtain apost within the

education sector

Tried to obtain apost outside ofthe education

sector

Did not try toobtain another

post

MOE

REB

WEO

Total



55

3 Strengths and challenges of educational planning and management in Ethiopia

3.1 StrengthsSeveral strong points characterize the educational planning and management system in Ethiopia; they are developed below.

The study demonstrates that the educational planning and management system is well established, with the responsibilities of each level clearly identi� ed and well known by all planners and managers in the country, whether they are working at the federal, regional, zonal or woreda levels. Most of the of� cers met during the � eld study, even those with little experience in planning, were able to present the different steps of the planning process in a comprehensive manner, starting from the schools down to the federal level, as well as the articulation between each level. Each WEO visited was able to present to the research team its strategic plan and yearly operational plan. According to some senior education of� cers encountered in REBs and WEOs, this was not the case � ve years ago in the majority of the woredas. At that time, almost all the planning activities were conducted at the regional and federal levels. This appears to be con� rmed by the fact that during the � eld survey the research team could not consult the plans prepared by WEOs � ve years ago, as these were not available.

Overall, it appears therefore that the decentralized context contributes to the strengths of the system. This framework seems to facilitate the decision-making process at the local level, especially in such a big country. It is particularly well accepted by the of� cers working at the regional and local levels, who feel more autonomous.

Regular meetings and workshops are organized at different levels in order to consolidate and harmonize the planning activities within the education sector. This includes meetings:

• within of� ces;• at each level between the governing councils and the education administration;• at the regional level between the REB and WEO heads;• at the national level between the planners working at the federal level and REB heads in Annual

Review Meetings (ARMs) and during Joint Review Missions (JRMs), with the involvement of development partners.

Such meetings allow coordination between each level, help provide coherence between the different plans, and ensure regular monitoring to check the compliance of these plans with the national standards, as well as their achievements.

At the federal level, strong leadership from the MOE’s planning department enables the coordination of development agencies and funding partners in the framework of the Capacity Building Task Force for Education (chaired by the MOE’s head of the planning department). This department also helps to foster links between the national planning and programming activities, with the same activities at the regional and woreda levels. Important in this regard are the ARMs and JRMs, which are attended by the major stakeholders in education development in Ethiopia.



56


The strong support of external partners for educational planning and management activities contributed to strengthening the role of planning and the importance of capacity development in this area. Such support is manifested through the participation of external partners in the Task Force on Capacity Building, as well as in the funding and implementation of training activities in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

The human resources management of civil servants, and therefore of educational planners and managers, is characterized by recent positive improvements. As emphasized above, more transparency was introduced in the recruitment of education of� cers, as vacant posts are now being announced on notice boards or through local or administrative newspapers. Regular evaluations of of� cers are also supposed to be conducted by heads of departments on the basis of each individual’s plan, which allows for a more objective evaluation. The educational planners and managers whom we met within the framework of this case study appreciate these changes.

The commitment of the federal and regional governments to the development of education in the country, as well as the general enthusiasm of the population, is also a strength of the Ethiopian education sector, which contributes to the motivation of educational planners and managers in undertaking their mission.

3.2 ChallengesThe � eld study con� rmed some challenges in educational planning and management that had already been � agged by previous studies, and also identi� ed some others. The challenges for Ethiopia’s educational planning and management are as follows:

Challenge 1: The high turnover of educational planners and managers

Staff turnover is a key challenge for educational planning and management in Ethiopia, as it contributes to the lack of institutional memory in planning positions. Another consequence is a sense that the training programmes undertaken so far are wasted, as the planners who are trained often leave for other positions, frequently outside the education sector.

Challenge 2: The lack of skills among educational planners and managers

Overall, it appears from the case study that many educational planners and managers have limited technical skills in planning – skills that are needed to undertake their mission and tasks ef� ciently. The of� cers themselves emphasized that the tasks they � nd the most dif� cult to complete are strategic planning, data collection and analysis, projections, simulations and EMIS. The high staff turnover, together with the inadequate pro� le of the educational planners and managers recruited to � ll these positions, as well as the lack of consultation on their training needs, help to explain this situation. One consequence is that the most quali� ed planners are given a large workload to counter the problem of other planners’ lack of skills.

Adequate planning capacity at all levels is required for the interpretation of policies and for the collection, analysis and usage of education data for monitoring the implementation of plans and programmes. The following paragraphs examine in detail the skills needed at each level.

Federal level

Analytical and interpretative skills are required the most by planning of� cers at the federal level as they are in charge of setting the national norms and standards, ensuring there is coherence between regional education development objectives and the national goals, and harmonizing



Strengths and challenges of educational planning and management in Ethiopia

57

government and development partners’ procedures with regard to planning, implementing and reporting. Of� cers at the federal level are also responsible for assisting the REBs in designing and monitoring regional plans and programmes through the annual review meetings and other regular contacts, and therefore they need competencies in this regard – especially pedagogical and interpersonal skills. Skills in communication, negotiation and the development of partnerships are also needed at this level as planners are increasingly being invited to work with a wide range of actors, in particular external partners and local-level actors.

Regional level

At this level, the planning of� cers at the REBs need to possess the technical competencies necessary for planning the medium-term plans of the bureau in coordination with the national sector strategic development plan, and monitoring implementation and reporting on the progress. They also need analytical skills to identify the problems raised by the education information management system in their regions and to suggest corrective measures to policy-makers or decision-makers on time. This implies that the planning departments have a well-performing EMIS unit and also that planners have pedagogical and interpersonal skills to train and advise staff at the woredas.

Expertise in curriculum development and textbook production and distribution is also required at the REBs, given their responsibilities in providing teaching guides and textbooks for the students at primary and secondary schools in the region.

Woreda level

At the woreda level, planners lack competencies in data collection and analysis, projection and simulation. The Pool System for the management of � nancial resources at the woreda level also requires competencies in preparing a budget and planning ahead of time to ensure the necessary supplies and equipment for schools are delivered before the beginning of the school year. As they are the actors who are closest to the kebeles and schools – being responsible for training kebele education of� cers; recruiting, training and deploying teachers and head teachers; and supporting the kebele of� ces – they need skills in planning, data collection, reporting and supervision.

Challenge 3: Educational planning and management is given less importance in some locations

The post of planners, in particular those related to statistics or EMIS, does not seem to be recognized systematically as a permanent position in speci� c locations. This is based on the mistaken impression that EMIS does not take a lot of time and does not demand attention the whole year through. In several cases, people without the required quali� cations in this area are recruited to this position.

In some woredas, planning activities are carried out by any of� cer appointed by the of� ce head to collect data, whether or not this person has been trained and is competent to do so.

Challenge 4: Educational planners and managers do not always have an adequate pro� le for the post

As emphasized in the report, educational planners and managers do not always have an adequate pro� le for the post. There are several potential reasons for this, such as the lack of quali� ed professionals in some locations and the appointment of of� cers without due attention to their technical pro� le. This contributes to a lack of ef� ciency among the recruited planners who do not



58


have an adequate pro� le, as well as to a feeling of discouragement among those who do have the quali� cations and experience for the post. In addition, the former seldom receive training when they are recruited and are usually not consulted on their training needs. Another consequence, as already mentioned, is the impact this has on the workload of those of� cers who have an adequate pro� le for the post plus the required skills.

Challenge 5: The appointment of of� ce heads does not always take into consideration their professional quali� cations and experience in education

Another problem is related to the fact that the appointment of heads of of� ces does not always take into consideration their professional quali� cations and experience in education. People without knowledge of the education sector are appointed to head the REBs or WEOs. This creates several problems, in particular, a lack of motivation among education of� cers who may feel more experienced than their bosses and who cannot receive the relevant support and guidance from their head in their day-to-day activities.

Challenge 6: The dif� cult management of the pool system of � nance

Almost all the planners at the woreda level complained about delays in the procurement of educational materials and supplies due to non-adaptation of the pool system’s rules to that needed for many education operational activities, while the education sector represents the most important component of the budget managed by the pool at the woreda level.

Challenge 7: The poor working environment

As emphasized in the report, many planners do not have enough resources to implement their tasks (transport, IT equipment or other material resources). This problem is particularly evident at the woreda level.

Challenge 8: Demand by the bene� ciaries and users of education services for quality plans and their implementation in the regions and woredas

The study investigated the extent to which the work of educational planners and managers is assessed and appreciated. Most of the international development partners are supportive in requesting good plans and plan implementation at all levels of the system so that their contribution to education development leads to sustainable achievement in the sector. Discussion with several of their representatives indicated their strong commitment to the development of capacity in planning and management in the education sector.

The MOE is the main user of education plans and has strongly demonstrated its support for good planning and management in the education sector. The funding provided to the planning department and the support given to other entities involved in educational planning and management re� ects the degree of importance attached to this. This should also be accompanied by pressure on those who are involved in the related activities to provide quality products and services. The challenge here is how to make quality control an integral part of plan evaluation and implementation.

At the woreda and regional levels, although in principle � rst priority is given to education, the budget allocation to the sectors seldom has a speci� c line for capacity development in planning and management. From the many discussions held with the heads of WEOs that there was little serious concern about the quality and reliability of the data contained in their strategic plans. Some of the plans used hypotheses and assumptions that were completely unrealistic, and some heads of of� ce were not particularly concerned about improving these plans.



Strengths and challenges of educational planning and management in Ethiopia

59

The political bodies at the woreda level, as well the population at large, must be the ones to require quality plans and quality management from the of� cers in charge of the education of their children. Thus, there is a major challenge to inform these actors of their role as forces for pressure to ensure that capacity is developed in their areas.

� Main strengths and challenges of educational planning and management in Ethiopia

Strengths:• The Ethiopian Government’s clear commitment to the development of capacity at the federal,

regional and woreda levels. • The strong commitment of the development partners to support capacity development in the

education sector. • The commitment of the federal and regional governments to educational development in the

country.• The recent improvements in human resources management, in particular concerning the recruitment

and evaluation of professionals.• The decentralized framework is well known and accepted throughout the country, and contributes

to the motivation of education professionals working at the local levels.• The population’s enthusiasm for education.

Challenges:• The high turnover of educational planners and managers.• The shortage of skills among educational planners and managers.• The planning function is given little importance in some locations.• Educational planners and managers do not always have an adequate pro� le for the post.• The appointment of heads of of� ces does not always take into consideration their professional

quali� cations and experience in education.• The lack of appreciation of the pool system of � nances by many WOEs.• The poor working environment.• The lack of demand by the bene� ciaries of education services for quality plans and their

implementation.



60

4 Strategies to develop the capacities of educational planners and managers in Ethiopia

This � nal chapter attempts to outline the possible elements of a strategy to address the main challenges identi� ed in the previous chapters and which will build upon the strengths observed in the system of planning and managing education in Ethiopia. These strategies will comprise short-, medium- and long-term components. It must be noted, however, that some of the challenges or constraints need only a short-term strategy, while others may need medium- and long-term strategies.

The high turnover of professional staff is a major, and perhaps the most important, challenge for the sector. This has several consequences, in particular inhibiting progress towards strengthening and maintaining capacities in educational planning and management. The following paragraphs identify several strategies to be implemented in the short, medium and long term and which could contribute to solving the problem.

Short-term strategy• Training activities have been the backbone of most of the initiatives taken in the country to

develop capacities and these should be maintained. However, they should be more systematic, based on the training needs identi� ed by the participants, and guided by a comprehensive strategy that focuses on educational planning and management. The planners at the central level must improve their competencies in the very short term to enable them to assist planners in the regions and woredas. The heads of of� ces at each level should be able to assess the training needs of their staff and elaborate appropriate strategies for each training activity, for example through close collaboration with the upper level of administration, national and regional universities, or external partners. These training activities should be part of an overall package of interventions aimed at developing capacities. Indeed, several studies have shown that while training is certainly a key strategy for developing capacities, it cannot do so in isolation. It should be implemented in parallel with interventions in other areas, such as human resources management, improvement in the organizational set-up and management of the institution or of� ce; such combined efforts would have a higher impact on the development of capacities.

• Another key strategy to be implemented in the short term is the development of an information system on staff turnover, by region and woreda. While high staff turnover is a problem throughout the country, it is quite dif� cult to obtain accurate information on its level of importance in general, by sector, as well as per level (for example, the federal, regional or woreda level). Such information is crucial in order for the adoption of measures well suited to the problem.

� Challenges 1 and 2:

• The high turnover of educational planners and managers• The lack of skilled of� cers



Strategies to develop the capacities of educational planners and managers in Ethiopia

61

• Concerning human resources management, the ongoing work of the BPR regarding staff evaluation procedures should be strengthened and systematized at all levels of the administration. Evaluation should be transparent, participatory and objective so as to help staff recognize their strengths and build on these to overcome their weaknesses; the results of staff evaluations should be used for staff development as well as for promotional purposes. As part of a strategy to motivate professional staff, supervisors should make a habit of recognizing the good work done by those working under them, even if this is done orally in the form of expressing appreciation. Any measure that could help boost the morale of the professional staff in the short term without high cost implications should be used by the leadership of the education bureaux and of� ces. Heads of of� ces and departments should therefore be trained in leadership and management, and be informed about and made aware of the work of their different of� cers when recruited to their positions. The of� ces at each level of the Ministry of Capacity Building, the regional Management Institutes in collaboration with the Ethiopian Management Institution and the upper levels of the education administration, all have a role to play in this regard.

Medium- and long-term strategies• Training: Permanent in-service training programmes should be designed and organized in

the regional universities and training institutions, in collaboration with the REBs. There is a serious need for fostering relationships between the REBs and those institutions of higher education that can contribute, at reduced cost, to the training of the professional staff. Some short courses in different subjects related to planning and management can be organized in a face-to-face set-up during certain periods of the year, while others can be provided through a distance mode. However, this requires the provision of IT tools in of� ces and an extension of the Internet connectivity network throughout the country. It is understood that the universities charge the ministry and REBs the full fees when they provide training for civil servants, and that these costs are not easy for the education administration to bear. A special arrangement could be put in place between the public education administration and the universities that ties in part the universities’ receiving of grants to their willingness to train civil servants at a reduced cost.

• More programmes of pre-service training at the regional universities should be designed, in addition to programmes being carried out at Addis Ababa University. The federal Ministry of Capacity Building, together with the regional governments, could elaborate a programme involving the recruitment of three high school graduates with mathematics, science or economics subjects, from each woreda where there is a shortage of quali� ed planners. The programme could provide two- or three-year scholarships for these high school graduates (about 2100 students considering that, on average, each of the 700 woredas has three professional positions in planning and management) to attend courses in statistics, computer sciences and educational planning. The students could be committed to working as educational planners in their own woreda for at least � ve years before changing jobs; otherwise they would have to reimburse the scholarships they received. They should be hired by their respective woredas after they graduate from this special programme to serve in education. This programme can be run by local regional universities with education faculties, in order to ensure the availability of a suf� cient number of young professionals in educational planning and management. Addis Ababa University could also support the regional universities in the design and development of such programmes. A pilot project could be launched very quickly to experiment with this option.



62


• Increasing the opportunity for planners to exchange their experiences: The planners working at each level should have the opportunity to meet regularly to exchange their experiences and discuss the problems they face, as well as to learn from successful strategies that were carried out in other locations. Regular meetings of planners – at least once a year – should be organized at each level. For instance, meetings could be organized at the federal level to gather the planners working at the federal and regional levels; the same idea could be applied at the regional level, where meetings could regularly be organized to gather regional and woreda planners. An association of educational planners and managers was created in 2007 by the planning department at Addis Ababa University in order to strengthen the links between graduates of the department: this is an interesting strategy and appears to be a good opportunity, one that could contribute to increasing the motivation of planners and their feeling of belonging to a speci� c profession. However, these meetings should be based on documented research results focusing on planning and management issues in the regions so that they can generate improved knowledge among those who participate.

• Addressing the problem of low salaries: An important element in the motivation of professional staff is their salaries and fringe bene� ts. Civil servant salaries are very low in Ethiopia, and this negatively affects the functioning of public services. Though there may not be a quick solution for the education sector, the structure of the sub-cities and woreda educational administrations must be adjusted in order to reduce the number of non-professional staff and use the savings on salaries to pay professionals, who are in shortage because the salaries are not attractive. The BPR could to some extent address this issue. It would be naive to believe that the problem of a high turnover of professionals in education and other public sectors will be solved in the long term if the salary issue is not resolved. In the meantime, the Ethiopian Government should � nd a way of providing salary incentives to take into account hardship conditions and also to encourage better performing staff.

This is a problem that is present in a limited number of WEOs in the country, but which needs particular attention in order to avoid increasing the gap between those WEOs and the ones that are able to prepare and manage the implementation of sound, realistic education plans for their areas. The strategy to address this challenge is a short-term one which would consist of raising awareness among the policy decision-makers from the woredas that are lagging behind in recognizing the importance of educational planners and managers. These decision-makers should be assisted in putting proper planning units in place in their WEOs and staf� ng them with quali� ed planners and a full-time EMIS professional. Some REBs, such as Benishangul Gumuz, are already implementing such a strategy by holding regular meetings with members of woreda councils to discuss education matters, compare performances in different woredas within the region, and invite those WEOs with low performance to increase their efforts to catch up with others. This strategy should be expanded throughout the country in order to ensure that each WEO has a standard planning unit. This should be part of the normal consultation process between the two levels of administration, and it would not involve any signi� cant additional costs.

� Challenge 3:

• Educational planning and management is given less importance in some locations



Strategies to develop the capacities of educational planners and managers in Ethiopia

63

The recruitment of planners and educational managers is another area where short-term strategies can be applied. The recruitment procedures and guidelines elaborated by the BPR are good tools which should be used systematically for the appointment of all professionals. The required academic and professional quali� cations for each position, as set out in these guidelines, must be the main criteria for the recruitment of all professionals. The civil service commission may play a role in monitoring the recruitment process of planners at each level and support of� ces in this regard. If of� cers without an adequate pro� le are recruited to this position, they should receive relevant training as soon as possible, as well as support in undertaking their day-to-day activities. The head of the education of� ce for the upper level of education administration should speci� cally note the training needs of the of� cers. Where there is a real shortage of quali� ed candidates, appropriate incentives should be identi� ed and provided to ensure that quali� ed candidates are attracted to and retained in the area.

As far as possible, speci� c attention should be given to the quali� cations and professional background of the heads of of� ces before appointing them to this position. If they do not have such a pro� le, once appointed they should receive awareness-raising and training about education policies, in particular in educational planning and management, so they can properly support and guide the staff working in their of� ce. This can be done in the short term.

This organizational challenge can be overcome in many woredas with a short-term strategy based on regular meetings to be attended by the heads of � nancial pools and the technical sector heads. These meetings should provide the opportunity for senior of� cers in charge of the different sectors and the � nancial pool to reduce any misunderstandings. The pool staff could then regularly brief the technical sectors on the rules and the calendar for � nancial management, and could help these sectors prepare their procurement plans in line with the approved calendar. Through regular consultations, a way could be found for the sector to manage directly limited amounts of its budget for small items and emergencies. This challenge can be resolved without any additional costs.

� Challenge 4:

• Educational planners and managers do not always have an adequate pro� le for the post

� Challenge 5:

• The appointment of the heads of of� ces does not always take into consideration their professional quali� cations and experience in education

� Challenge 6:

• Lack of appreciation of the pool system of � nance by many WEOs



64


Short-term strategyWEOs differ in many respects in terms of their available resources, human resources, level of educational development, geographic position and area. The regional governments should consider the possibility of revising the block grant formula for woredas to include incentive factors for the disadvantaged but motivated woredas.

Development partners have been providing computers and other technological equipment to the REBs and woredas. They have provided training courses to enable staff to use the equipment. The Ministry of Capacity Building has also been providing similar courses. These activities should be continued and undertaken on a regular basis. Efforts must be made at the woreda level to ensure that education of� ces have the minimum required resources and professional staff to carry out the activities entrusted to them.

Medium and long-term strategyThe government, through the Ministry of Capacity Building, should plan either to provide this equipment, or the regions and woredas should have some provision in their budget in order to replace obsolete equipment or to equip those of� ces that are not adequately equipped. Training should be delivered regularly in order for the staff to upgrade their skills. Efforts should also be made to harmonize the computer software that is used at different levels of the administration in order to facilitate the analysis, compilation and consolidation of education statistics. Where connectivity exists, Internet service should be extended to WEOs so that the of� cers can use this as an educational resource as well as in their work on a regular basis.

The study shows the interest that the federal Ministry of Education and its development partners attach to the good planning and management of education. This is indicated through the many efforts they are making to support the various activities of capacity development in this area. However, it remains to be known whether the politicians at all levels are aware of the importance of good education plans and statistics. If these decision-makers and users of education services require transparency in the management of the education system, then the planners will feel motivated to develop good and realistic plans and to produce reliable education data. The decision-makers should be sensitized so that they can make it mandatory for the planners and managers to produce well-prepared plans and reports on educational development. Other users, such as parents and the communities at large, should be informed through awareness-raising campaigns about education statistics and about the need to compare the performance of their schools with that of other schools, or the performance of their woreda with that of other woredas. The parent-teacher associations and education and training board members at various levels could serve as a springboard to achieve this. Pressure from them can contribute to reinforcing capacity in the planning and managing of education.

� Challenge 7:

• The poor working environment

� Challenge 8:

• Lack of control by the bene� ciaries of education services concerning quality plans and their implementation



65

Conclusion

The objective of this study was to assess capacity in education planning and management in Ethiopia in order to draw lessons on what is working and what is not at the federal, regional and woreda levels. The main conclusions of the study are presented below.

Important changes have characterized the education sector in Ethiopia during the past ten years: under the decentralization framework, more and more responsibilities were transferred to the local levels; in addition, the scores on most of the education indicators rapidly improved during this period.

Yet this reform, which creates a need for the establishment of planning units in all REBs and WEOs, did not lead to the expansion of pre-service training in planning and management in the country. The Department of Education Management at the University of Addis Ababa remains the only training institution that provides pre-service training in the � eld, more than ten years after the formal decentralized administration work plan was put in place. For more than 2,400 positions (three professionals per woreda), former teachers or other administrative staff were recruited and were converted into planners after only very short in-service training in educational planning and management. The shortage of university graduates with education planning and management skills is a serious problem that hinders efforts to build capacity in the sector.

Because of the lack of � nancial and non-� nancial incentives in their jobs and working conditions that are perceived as not providing the best environment (a shortage of computing equipment for planners, poor of� ce conditions and the lack of transportation), many planners and managers are quick to take up other opportunities outside the education sector. The ensuing high turnover among education professionals operating at the woreda level has a negative impact on capacities in planning and management.

A multi-dimensional strategy should be designed and implemented to strengthen the capacities of educational planners and managers in Ethiopia. This should rely on training: a speci� c budget line should be foreseen in the budget at the central, regional and woreda levels. This strategy should also include a set of � nancial and non-� nancial incentives for educational planners and managers. More precisely, the study provides a three-stage strategy for overcoming the above challenges:

• The � rst stage concerns the short-term measures to be taken to improve the motivation of planners and managers in education. These include continuing to improve human resources management through in-service training, which has already started. Another short-term solution is to pursue regular meetings between those in charge of planning and management at the different levels of the education sector. The � nal solution in this stage is public information meetings, which are necessary to sensitize the public and provide the information required to help engage the policy-makers in order for them to learn more about their responsibilities concerning the performance of the education system. This could start with sensitizing the parent-teacher associations (PTAs) and Education and Training Boards ( ETBs) at the woreda and zonal levels.



66

Conclusion

• In the medium term, pre-service training in educational planning and management could be expanded in the existing regional universities possessing faculties of education, while collaboration between REBs and the local and regional training centres and universities could be strengthened. There should also be provision in the REBs and WEOs’ budgets for capacity building and the purchasing and maintenance of hardware and software for the planning units.

• In the third stage, the long-term solution will focus on general improvements in the salaries and working conditions of civil servants in Ethiopia, including educational planners and managers.



67

References

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Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. 2004. Development of education in Ethiopia. A Report to the UNESCO Forty-Seventh Session of the International Conference on Education, 8-11 September 2004. Geneva, Switzerland. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

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Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; UIS; Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No date. Project for EMIS enhancement for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Partnership between Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNESCO-UIS for capacity building assistance to the Ministry of Education, Ethiopia. Project description. Not published.

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____. 1997-. MOE Education Statistics Annual Abstract. Addis Ababa: Ministry of Education, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

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____. 2005. Education Sector Development Program III (ESDP III). (2005/2006 – 2010/2011) (1998 EFY – 2002 EFY). Program Action Plan (PAP). Addis Ababa: Ministry of Education, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

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____. 2007b. Medium-term EMIS strengthening project. Project proposal. Draft document. Addis Ababa: Ministry of Education, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

____. 2007c. MOE Education Statistics Annual Abstract 2005/06. Addis Ababa: Ministry of Education, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

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Annexes

Capacity Development in educational planning and management for achieving the EFA goals

Preparation of a UNESCO strategy and Policy Paper

July 2007Paris, IIEP



70

Annex 1. Terms of reference for the implementation of the study on capacity development in educational planning and management in Ethiopia

BackgroundThis programme has its origins in a well-known � nding: many efforts have been made by a wide variety of actors to develop and strengthen the capacities of Member States to plan and manage their education systems. These efforts (training courses, workshops, technical assistance missions and so on) have regularly strengthened the skills of individuals, but have seldom succeeded in transforming the organizations to which these individuals belong, in particular the ministries of education. There is a need therefore to examine what the reasons are for this relative failure and to propose innovative and relevant capacity development policies and strategies.

In this regard, IIEP has been given the responsibility of preparing a UNESCO Policy Paper, entitled Capacity development for achieving the EFA goals. After discussions within UNESCO and with the agencies offering � nancial support (the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), it was decided that IIEP will undertake two main activities to help UNESCO draft this paper:

1) an analysis of approaches and good practices in capacity development and 2) detailed case studies of capacity development modes in three focus countries.

IIEP will collaborate with national governments, with the UNESCO Education Sector at Headquarters, with the relevant regional, cluster and national of� ces and with UIS, each of which will undertake speci� c tasks which are complementary to the activities performed by IIEP.

A crucial stage in the preparation of this Policy Paper consists in the preparation of three country studies. This note makes a number of proposals on how the country study in Ethiopia could be undertaken. It therefore addresses several issues:

• What are the objectives of the case studies? • On what basis were the three countries selected?• What will be the focus of the analysis?• How will the case study in Ethiopia be undertaken?

General objectives of the case studiesThe case studies will help UNESCO, and especially IIEP, to prepare the Policy Paper. This paper will guide UNESCO’s programmes in capacity development and could contribute to helping Member States to de� ne and reform their own policies. In addition, it could become a source of inspiration for other national and international partners.

Each case study is also conceived to be a learning experience for the international and national experts who will participate in it, and in particular for the staff from the Ministry of Education, from regional bureaux and from woreda (district) of� ces. The full involvement of Ministry experts is important, on the one hand, to allow such personnel to strengthen their own policy analysis skills and, on the other hand, to own the study’s � ndings.



Annex

71

The case study will therefore have the following speci� c objectives:

• to assess the present organizational and individual capacities in educational planning and management;

• to analyse how government policies, strategies and practices enhance or constrain the development of such capacities;

• to identify particularly successful capacity development policies, modalities and strategies;• to make suggestions and recommendations that strengthen integrated capacity development

policies and strategies;• to develop and strengthen the capacities of the ministries of education through their involvement

and direct participation in the analysis.

The selection of the three case study countriesIn consultation with several partners and, foremost, the relevant UNESCO partners and concerned � eld of� ces, it was agreed that case studies would be undertaken in three countries, namely Benin, Ethiopia and Vietnam. The choice was based on a combination of criteria and several considerations, including the desire to examine a diversity of situations. Without going into a detailed description, the following elements depict this diversity:

• the three countries differ in size and in administrative organization; • their present educational status is equally different: for 2004, the NER at the primary level in Benin

was estimated at 83, in Ethiopia at 68-70, and in Vietnam at 95; • GNI per capita was estimated in 2005 at US$160 in Ethiopia, US$510 in Benin and US$620 in

Vietnam;• recent economic development (expressed as annual GDP growth over the past three years) has

been strong in Vietnam (7.6 per cent), even stronger in Ethiopia (nearly 9 per cent, though from a lower basis) and weaker in Benin (4.3 per cent);

• the population size of Ethiopia and Vietnam is similar, at about 77 million people; Benin’s population is much smaller, at about 6 million people. Population growth rates are signi� cantly different: they are estimated over the past three years at 3.1 per cent in Benin, 2.1 per cent in Ethiopia and 1.1 per cent in Vietnam;

• all three countries receive EFA FTI funding;• Vietnam is one of the eight pilot countries where the UN reform, labelled ‘One UN’, will be tested,

and Ethiopia is one of the seven MDG pilot countries; • Vietnam is one of the UNESCO National Education Support Strategy (UNESS) pilot countries;• Ethiopia has the largest UNCT presence in Africa and an effective Development Assistance Group,

characterized by collaboration between bilateral and multilateral international agencies. The DAG has a strong TWG on education, and a mixed government-development partners Task Force on Capacity Development, of which UNESCO is a member;

• the UNESCO Institute for Statistics had until recently a regional advisor based in the Cluster Of� ce in Addis Ababa, and since 1998 the seat of the UNESCO Institute for Capacity Building; Vietnam is being supported by UIS through its staff based in Bangkok, and Benin through the staff based in Dakar;

• UNESCO has a national of� ce in Vietnam; it has a Cluster Of� ce based in Addis Ababa, which is responsible for several countries including Ethiopia; UNESCO does not have an of� ce in Benin, which is under the responsibility of the Cluster Of� ce in Accra (Ghana);

• in all three countries, IIEP has several graduates from its Advanced Training Programme.



72

Annex

The country study in Benin was launched in April 2007 and was expected to be completed by September 2007. The work in Vietnam was expected to start in October 2007. Depending on the approval of the study by the Ethiopian Government, the case study in Ethiopia was launched during the second half of 2007.

The following are details of suggested coverage, depth of analysis and implementation modalities of the case study.

The content of the analysisThe case study has two main objectives – to assess capacity development in educational planning and management and to propose strategies for its improvement. The two key terms – ‘capacity development’ and ‘planning and management’ – need clear de� nitions as they can be interpreted in a variety of ways. We need to avoid, on the one hand, an analysis that becomes too vast and therefore super� cial, and, on the other hand, focusing on only a few issues, which may be only marginally related to our key concerns. The study proposes a conceptual clari� cation of these terms by including operational de� nitions and analytical frameworks.

Capacity development

The term ‘capacity development’ can be and has at times been interpreted in a very wide manner, nearly as the equivalent of ‘development’. One well known de� nition, used for instance by the OECD Development Assistance Committee, interprets capacity development as “the process whereby people, organizations and society as a whole unleash, strengthen, create, adapt and maintain capacity over time” (OECD, 2006, p. 12)A second, very different option starts from the realization that in several countries, and especially in those most in need of capacity development, almost all actual capacity development activities are related to skills training and are organized by international agencies. If the � rst interpretation is accepted, an analysis of capacity development would cover a very wide and potentially confusing set of issues, while adopting the second much more restrictive de� nition would lead to neglecting key issues with an impact on the performance of individuals and organizations, for example, staff management or organizational structures. To succeed in undertaking the case studies, we need a well-developed analytical framework that, on the one hand, recognizes that capacity development is much more than skills training and that, on the other hand, is suf� ciently precise that it allows for a detailed investigation within the constraints of this programme.

We interpret capacity development in this context as a process with four complementary dimensions:

• improving the skills and performance of individuals; • improving organizational performance, through rethinking the mandate, the structure and the

internal management of the organizational units within which individual of� cers work; • improving the public administration to which these units belong through a re� ection on public

service management; • improving the social, economic and political context within which of� cers work and within which

education systems develop, by limiting the constraints and strengthening the incentives within the external environment.

The graph at the end of this note presents in a somewhat simpli� ed manner the various dimensions of capacity development. It shows the four above-mentioned dimensions: the individuals work within organizational units, which form part of public administration, which functions within a speci� c context.

The individual of� cers (the educational planners and managers) have mandates, as re� ected in their job descriptions, and perform certain tasks, which may be different from their mandate. Their



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effectiveness depends on a combination of quali� cations, experience and training, on the relevance of this combination to their mandate and tasks, and on the presence and strength of incentives and the absence of inhibitors.

The individual of� cers work within an organizational unit: this can be the planning department within the ministry of education; but planners and managers also work at the regional or district levels, and the unit can then be a regional or a district education of� ce. This unit has a mandate to ful� l and tasks to perform. Its effectiveness depends on the performance of the individual of� cers but it is also the result of three organizational elements: � rstly, the ways in which internal management is helpful to the effectiveness and motivation of individual of� cers, through developing an ef� cient internal communication � ow, through clear lines of accountability and through supportive supervision; secondly, the relevance of the organizational structure: whether it re� ects the unit’s mandate and is suf� ciently clear and simple; and thirdly, the availability of the necessary human, material and � nancial resources and the availability of the relevant information.

In our analysis, the organizational units all form part of public administration. Three issues are of speci� c importance in this area: the distribution of tasks among units and their level of autonomy; the existence of an education policy and a capacity development strategy; and most importantly, the management of the public service, including for instance recruitment and evaluation criteria and procedures, and their impact on staff performance.

Finally, several factors related to the political, economic and social context may have a positive or detrimental impact on the performance of the public administration and its of� cers. Among these factors can be mentioned the ease with which employment can be found outside the public sector, the weight of donor agencies and the willingness of political decision makers to listen to technical advice.

In the Annex, we present a detailed analytical framework which contains core questions for each of the themes identi� ed above. The presentation of these questions follows the graph on the last page of this note. We did not develop such detailed questions for the contextual level, as this will not form part of our detailed analysis.

Educational planning and management

The UNESCO Policy Paper and the case study in Ethiopia will focus on capacities in educational planning and management. This choice was made for a fundamental reason: experience has shown that the lack of capacities to design, plan, manage and implement policies and reforms remains today one of the most serious obstacles to the implementation of EFA in developing countries, more so than the lack of � nancing. This focus evidently � ts well within IIEP’s mandate and within the wider role of UNESCO.

In order to undertake with success our analysis of capacities in these areas, we identify with more precision the different tasks to be examined. The risk exists that the analysis, if it intends to cover a wide range of tasks and therefore a wide range of ministry divisions and units, will be either very expensive in time and resources or insuf� ciently profound. We have therefore tried to identify the main planning and management tasks by organizing them in � ve groups, following the logic of the planning process: collection and analysis of information, leading to the de� nition of policies, which are translated into plans, programmes and projects. Their implementation is monitored and evaluated.

Group 1: Creation and management of information systems, including:

• Collection of statistical data• Entering statistical data into database• Analysis of data• Publication and use of data and indicators



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Group 2: Policy preparation, including:

• Preparation of a sector diagnosis• Support, through technical advice and statistical information, the choice of policy orientations• Proposing strategies to improve the education system• Coordinating research undertaken by the ministry

Group 3: Preparation of plans, programmes and projects, including:

• Building projections on the basis of simulation models• Preparing medium-term or long-term sector plans• Preparing proposals for programmes and projects

Group 4: Plan implementation, including:

• Preparing annual operational plans• Managing programmes and projects• Creation of the school map• Planning teacher supply and demand• Construction and maintenance of infrastructure• Budget preparation

Group 5: Plan and policy monitoring and evaluation, including:

• Development and use of indicators for monitoring and evaluation• Monitoring plan and project implementation• Evaluation of system quality

Three comments may be useful here. Firstly, this grouping probably does not re� ect the structure of the planning department within the ministry or the regional bureaux. Some tasks may be undertaken by actors outside of this department. Secondly, the planning cycle is interpreted here very much as a technical cycle. The more political aspects, such as negotiation around political proposals or the participation of civil society in the policy de� nition, are not included in this technical interpretation. These questions will nevertheless be addressed during the case study, if they appear important. Thirdly, this analysis will be undertaken at different levels: the federal Ministry of Education, the regional bureaux and the woreda of� ces, but the coverage and depth will be adapted to the role of each level.

A � exible analysis

While the analysis will be guided and inspired by the conceptual elements explained above, it will be characterized by a � exible approach. It will carefully take into account work done previously in this area, and will build on the � ndings of existing studies and insights gained. The suggested analysis will bear in mind the following points:

• It will start from a series of open discussions and interviews with key actors, to identify what these actors consider to be the key constraints to capacity development and which have received insuf� cient attention. These early interviews will guide the remainder of the work.

• One key question will be how planning departments have responded to recent changes in planning practices, such as their participation in the preparation of poverty reduction strategy papers, the existence of sector-wide support programmes and the need to prepare medium-term expenditure frameworks.

• It will include an investigation of the availability of quali� ed personnel and their deployment, use and management (including their recruitment, in-service training and evaluation). This will inevitably imply that we examine public management policies and practices.



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• The analysis may involve the evaluation of some speci� c capacity development projects, which rely on different modalities. If need be, speci� c studies may be undertaken on innovative or successful experiences in capacity development in educational planning and management.

Practical implementationWe suggest setting up two teams: a research team and a reference group. They will have different roles and be constituted differently. The research team will do the actual � eld work. It will be coordinated by one or two IIEP members of staff, with support from the education expert from the relevant UNESCO of� ce and the relevant regional advisor from UIS. It will include national and/or regional consultants, some of whom should be coming from the Ministry of Education. If this is felt to be relevant, the graduates of the IIEP training programmes, and especially its Advanced Training Programme, may be involved in the � eld research. The reference group will include representatives from the Ministry of Education and from key international agencies. Its role is to guide the � eld work, to comment on draft reports and thus to show the point of view of important actors in the area of capacity development in educational planning and management.

The analysis will start with an examination of the situation in the central Ministry of Education. Because of the increased demand that regional and woreda education of� ces prepare their own plans, the analysis will pay attention to the functioning of the organizational units at those levels and to the individual of� cers. The selection of regional bureaux and district of� ces will be discussed with the Ministry.

The actual implementation process will evidently depend on the discussions between IIEP and the Ministry of Education. We make hereunder a brief suggestion on how the analysis may proceed, based on the experiences in other countries:

• setting up a research team and a reference team; • a � rst mission, of some two weeks, by the research team to do the analysis at the level of the

ministry, and in one or two regional bureaux and a few woredas. This analysis will focus in particular on the identi� cation of organizational constraints to capacity development;

• preparation of a � rst report; • distribution of the report to some key informants and to the reference team, for comments and for

the identi� cation of issues to be examined or reconsidered in more detail during a second mission; • second mission, of one or two weeks. This mission will focus on the identi� cation of innovative or

successful capacity development experiences and programmes; • preparation of a draft � nal report; • distribution of the draft � nal report to key informants and to the reference team for comments and

amendments; • organization of a national seminar to discuss the draft � nal report; • preparation and publication of the � nal report.

Detailed analytical frameworkWe suggest hereunder key questions to be addressed for each of the issues identi� ed within the overall framework. As stressed above, this is still very much a draft analytical framework, and most probably some questions will need to be deleted and others added. We hope that at the end of the discussion session we can arrive at a detailed analytical framework with which the different UNESCO partners involved feel comfortable. It is quite probable that the framework will change somewhat during the programme’s implementation, because of the lessons learned from the literature review and from the



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country case studies. What we need at this stage is a framework that can guide the analysis to be started soon in the � rst country.

The listing of questions follows systematically the overall framework, as represented in the graph on the last page. We did not develop detailed questions for the issues related to the ‘system context’, as this level will not be the focus of the analysis.

At the level of the individual

MandateWhat is the mandate of individual of� cers, according to their job descriptions? If such a job description does not exist, are there any documents which provide similar information?Do the individual of� cers know the job description? Is their formulation of the mandate similar to what appears in the job description?

TasksWhat are the activities on which the of� cers spend most of their time?What are the activities that they consider to be the most important and the least important?

Quali� cationsWhat quali� cations do the of� cers have? How do they compare to the quali� cations requested for the post they occupy? Do they consider these quali� cations to be suf� cient and pertinent for the tasks they are asked to do?

ExperienceHow much experience do they have? In which areas? Are these areas relevant to and useful for the post they occupy at the moment? Does it re� ect what is demanded for the post?

Training

(There will probably be a need to do a speci� c survey of staff who have bene� ted from training in educational planning and management over the past � ve to ten years and of their present whereabouts.)

What training did the of� cers receive during their careers? Have they received any speci� c training before occupying their present posts? If so, what duration, what form did it take, and who were the organizers and the resource persons?Have they received any training since they occupied the posts? If so, what duration, what form did it take, and who were the organizers and the resource persons?What are their present training needs? What are their overall opinions about the various training courses in which they participated? What training models do they prefer? What do they feel is the impact of training on their personal performance, on their position in the units, and on the performance of the units?

IncentivesFor which reasons did the of� cers apply for the present posts? Do they feel that their expectations in this regard have been ful� lled? Would they apply again for such a post, if given the chance? Why? Why not?What is their level of satisfaction with the working environment?



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Satisfaction with � nancial incentives, allowances? How do they compare to other jobs, with similar quali� cations, elsewhere (for example, in the public, private, NGO sector)?Satisfaction with support and guidance received?Satisfaction with responses by their direct chief and by other superiors to their requests?

At the level of the organizational unit

(Different ‘units’ may need to be examined. If the analysis is done at the level of the Ministry of Education, the � rst unit can be the Department of Planning and, for some questions, a second unit can be the Ministry as a whole. If the analysis is done at the level of a district of� ce, there may not be a Department of Planning and the unit may only be the District Education Of� ce. We have used the term ‘service’ to describe the component parts of a unit.)

MandateAre there of� cial documents which specify the unit’s mandate, its responsibilities and its authority? What are those documents? Are they available within the unit?Do staff know of their existence? Are they able to consult them? When did they last do so?Does the unit have a vision and a mission statement?Are staff aware of their existence, do staff know what the vision and mission are?Who was involved in de� ning them? What is, according to the staff, the mandate of the unit? How does this de� nition compare to the of� cial documents and to the vision and mission statements?

TasksWhat are the activities on which the unit spends most of its time?What are the activities of the unit that the individual of� cers consider to be the most important and the least important?How much time is spent, within the unit, on working for other units, or for the head of the of� ce?

Internal management

Communication and coordination

How is the � ow of communication within the unit (vertically and horizontally) organized? Are formal structures in place that have the responsibility of transmitting information? What informal processes exist?How developed and how effective is internal communication? Are there regular meetings of all staff? Are there any other means by which information is exchanged between services (for example, reports, memos)? Do members of one service know what members of other services are in charge of and undertake? Are there any speci� c mechanisms (for example, committees, meetings) to ensure coordination between the different services? Who is in charge of coordination?

Transparency and accountability

How are major decisions arrived at? Who is involved in consultation, negotiation and the decision-making itself, within the unit?How well are staff informed about key decisions taken within the unit? How well are staff informed about the budget, its sources, its amount and the way it is being used? Who is involved in decision-making in this area?



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How well are staff informed about personnel decisions (deployment, promotion)? Who is involved in decision-making in this area?What type of accountability is being promoted within the unit: towards the hierarchical superior, towards the professional colleagues, towards the ‘clients’?

Supervision and support

Is a system in place to assess whether the unit or its services have achieved targets? Are such targets de� ned? To what extent is good achievement of such units encouraged and rewarded?Who is in charge of evaluating the work and the performance of the different services? What form does such evaluation take? What is its impact on staff motivation and morale?How are of� cers in the different services supported? Do they receive guidelines, training, or manuals on how to perform their tasks?Do of� cers receive feedback from their superiors on their requests or on their reports?Are training needs assessments carried out from time to time? What impact do they have on the actual training provided?

Structure

Re� ection of mandate

Organizational chart of the unit? Are there of� cial organizational charts and, if so, are they applied? How far does the present structure re� ect the unit’s mandate?Has there recently been a reorganization of the unit? If so, for which purposes? As far as the distribution of tasks within the unit or between its services is concerned, are there overlaps or areas insuf� ciently covered?

Complexity, clarity

To what extent is the unit’s structure transparent to its staff and its ‘clients’?Is there clarity about who is in charge of speci� c planning and management tasks? Are the responsibilities in this regard dispersed over different services within the unit or taken care of by one service? To what extent is the unit characterized by internal coherence: is the distribution of responsibilities among different staff and services coherent? To what extent are staff conscious of their own roles and of those of other personnel, and those of other units?Do staff view themselves as appointees bound together by common objectives and collegial relationships?

Resources Does the distribution of resources re� ect the unit’s priorities? What share of resources goes to planning and management tasks and to the staff in charge of these tasks? Material and � nancial resourcesWhat material resources/equipment exists within the unit? What is their quality? What communication tools exist (fax, telephone, internet, and so on)? Who has access to them and who can use them? What � nancial resources are available to the unit? Where do they come from? How are they distributed among the different parts? Are the material and � nancial resources available to the unit and to its services considered suf� cient



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to operate effectively?What has been the evolution in recent years?

Human resources

How many staff work within the unit? How are the staff distributed among the different categories (professionals – support staff) and among different services? Are there any vacant posts? Are they concentrated in speci� c areas? What are the causes of such vacancies? Does a programme exist to bring personnel up to the required strength (in numbers and in skills) in order to implement effectively the Ministry’s plans and projects? If so, who was involved in its development?

Information

Does the unit have the information that it needs to carry out its tasks effectively?Is this information suf� ciently recent, regularly updated, complete and trustworthy? How is this information organized: within a computerized database, on paper � les, and so on?How easy is it to retrieve the relevant information?

At the level of the public administration

Structure: levels of autonomy, distribution of rolesWhat is the structure of the administration of the education system: different levels?What are the responsibilities of the main levels with regard to planning and management?Does the present distribution of responsibilities among the different levels allow each level to concentrate on its main functions? In other words, does each level receive autonomy, where such autonomy is warranted, and support, where such support is needed?Are there other actors, outside of the public administration, with a role in educational planning and management?

Policy and plan: existence, clarity and knowledgeIs there a speci� c education policy document? Are there educational plans in existence? Is there coherence between the policy documents and the plans? Who was involved in the preparation of the policy and plan documents? What sort of consultation and/or participation took place?



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Are the policy and plan objectives clear? Are they precise? Have indicators been de� ned to monitor their achievement?Is the staff well informed of their existence? Do they agree with these objectives? Do they feel committed to them?

Staff management: recruitment, evaluation and career prospectsDoes a speci� c cadre of educational planners and managers exist? Are they all public servants? To which category, level of the public service do they belong?How are educational planners and managers in the public service recruited? On the basis of which criteria, through which procedures? Are these procedures and criteria well known by all? What opinion do different actors have about them? What is the ‘typical’ career pattern of an educational planner? Does a system exist to assess staff performance? How are work goals and targets for staff members identi� ed? Who is involved in the process of performance evaluation?What is the impact of the existing performance evaluation system on staff motivation and effectiveness?What career prospects exist for educational planners and managers within the public service? When educational planners and managers leave the service, what are their destinations?



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Figure A1. A selection of issues to be considered in an analysis of capacity development policies and strategies

System context

Political, e.g.: • Status quo or moment of change? • Stability or instability? • Commitment

Economic, e.g.: • Employment in public/private sector • Budget support to education • Weight of donor agencies

Social, e.g.: • Existence of urban/rural disparities • Ease of internal migration, emigration • Openness of society

Public administration

Structure: levels of autonomy, distribution of roles Policy: existence, clarity & knowledge Staff management: recruitment, evaluation, career prospects

Organizational unit

Internal management

• Communication & coordination • Transparency & accountability • Supervision & support

Mandate Structure • Reflection of mandate • Complexity, clarity

Tasks Resources • Material & financial • Human • Information

Individual Mandate Qualifications Experience Tasks Training

Incentives



82

Annex 2. Individual questionnaire administered to educational planners and managers at the federal, regional and woreda levels

This questionnaire is developed within the framework of a research study on the capacity development strategies implemented in Ethiopia in the area of educational planning and management.

The questionnaire is anonymous and will be analysed by a research team from UNESCO. The information herein will remain con� dential.

Your responses to the questionnaire will be very useful for UNESCO and will help in preparing a national report on “capacity development in educational planning and management for achieving EFA”.

Completing the questionnaire will take you less than half an hour.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Mandate1. Do you work at the MOE, REB or WEO level?

a. MOEb. REBc. WEO

2. What is the exact title of your post?

_______________________________________________________________________________

3. Through which process did you obtain this post?

a. Promotionb. Internal competitive recruitment c. External competitive recruitmentd. Nominatione. Secondmentf. Transferg. Other process:……………………………………….

4. Is there any of� cial document (e.g. job description) which identi� es the tasks you are expected to perform?

a. Yesb. Noc. I don’t know (If b or c go to question 7)



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5. If so, what type of document is it?

_______________________________________________________________________________

6. Do you � nd that this document clearly describes the tasks you have to perform?

a. Very clearlyb. Clearlyc. Not clearly

7. Have the responsibilities of your of� ce/department changed within the last four years?

a. Yesb. No

8. If yes, give two main changes:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Have your own responsibilities changed within the last four years?

a. Yesb. No

10. If yes, give two main changes:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tasks11. Can you identify three activities on which you spend most of your time, listing them starting

with the one taking the most time? Rank them in order of importance.

Task in order of time devoted to it Task in order of importance

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

12. Are these three tasks listed in the of� cial document mentioned under question 5?

Yes No

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

13. According to you, what are the three main functions of your department/unit?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



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14. MOE/REB/WEO have developed strategic education plans. With regard to each plan, can you respond to the following statements:

MOE REB WEO

Yes No Yes No Yes No

I know of its existence

I was involved in its preparation

I participated in meetings where the plan was validated

I have a copy of the plan in my of� ce

I regularly use the plan in my work

Quali� cations15. What is your highest academic quali� cation?

a. End of secondary school certi� cateb. Teacher training certi� catec. Bachelor’s degreed. Master’s degreee. PhD

16. In which � eld/academic discipline did you obtain this degree?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Experience17. How many years of work experience do you have in the education sector?

a. Less than 5b. 5–15c. 16–25d. More than 25

18. How many years of professional experience do you have in the area of educational planning and management?

a. Less than 5b. 5–10c. 11–25d. More than 15

19. For how long (in years) have you been occupying your present post?

a. Less than 3 yearsb. 4–6c. 7–9d. 10 and above



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20. Have you ever been a school teacher (at least for a full academic year)?

a. Yesb. No

21. What are the positions you have held within the last � ve years, and how long did you stay in each position?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Training22. Have you had any professional training in educational planning and/or management since the

beginning of your career? If yes, please specify.

Theme YesYear and duration

Venue of training

Who conducted the training

(National professionals or non-national professionals or mixed)?

Planning

Policy analysis

Leadership/management

Projections and simulations

Budget

Monitoring and evaluation

EMIS

Statistics

Others (please specify):..............................................

23. Has the training you received since you occupied your present post related to the tasks you are expected to perform?

a. Yes, very muchb. Yes, but only somewhatc. No, not relatedd. No training received

24. Has the training contributed to your:

Yes No

Better performance

Receiving additional responsibilities or rewards

Promotion within your of� ce/department

25. Among the tasks for which you are responsible, which ones do you � nd the most dif� cult to complete?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



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26. Why?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Availability of material resources27. In your of� ce, are the following resources available and functional?

Available Functional

Telephone

Fax

Computer

Printer

Server

Local area network

28. In your of� ce, do you have a computer to perform your work?

a. Yes, a computer dedicated for me b. Yes, I share it with my colleague(s)c. No

29. If so, which computer programmes do you use the most?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

30. Do you have access to the Internet?

a. Yesb. No

31. Do you use it often for your professional work?

a. Yesb. No

Motivation32. Do you enjoy your work?

a. Yesb. No



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33. When you encounter a technical or professional problem, how useful is the help you receive from the following sources?

Not useful Useful Very useful

My superior

My colleagues, within my of� ce

Other colleagues (please specify)

Manuals/guidelines

Of� cial documents

Documentation centre

Internet

Others (specify):................................................................................

34. During the past three months, how many times have you participated in staff meetings in your department?

_______________________________________________________________________________

35. How do you rate the usefulness of these meetings for the performance of your job?

a. Not usefulb. Usefulc. Very useful

36. How do you rate the adequacy of these meetings for the performance of your job?

a. Adequateb. Inadequate

37. Have you been evaluated during the past two years?

a. Yesb. No

38. If yes, was it useful?

a. Not usefulb. Usefulc. Very useful

39. If yes, was it adequate?

a. Adequateb. Inadequate



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40. Please indicate to what extent you agree with the following statements:

I don’t agree I agree partially I agree fully

I am satis� ed with the � nancial bene� ts of my work

I am satis� ed with the support and guidance I receive from my supervisor

I have enough autonomy to perform my work

I participate in important decision-making within my department or division

I have all the skills I need to do my work well

41. According to you:

MOE REB WEO

Yes No Yes No Yes No

The MOE/REB/WEO needs to improve its planning skills

The MOE/REB/WEO does not engage in strategic planning

The MOE/REB/WEO needs to change its way of working to be successful

42. Since you have occupied your present post, have you tried to obtain another post?

a. Yes, a post within the same of� ceb. Yes, a post within the education sectorc. Yes, a post outside of the education sectord. No

43. Please indicate the most dif� cult challenges you face to perform your work effectively and ef� ciently (more than one answer is possible):

a. Lack of coordinationb. Lack of guidelinesc. Lack of reliable datad. Lack of knowledge and skills in ICTe. Lack of familiarity of tasksf. Lack of adequate resources (computers, paper, etc.)g. Lack of supporth. Lack of job securityi. Lack of time (work overload)j. Others: __________________________________



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44. Do you have any ideas to improve your personal skills in educational planning and management? If so, please explain.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

45. Do you have any ideas to improve capacity within the education sector in Ethiopia? If so, please comment

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your participation!



IIEP publications and documents

More than 1,500 titles on all aspects of educational planning have been published by the Interna-tional Institute for Educational Planning. A comprehensive catalogue is available in the following subject categories:

Educational planning and global issuesGeneral studies – global/developmental issues

Administration and management of educationDecentralization – participation – distance education – school mapping – teachers

Economics of educationCosts and � nancing – employment – international cooperation

Quality of educationEvaluation – innovation – supervision

Different levels of formal educationPrimary to higher education

Alternative strategies for educationLifelong education – non-formal education – disadvantaged groups – gender education

Copies of the Catalogue may be obtained on request from:IIEP, Publications and Communications Unit

[email protected] of new publications and abstracts may be consulted online:

www.iiep.unesco.org


mailto:[email protected]



The International Institute for Educational Planning

The International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) is an international centre for advanced training and research in the � eld of educational planning. It was established by UNESCO in 1963 and is � nanced by UNESCO and by voluntary contributions from Member States. In recent years the following Member States have provided voluntary contributions to the Institute: Australia, Denmark, India, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.The Institute’s aim is to contribute to the development of education throughout the world, by expanding both knowledge and the supply of competent professionals in the � eld of educational planning. In this endeavour the Institute cooperates with training and research organizations in Member States. The IIEP Governing Board, which approves the Institute’s programme and budget, consists of a maximum of eight elected members and four members designated by the United Nations Organization and certain of its specialized agencies and institutes.

Chairperson: Raymond E. Wanner (USA) Senior Adviser on UNESCO issues, United Nations Foundation, Washington DC, USA.

Designated Members: Christine Evans-KlockDirector, ILO Skills and Employability Department, Geneva, Switzerland.

Carlos LopesAssistant Secretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), United Nations, New York, USA.

Jamil SalmiEducation Sector Manager, the World Bank Institute, Washington DC, USA.

Guillermo Sunkel Social Affairs Of� cer (ECLAC), Social Development Division, Santiago, Chile.

Elected Members:Aziza Bennani (Morocco) Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Morocco to UNESCO.

Nina Ye� movna Borevskaya (Russia) Chief Researcher and Project Head, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Moscow.

Birger Fredriksen (Norway) Consultant on Education Development for the World Bank.

Ricardo Henriques (Brazil) Special Adviser of the President, National Economic and Social Development Bank.

Takyiwaa Manuh (Ghana) Professor, Former Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.

Jean-Jacques Paul (France)Professor of Economics of Education, Department of Economics and Business Administration, University of Bourgogne, Dijon.

Zhang Xinsheng (China) Vice-Minister of Education, China.

Inquiries about the Institute should be addressed to:The Of� ce of the Director, International Institute for Educational Planning,

7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix, 75116 Paris, France



The book

Many initiatives in Ethiopia in recent years have aimed to strengthen the capacities of educational planners and managers – including on-the-job training programmes for ministry staff, regional and district planners, and school principals. Although progress has been made, several challenges will need to be overcome if planners are to fulfi ll their missions successfully. This study examines these challenges, which include the profi le of planners, their recruitment and evaluation, and the resources at their disposal. Several short-, medium- and long-term strategies are proposed to overcome obstacles and

sustainably improve the capacity of educational planners and managers. These include: well-designed professional development programmes, linking initial and on-the-job training; reform of human resource management (in particular, of recruitment and evaluation); and open and regular communication fl ows between offi ces and administrative levels.

The authors

This study was prepared by Dramane Oulai and Candy Lugaz (Programme Specialists, IIEP), Alemayehu Minas (former Secretary-General for the UNESCO National Commission in Ethiopia), and Haileselassie Teklehaimanot (former Ethiopian Vice-Minister for Technical and Vocational Education and Training), in collaboration with Marc Bernal (Programme Specialist, UNESCO Institute for Statistics) and Marcus Edward (Director of Planning in Saint Lucia).


Documents

Analysis of capacity development in educational planning ...unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001909/190955e.pdf · Analysis of capacity development in educational planning and management