Analysisecdpm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DP-57H-Capacity-Building...RCBB regional capacity building bureau REB regional education bureau RMI regional management institute SDPRP

European Centre for Development Policy ManagementCentre européen de gestion des politiques de développement

John SaxbyPretoria, South Africa

Capacity building for decentralisededucation service delivery inEthiopia

David WatsonLissane Yohannes

A case study prepared for the project ‘Capacity, Change and Performance’

Discussion Paper No 57HJuly 2005

Analysis

The lack of capacity in low-income countries is one of the mainconstraints to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.Even practitioners confess to having only a limitedunderstanding of how capacity actually develops. In 2002, thechair of Govnet, the Network on Governance and CapacityDevelopment of the OECD, asked the European Centre forDevelopment Policy Management (ECDPM) in Maastricht, theNetherlands to undertake a study of how organisations andsystems, mainly in developing countries, have succeeded inbuilding their capacity and improving performance. Theresulting study focuses on the endogenous process of capacitydevelopment - the process of change from the perspective ofthose undergoing the change. The study examines the factorsthat encourage it, how it differs from one context to another,and why efforts to develop capacity have been more successfulin some contexts than in others.

The study consists of about 20 field cases carried out accordingto a methodological framework with seven components, asfollows:• Capabilities: How do the capabilities of a group,

organisation or network feed into organisational capacity?• Endogenous change and adaptation: How do processes of

change take place within an organisation or system? • Performance: What has the organisation or system

accomplished or is it now able to deliver? The focus here ison assessing the effectiveness of the process of capacitydevelopment rather than on impact, which will beapparent only in the long term.

External context Stakeholders

Internal features andresources

External intervention

The simplified analytical framework

Co r e va r i a b l e s

Capabilities

EndogenousChange andadaptation

Performance

Study of Capacity, Change and PerformanceNotes on the methodology

• External context: How has the external context - thehistorical, cultural, political and institutional environment,and the constraints and opportunities they create - influenced the capacity and performance of theorganisation or system?

• Stakeholders: What has been the influence of stakeholderssuch as beneficiaries, suppliers and supporters, and theirdifferent interests, expectations, modes of behaviour,resources, interrelationships and intensity of involvement?

• External interventions: How have outsiders influenced theprocess of change?

• Internal features and key resources: What are the patternsof internal features such as formal and informal roles,structures, resources, culture, strategies and values, andwhat influence have they had at both the organisationaland multi-organisational levels?

The outputs of the study will include about 20 case studyreports, an annotated review of the literature, a set ofassessment tools, and various thematic papers to stimulatenew thinking and practices about capacity development. Thesynthesis report summarising the results of the case studies willbe published in 2005.

The results of the study, interim reports and an elaboratedmethodology can be consulted at www.capacity.org orwww.ecdpm.org. For further information, please contactMs Heather Baser ([email protected]).

Capacity building for decentralised education service delivery in Ethiopia

David WatsonAccredited Governance Consultant

Department for International Development (DfID)

In association with

Lissane YohannesGovernance Consultant, Associate HELM Corporation

A case study prepared for the project 'Capacity, Change and Performance'

July 2005

Capacity Study Analysis Discussion Paper No. 57H

iii

The European Centre forDevelopment Policy ManagementOnze Lieve Vrouweplein 21NL-6211 HE Maastricht, The Netherlands Tel +31 (0)43 350 29 00Fax +31 (0)43 350 29 [email protected] www.ecdpm.org

ContentsAcronymsSummary

1 Introduction

2 Devolution policy and the public sector in Ethiopia2.1 Historical and political background2.2 The education sector

3 Previous experiences of capacity building3.1 National capacity building strategy3.2 Indigenous approaches: gemgema3.3 Capacity needs analyses3.4 Examples of capacity building efforts in Ethiopia3.5 Lessons, themes and contrasts3.6 Capacities for capacity building

4 Key capacities in the context of devolution4.1 Roles and performance4.2 Efficiency and performance in the education system4.3 Implications of devolution for 'capacities'

5 The influence of external contextual factors

6 The influence of external interventions6.1 Donor-supported activities6.2 Donor coordination

7 Stakeholders in devolved education service delivery7.1 Federal level7.2 Regional state level7.3 Woreda level7.4 Community level

8 Internal management factors affecting capacity

9 Capacity, change and performance in Ethiopia

Appendix: List of individuals interviewed

References

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Acronyms BESO Basic Education System Overhaul (USAID)BoFED Bureau of Finance and Economic DevelopmentCBO capacity building officerCSC Civil Service CommissionCSO civil society organisationCSRP Civil Service Reform ProgrammeDfIDE Department for International Development EthiopiaDiP Development in Practice (review by DfID)DSA Devolution Support Activity (USAID)ECSC Ethiopian Civil Service CollegeELIP English Language Improvement ProgrammeEMI Ethiopian Management InstituteEPRDF Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic FrontESDP Education Sector Development ProgrammeE&TB Education and Training BoardGoE government of EthiopiaGTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische ZusammenarbeitHEI higher education institutionHESO Higher Education System OverhaulHRM human resources managementIST in-service trainingJRM joint review missionMoE Ministry of EducationM&E monitoring and evaluationMoFED Ministry of Finance and Economic DevelopmentMCB Ministry of Capacity BuildingNGO non-governmental organisationPRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy PaperPSCAP Public Sector Capacity Building Support ProgrammePTA parent-teacher associationRCBB regional capacity building bureauREB regional education bureauRMI regional management instituteSDPRP Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction ProgrammeSida Swedish International Development AgencySNNPR Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples RegionSWAp sector-wide approachTA technical assistanceToR terms of reference USAID United States Agency for International DevelopmentVSAT very small aperture terminal WEO woreda education office

Discussion Paper No. 57H Capacity Study Analysis

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SummaryThis report examines capacity building for decen-tralised education service delivery in Ethiopia. It isone of over 20 case studies connected with the proj-ect 'Capacity, Change and Performance' being com-piled by ECDPM for GovNet, the Network onGovernance and Capacity Development of theOECD's Development Assistance Committee. Itattempts to apply the methodological frameworkadopted for the studies to consider the capacitybuilding challenges posed in improving the deliveryof devolved education services in Ethiopia. Two otherrelated papers have been produced - an equivalentstudy in Punjab province of Pakistan, and a compara-tive analysis of the two cases, in which conclusionsare drawn about the relative significance of theissues raised. DfID has sponsored this set of caseswithin the GovNet brief.

Devolution and education service delivery in Ethiopia Ethiopia is a low-income country with a GNP percapita of only $100 in 2002, and a HumanDevelopment Index ranking of 169 out of 175 coun-tries. Almost 40% of the population are illiterate, andonly 24% of pupils complete primary school educa-tion. For the present government, which came topower in 1991 after 16 years of bloody civil war, edu-cation is now a national development priority: nearly14% of government budget is allocated to it. TheEducation Sector Development Programme (ESDP)was introduced in 1997 as a vehicle for implementingthe 1994 education policy, which envisaged universalprimary education by 2015.

The devolution of service delivery was included inthe 1995 Constitution, which provides an unusualdegree of autonomy to Ethiopia's 11 regional states.In 1999-2000, however, studies by the World Bankdepicted an administration more akin to deconcen-tration below the regional level. Regional state gov-ernments tended to dominate service delivery at theworeda and kebele levels.

After a crisis within the ruling party (EPRDF), whichculminated in a policy 'renewal' in 2001, more gen-uine devolution took place. Full discretion was givento elected woreda councils to allocate unconditionalgrants from regional state treasuries (initially in thefour largest regions). At the same time, a Ministry ofCapacity Building was created, charged with imple-

menting the national capacity building plan at alllevels of government, and across all sectors, includingeducation.

Capacity building strategy, interpretation and experienceThe national capacity building strategy has three ele-ments: human capacity, systems and procedures. Italso embraces gemgema, an indigenous system ofappraising individual contributions to their organisa-tion's goals, and relationships with colleagues. Therehave been few major (bilateral) capacity buildingefforts related to devolved service delivery: onefocused on financial management, and another onrelieving the chronic capacity constraints facing edu-cation planners, teachers, and the thousands of par-ent-teacher associations. One initiative, the PublicSector Capacity Building Support Programme(PSCAP), backed by a consortium of donors coordinat-ed by the World Bank, is related directly and indirect-ly to devolved education services.

While there are no impact analyses of these pro-grammes, they appear to have contributed to capaci-ties at various levels, and there is some evidence ofpositive performance outcomes (especially financialmanagement) due to the systematic approachesadopted. There is no evidence that the results of, andlessons emerging from, these initiatives are beingshared. DfID funded an inventory of capacity build-ing challenges, experiences and capacities in Ethiopiaand elsewhere, but it was not given the exposureplanned. It therefore appears that Ministry ofCapacity Building has not yet 'learned from experi-ence'.

Capacity challenges of devolved education servicesThere are major challenges at all levels, with indica-tions of capacity constraints, functional overload anddetachment from local realities at the federal level,particularly in the Ministry of Education. The Ministryis clearly still finding it problematic the make thetransition to its policy, planning and evaluation roleunder devolution. It is still mired in implementing anumber of bilaterally funded projects for which itremains responsible. The Ministry of CapacityBuilding apparently exhibits capacity constraints to asomewhat lesser degree, although many staff areinexperienced.

At the regional and woreda levels, although capacityconstraints are still real, the pressures of politicalaccountability are keenly felt, and appear to be act-

ing as a spur to improve performance despiteresource constraints. While attempts are clearly beingmade to make devolution work, there is little evi-dence of how levels of local government are respond-ing (and performing) under devolution.

There appears to be a reluctance to examine theimplications of devolution for federal Ministry roles,structure, staffing and priorities. There are indicationsof generic (federal civil service) and specific (sector-specific) capacity weaknesses. Information manage-ment is emerging as a major issue: disaggregatedbudget data is lacking, and there is no reliable infor-mation on staff turnover especially at woreda level.

DonorsThe 'balance sheet' regarding donor engagement haspositive (capacity enhancing) and negative (capacitydraining) features. On the positive side, USAID hassupported two systematic and long-term efforts thathave begun to have positive effects on educationservice delivery. A World Bank-led consortium ofdonors has helped to prepare a nationwide pro-gramme of demand-led capacity building, and DfIDhas sponsored a study of comparative approaches tolocal government capacity building in Ethiopia andelsewhere. Increasingly, donors are providing aid inthe form of budget support, and encouraging evalua-tion through programme reviews and the productionof 'tools' to help implementation. On the other hand,despite the existence of formal coordination mecha-nisms (including one devoted to education), andsome budget support, donors have retained bilateral'projects' running parallel to the ESDP, and haveretained control of significant funds for TA within thesupposedly 'pooled' funding arrangements for thenew programme.

ConclusionsIt is not feasible to arrive at firm conclusions aboutthe relationship between capacity, change and per-formance in Ethiopia due to the lack of data aboutsome aspects of the performance of the system.Although devolved arrangements in their presentform have been in operation for only three years, it isclear that the operational situation and workingenvironment at the woreda level have changed dra-matically since 1999-2000. Reform at regional andworeda levels is being seriously attempted.

Economic deprivation and severe resource constraintsimpinge negatively on key capacities, and especiallyon the number of teachers that the country canafford. However, there are significant contextual fac-tors that provide a favourable environment for addi-tional investment over time. These include:

• The autonomous status of the regional states isenshrined in the constitution, and their roles (andthose of lower-level governments) provided indetailed guidelines.

• There is a long-standing education policy andbroad political consensus that education is impor-tant for nation and democracy building, thatdevolution must be made to work, and that localstructures have an important role to play.Education is seen as a central plank in the effortsto build capacities.

• There is a distinct national capacity building strat-egy and politically empowered administrativestructures at all levels to implement it.

• Unconditional fiscal devolution puts resources atthe disposal of local governments, and ensuresthat they are accountable to their constituents fortheir decisions and actions. There is strong localaccountability, with education 'watchdog' bodiesat woreda and kebele levels, and a high 'density' ofelected council representatives (one for approxi-mately every 200 people).

• Community contributions to the education infra-structure and even supplies directly support the'physical' capacities. As direct 'investors' in educa-tion, communities have a strong stake in ensuringthat the state delivers in terms of professionalmanagement, high standards of teaching and rel-evant curricula.

HIV/AIDS is having an increasingly significant, nega-tive impact on efforts to develop and maintain edu-cation service capacities at all levels, yet Ethiopialacks the capacity to combat it effectively.


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direction) required of the federal Ministry ofEducation with the heads of education in the region-al state of Amhara. Mr Yohannes spent three daysnegotiating with and briefing regional stakeholdersbefore the fieldwork could begin.

The fieldwork was carried out in July 2004. An issuespaper was discussed with DfID Ethiopia at the startof this phase. Meetings were held with many individ-uals at federal, regional and woreda levels (seeAppendix). It was decided to visit four woredas, butMehal Meda - selected as a successful example ofdecentralised governance - could not be visited dueto lack of time, and was replaced by Debresela.

Figure 1. The regional states of Ethiopia.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA).

1 IntroductionEthiopia is a low-income country with a GNP percapita of only $100 in 2002, and a HumanDevelopment Index ranking of 169 out of 175 coun-tries. Almost 40% of the population are illiterate, andonly 24% of pupils complete primary school educa-tion. For the present government, which came topower in 1991 after 16 years of bloody civil war, edu-cation is now a national development priority; nearly14% of the government budget is allocated to it. TheEducation Sector Development Programme (ESDP)was introduced in 1997 as a vehicle for implementingthe 1994 education policy, which envisaged universalprimary education by 2015.

This report examines capacity building for decen-tralised education service delivery in Ethiopia. It isone of over 20 case studies connected with the proj-ect 'Capacity, Change and Performance' being com-piled by ECDPM for GovNet, the Network onGovernance and Capacity Development of theOECD's Development Assistance Committee. Itattempts to apply the methodological frameworkadopted for the studies (see inside front cover) toconsider the capacity building challenges posed inimproving the delivery of devolved education servic-es in Ethiopia. Two other papers have been produced,related to the present one: an equivalent study inPunjab province of Pakistan, and a comparativeanalysis of the two cases, which assesses the signifi-cance of the issues raised. DfID has sponsored thisset of cases within the GovNet brief.

At a series of meetings in late 2003 ECDPM and DfIDPolicy Division agreed to look at education servicedelivery in two decentralising but very different con-texts - Pakistan and Ethiopia. This focus correspond-ed to DfID's concerns about pro-poor service delivery.These cases are the only ones in the DAC sample thatanalyse public service capacity issues in the contextof public service delivery and decentralisation.1

The approaches adopted in the Ethiopia and Pakistanstudies were similar, including the preparation of theToR with DfID Ethiopia and its counterparts in educa-tion services, the recruitment of a national consult-ant (Lissane Yohannes) with experience in the sector,and arranging meetings and visits by Mr Yohannes.This proved to be far from straightforward, given theautonomous nature of regional and local (woreda)governments, and the degree of persuasion (not


1Notes1 The Ethiopia case study and a comparative analysis of the

two cases have been published as ECDPM Discussion Papers57G and 57I, respectively.


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2 Devolution policy and the public sector in Ethiopia

2.1 Historical and political background

This section outlines the main historical 'milestones'in Ethiopia's history that have a strong bearing onthe context for public sector capacity building andchange (see Polhemus and Yohannes, 2002; GoE,2004b).

In 1974 Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by themilitary Derg regime. During the period of the Derg,an armed resistance movement formed a coalition,the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary DemocraticFront (EPRDF), which eventually toppled dictatorMengistu Haile Mariam and his government in 1991,after nearly 16 years of brutal autocratic misgovern-ment. The interim transitional government paved theway for a constitution of the new state of the FederalDemocratic Republic of Ethiopia, which came intobeing on 21 August 1995.

The constitution provided for nine regional states(plus two urban authorities) with equal rights andlegislative, executive and judicial powers, includingthe right of secession (Article 39.1). The form of gov-ernment is parliamentary and democratic. Theregional states have their own constitutions, and,because they were established on the basis of'nationality', they vary enormously in size and popu-lation. Amhara regional state, in the northwest, hasthe second largest population (over 17 million out ofa total of nearly 70 million), but the third largest inarea. It has 105 autonomous local governmentauthorities termed woredas. Amhara and two otherregions (Oromia and Southern Nations Nationalitiesand Peoples' Region, SNNPR) account for over 80% ofthe population and are each larger than at least 20of Africa's independent states (GoE, 2004b, ch.2 p.12).

The devolution of power and resources from federalgovernment, and the reform of public sector institu-tions, has taken place in two phases. The period 1995-2001 saw 'deconcentration' from regions to woredas,although regional governments prepared woredabudgets, and imposed restrictions on how transferswere to be used. Woredas were thus obliged to fol-

low regional government priorities and developmentprogrammes. From 2001, a crisis in the ruling coali-tion resulted in a process termed 'renewal'(Polhemus and Yohannes, 2002), with devolution ofpower from the regions to the woreda councils, whowere then able to set their own development priori-ties and budgets. They continued to depend onregional governments for well over 80% of their rev-enue, although since 2001 these transfers have beenin the form of unconditional block grants. Belowworedas, kebeles are the lowest rung of democratical-ly elected local government (see Figure 2).2

Figure 2. Structure of the government of Ethiopia.

The federal government was reorganised in 2001.An Office for the Coordination of Capacity Building(soon converted into a ministry) was established toinitiate capacity building polices, to design andimplement related programmes in support of theregions, and to coordinate other related organs ofgovernment, including the Ministry of Education.

2.2The education sector

The Education Sector Development Programme(ESDP I) (1997-2002) was designed to address thevery poor conditions and performance of the educa-tion system, in the context of widespread poverty.3

Notes2 Kebeles were created by the Derg as a means to gain

control, but were retained and empowered with locallyelected assemblies by the EPRDF.

3 In 1998 Ethiopia's GDP per capita stood at $110, less thanone-quarter the average of other countries in the region.

Federal Government

Regional state (9+2 urban authorities)Amhara 17.2 million

Woreda (537)Amhara 105

Average population 164,000

Kebele (approx. 10,000)Amhara approx. 2000 (?)

Average population between 7000 & 8000Average 40 elected members

(of which 26.7% women in Tigray in 2002)Average number of voters per elected member <200


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Another major innovation since the launch of theESDP was the introduction of the SustainableDevelopment and Poverty Reduction Programme(SDPRP) in 2002, as Ethiopia's version of a PovertyReduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Three of its four 'pil-lars' relate to governance changes (the other is agri-cultural development-led industrialisation), includingreform of the justice system and the civil service,decentralisation, and capacity building in the publicand private sectors. Devolution is seen a means toseveral ends: a socio-economic transition to democra-cy and better governance, improved service delivery(by shifting decision making closer to the grassrootsfor improved accountability and responsiveness), andcitizens' empowerment and participation in gover-nance.

The primary school enrolment rate (30%) was thelowest in the world (and less than half the averagefor the region). It had fallen as low as 19% during thelater years of the Derg regime (GoE, 1999). Changewas necessary to address chronic problems, particu-larly in rural areas, where less than 30% of boys and20% of girls attended primary school. One-third ofgrade 1 pupils dropped out, and 20% of the remain-ing pupils repeated classes (taking nine years onaverage to complete six years of primary education).Inadequate facilities, the lack of textbooks, under-qualified teachers (less than 40% of grade 9-12teachers were qualified), and inappropriate curriculaand examinations were the main causes. In 1992/3government spending on education was just 2.6% ofGDP, rising to 3.8% in 1995/6, which amounted to13.7% of the budget. Planning and managementcapacities, particularly at regional and woreda levels,were described as 'weak'.

The ESDP I attempted to put into action the 1994education policy, which included a sector plan,backed by a consortium of donors, designed toenhance enrolment, particularly in primary schools,decentralisation, and community empowerment.ESDP II was launched in 2002/3 and will run to2004/5. An annual joint review process evaluatesprogress against performance milestones. The ESDPAction Plan stressed that 'greater institutional capac-ity at all levels ... is the first priority of the pro-gramme' (GoE, 1999, p.9). Regions considered espe-cially ill-prepared 'will concentrate on capacity build-ing in the initial period of ESDP, especially in theareas of educational administration, procurement,financial management and M&E. Head teachers andofficials at all levels will be given training in educa-tion management, and a reporting and monitoringsystem will be put in place to facilitate their account-ability. ... In the MoE planning, finance management,implementation and monitoring and evaluationcapacities will be improved' (ibid., p.10) TheSecretariat of the ESDP is the Planning andProgramme Department of the Ministry ofEducation.

3 Previous experiences of capacity building

3.1 National capacity building strategy

A national capacity building strategy was developedas part of the Civil Service Reform Programmelaunched in 1998, and a plan for implementing it wasput in place following the 'renewal' of the EPRDF in2001, to be led by the newly created Ministry ofCapacity Building. The strategy's three elements -human capacity, systems and procedures, and organi-sational structures and interrelationships - are basedon the understanding that the country will onlyachieve its goals if it can coordinate the use of itshuman resources, institutional capacity and the pro-cedures to carry out these tasks (see Box 1).

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3.2Indigenous approaches: gemgema

An important and widespread feature of capacitybuilding practice in Ethiopia is gemgema, a tradition-al approach to encourage performance based on reg-ular group feedback to individuals regarding theirperformance and behaviour in relation to the groupand the objectives of the organisation. It was devel-oped during the period of armed struggle (1975-91)against the Derg, first by the Tigray People'sLiberation Front and then by other allied groups dur-ing the civil war, and has gradually begun to be prac-ticed by all branches of the civil service in Ethiopia.

Although work on formal performance evaluationsystems is ongoing in the civil service, gemgema iscomplementary to them - it does not involve writtenassessments, it is regular (several times per year) butnot arbitrary. Gemgema is based on objectives, tasksaccomplished, problems encountered and solved, tar-gets and their achievement, interpersonal communi-cation and attitudes to the group. The objective is to


Box 1: National capacity building strategy

The aim of the strategy is to develop the capacities needed for the country's agriculture-led industrialdevelopment, in which the rural areas play a crucial role. For civil servants and political leaders to renderthe services required of them, it is essential to build the capacities of regional and woreda structures, andof the private sector. The strategy focuses on:• inclusiveness and comprehensiveness - government institutions are to provide an enabling environ-

ment for capacity building in elementary schools through to universities, as well as research and con-sultancy institutions at federal, regional and woreda levels;

• the need for one institution to coordinate capacity building activities; and • the harmonisation of capacity building activities with changing situations: it is essential that meth-

ods or even priorities can change in the light of lessons learned.

The major components of the strategy are:• education and training, including elementary education (quality of education, medium of instruction,

finance and administration);• technical, vocational education and training: systemic and structural reforms to improve quality, and

financial 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.

The capacity building strategy is intimately related to the democratisation process, to help deliver theprinciples enshrined in the constitution.

improve the effectiveness and productivity of thegroup in relation to the organisation's aim or mis-sion. It is widely practiced, and its outcomes aretaken seriously by all involved.

To our knowledge there has been no formal assess-ment of the impact of gemgema. It is, however, sym-bolic of the perceived importance of the contribu-tions of all individuals to achieve the purpose of theorganisation for which they work, and through it, thesocio-economic development of the country. This fea-ture of working life is pervasive, transparent andapparently unique.


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3.3Capacity needs analyses

There have seen several major principal analyses ofcapacity needs and requirements related to educa-tion services in Ethiopia include the following:

'Woreda studies' (World Bank, 2001)One of the most ambitious and wide-ranging diag-nostic studies of local government operations andservices was undertaken in 1999-2000, with theassistance of the World Bank. It formed the basis offuture government/World Bank collaboration in arange of programmes, in particular the CapacityBuilding for Decentralised Service Delivery project, aprecursor to the Public Sector Capacity BuildingSupport Programme (PSCAP, 2004-8).

The study was preceded by a five-month pilot assess-ment to test methodologies and develop hypotheses.The main work was done in nine woredas in fourregions that were selected to highlight the main con-trasts in the economic system: urban/rural, foodsecure/insecure, and agrarian/pastoral, focusing onthe processes of governance, and perceptions thereof,at woreda level. Fieldwork was undertaken at all lev-els of government, from region to sub-kebele, in sixsectors: health, education, water, agriculture, financeand planning. The study's findings included:• the enormous magnitude of the task of providing

basic services in the geographical and infrastruc-tural environment of Ethiopia;

• federal and regional governments were still apply-ing a hierarchical approach to development, creat-ing a highly centralised system of governance;

• resource management was firmly controlled bythe bureaucracy;

• elected representatives focused solely on local taxcollection and contributions of labour; and

• citizens were passive beneficiaries of services,rather than active participants in their manage-ment, so that the system did not capture theresourcefulness, resilience and adaptability oflocal communities.

The report recommended actions to decentralisepower progressively to elected bodies, and toenhance community control of developmentresources.4

Box 2: Gemgema

During our visits it was clear that gemgema istreated seriously. In each woreda, teachers' gath-erings were organised at the suggestion of theregional education bureau. Teachers (in somecases more than 700) were brought together fora week to be briefed by heads of capacity build-ing and education offices on the government'seducation and other policies. The teachers wereinvited to evaluate the role and performance ofthe regional bureau and the education office inimplementing the policies, and the communica-tion between levels of government and individ-ual schools. At one gathering, for example,teachers objected to the new emphasis on theirrole as community mobilisers. At another, thehead of the education office commented on theteachers' constructive approach to this new role,and instances of selflessness and financial con-tributions to local education projects and facili-ties. At yet another, the head of the woreda edu-cation office was 'grilled' by staff about his atti-tude towards them in the past year.

Notes4 This report served as a baseline for assessing the growth of

capacities at regional and woreda levels. Five years later, thesituation at both levels is very different to that described inthe report.

Development in Practice (DiP, 2003) This comparative analysis of capacity buildingapproaches for local government was commissionedby DfID in order to inform the preparation of thePSCAP (especially its district-level decentralisationcomponent), by reviewing lessons from earlierattempts at local government capacity building inEthiopia and elsewhere. It pointed out that organisa-tional approaches to training across woreda adminis-trations (providing for guided experience in theworkplace, as opposed to off-the-job) had never beenemployed in Ethiopia, and questioned the providers'ability to meet new needs for generic woreda capaci-ty building. Organisational development approacheshad proved effective elsewhere.7 It also drew atten-tion to ambiguities in the relationship betweenregional and woreda governments, in particular to anapparent need for a dedicated bureau at regionallevel to regulate woredas. It appears that this valu-able and comprehensive study was never discussed(as planned and proposed by DfID) among stakehold-ers in the PSCAP preparation process and other development partners.

Higher Education System Overhaul (HESO, 2004)This assessment of higher education (HE) manage-ment capacity was one of the most thorough andparticipatory of the needs analyses reviewed here.The committee of inquiry (including senior staff ofHE institutes and the MoE, and internationally expe-rienced (volunteer) staff) focused on leadership, gov-ernance and management of the sector. Major focifor change identified were: autonomy and accounta-bility; promoting an enabling culture; managementdevelopment and training; human resource manage-ment; quality of inputs, processes and outcomes;financial and resource management; administrativesystems and the challenges of HIV/AIDS. The reportmade recommendations for action by the MoE, andthe boards and senior managers of HE institutes.

The Education Sector Development Programme (ESDPI and II) (1997-2002-2005)The ESDP was preceded by joint design missions thatassessed all dimensions of education service deliverycapacities, including current deficiencies, gaps andpriority actions to bridge them. However, the pro-gramme action plan did not include capacity defi-ciencies, or measures to address them (GoE, 2002a).Only 3% of the indicative Birr 3 billion budget was tobe devoted to capacity building activities.

National Capacity Building Programme(1998-2003-2008)Early experiences with a public sector reform pro-gramme introduced by the government in 1997,5 anda series of donor assessments, revealed severalunderlying capacity challenges. These led to thepreparation of a national capacity building strategyand plan in 1998 (see Box 1), and the creation of theMinistry of Capacity Building (MCB) to lead its imple-mentation in 2001. The challenges identified were:6• Inefficiencies deriving from unpredictable finan-

cial management, poor incentives, and the lack ofa strategic or performance orientation. At the fed-eral level problems included the lack of compli-ance with the financial budget calendar; resourceallocation and expenditure frameworks; politicalownership of the macroeconomic fiscal frame-work; and reporting and audit systems. At region-al and woreda levels, there were problems con-nected with bringing accounts up to date, andbudgeting and procurement systems.

• Personnel incentives were weak. A 'results-orient-ed performance evaluation' system had beenintroduced in the Civil Service Reform Programme(CSRP) in 1996, but there were cultural and opera-tional difficulties with its 'roll-out', pay negotia-tions had stalled, and the rules for hiring, transfer,promotion and firing staff at the woreda levelwere ambiguous. There was evidence that quali-fied managers and IT staff were leaving to workfor NGOs and the private sector.

• Empowerment of woredas and municipalitiesrequired granting them more fiscal and adminis-trative autonomy. The inefficiencies identified inthe woreda assessments (see above) were com-pounded by over-centralised procurement prac-tices, and weak personnel management.

• Weak checks and balances on the executive,which limited accountability, recourse andredress.


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Notes5 This was preceded in 1994 by a major government-led

assessment by a task force, of management arrangementsand practices at all levels of government.

6 Summarised in the PSCAP appraisal (2004-8).7 See Watson and Cross (2003) for a summary of lessons from

local government capacity building in Africa.

3.4 Examples of capacity building efforts in Ethiopia

EDSP I was launched at the same time as the firstphase of the Civil Service Reform Programme (CSRP I)in 1997. The latter comprised components concernedwith top-level coordination and change manage-ment, resource management and control, perform-ance improvement and appraisal, transparency, andservice delivery. In the period up to 2001 the CSRPfocused on research and preparing for implementa-tion, although this was taken forward only after the'renewal' in 2001. Since then the major innovationhas been the creation of the Ministry of CapacityBuilding to lead the implementation of the nationalcapacity building strategy.

Within the CSRP's financial management and expen-diture control component (the only one active before2001), one initiative has had a major impact oncapacities for financial devolution in the four mainregional states. The Decentralisation Support Activity(DSA, 1997-), funded by USAID (and latterly Irish Aid)addresses financial management, accounting andbudgeting capacities for decentralisation, and isbased in the Ministry of Finance and EconomicDevelopment. No recent overview of its activities isavailable, and the steering committee has apparentlynot met for two years, but the aggregate results ofits efforts are impressive. A total of 23,000 staff atfederal, regional and woreda levels have been trainedsince late 2001, nearly 5000 of them in accountancy,involving eight regional management training insti-tutes and the Ethiopian Civil Service College between1998 and 2001. The project has produced more than80 reports and manuals on accounting issues, 120 onbudget reform, five on cash management, and 52 onpublic investment and expenditure reform, as well aspolicy advisory notes, training manuals, IT-relatedpublications and media reports. The project also facil-itates discussions of reform experiences betweenparticipating regions, and comments (sometimescritically) on current (allegedly over-hasty) approach-es to reform in these fields.8

The Basic Education System Overhaul (BESO) is USAID-funded capacity building programme that aims toimprove equity of access to education (especially forgirls), and the quality of (particularly) primary educa-tion. It has three elements:• The community/government partnership pro-

gramme focuses on improving links between


7

communities and schools (via parent-teacherassociations, PTAs) and includes incentive grants(managed by the PTAs) together with assessmentand planning skills training aimed at empoweringPTAs to make them 'informed users' of educationservices.

• Teacher development: 20 teacher training insti-tutes have received support (about Birr 1 millioneach, plus libraries and computer equipment)with an emphasis on active learning methodolo-gies, communication skills and management oflarge classes. In-service training for clusters ofschools is also provided, focusing on leadershipdevelopment and tackling HIV/AIDS.

• Planning and information management skillsdevelopment. In all 11 regions electronic personnelrecords and systems have been installed; theemphasis has now swung to woreda educationoffices with the recent completion of a country-wide woreda capacity building programme. In col-laboration with Addis Ababa University, a 16-mod-ule 300-page workbook, in four languages, hasbeen developed with and for woreda planningofficers. Training of trainers for the 'roll-out' of thetraining was provided for regional educationplanners. Teams of staff from each of the 611 par-ticipating woredas were invited to bring theirown data to subsequent 10-day courses, and theywere then guided through the process of drawingup their own plan based on real data. Thisapproach was well received by the more than3000 participants.

A major teacher development programme is underway. This comprises a 'Teacher Education SystemOverhaul' (TESO) and a management training ele-ment, as well as the English Language ImprovementProgramme (ELIP) for teachers. The latter, supportedby a consortium of six donors, is designed to improvethe competence of 140,000 teachers of English tochildren in grades 5-12. It is currently the subject ofthe only impact evaluation we encountered inEthiopia.

Alternative Basic Education Programme Amhara. This(rare) example of successful cooperation between anNGO and a regional education bureau is designed toprovide informal opportunities for children frompoor or isolated communities to obtain an education.

The Area Development Programme in Amhara (sup-ported by Sida) uses grants to encourage communitycontributions, with positive results.

Notes8 Devolution Support Activity (DSA) Quarterly Progress

Reports 24 (May 2003) and 28 (April 2004).


8

From sources in the Civil Service Commission and theMinister of Capacity Building we understand that aseries of management seminars is being organisedfor senior federal officials to encourage reform-mind-edness. A major effort supported by DfIDE and otherdonors was to revise the existing ESDP programmeimplementation manual in early 2004, in response tothe perceived need for a reference source for allstakeholders, which would provide clear and easilyreferenced guidance to policies, structures, fundingmechanisms, institutional roles and managementprocedures underlying the ESDP. This replaced an ear-lier version of a manual produced in late 1998 osten-sibly as a 'living document' (which died).

Based on interviews at the regional and woreda lev-els, it appears that the regional capacity buildingbureau (RCBB) in Amhara has taken responsibility forcapacity building among education and trainingboards and PTAs, but that other education-relatedelements had been left to education bureaux oroffices to take forward, with or without federaland/or development partner support (for exampleunder the programmes mentioned above). No docu-mentation was available to assess the extent ofthese programmes, or their approaches.

3.5Lessons, themes and contrasts

The main points emerging from the capacity buildingexperiences described above appear to be as follows:• Devolution to the woreda level is a recent phe-

nomenon; before 2001 the style was more 'decon-centration' from the regions to woredas. Since2000, when the 'Woreda Studies' were compiled,there have been major changes in the behaviourof regional and woreda government actors.

• All the major capacity building efforts (except themanagement seminars) have been funded by, andtechnically supported by donors.

• There have been no formal objective 'third party'evaluations of capacity building practices. Thereare preparations for an impact analysis of theELIP, and there are plans to evaluate BESO. It istherefore unclear how the programmes have con-tributed to the changes in behaviour notedabove.

• The relationships between these initiatives andthe Ministry of Capacity Building (MCB) or itsregional offices (which supervise educationbureaux and woreda education offices) have been

polite but distant. In the MCB documentation wewere able to access there are almost no refer-ences to the major programmes described above.In regional and woreda capacity building offices,staff have participated in most of the training.This apparent 'distance' between the MCB/RCBBand the MoE/REB may relate to the reluctance ofthe two ministries to cooperate - despite the sen-iority of the Minister of Capacity Building in cabi-net, the Minister of Education is a senior in partycircles (being a member of the politburo), and isdirectly accountable to the Prime Minister. It mayalso relate to the history of the evolution of thePSCAP, in which regional officials were involved incompiling elaborate cross-sectoral capacity build-ing programmes (but which were ultimatelyunfundable given the eventual scope of the WorldBank programme), but apparently did not involveeducation or health sector staff.

Feedback on the USAID-supported DevolutionSupport Activity (DSA) and BESO programmes hasbeen positive:9• The programmes' consultants and trainers have

long experience of Ethiopian realities, and soundknowledge of the situation facing trainees (basedon needs analyses and frequent visits to worksites);

• regional offices are involved in programme designand preparation;

• formal off-the-job training for woreda staff is fol-lowed up (at least in the case of the DSA) by peri-odic on-site assistance from local support offices;

• These are timely interventions, in that they relateto parallel systemic changes brought about orencouraged by the federal government. For exam-ple, cost-centre budgeting and double-entry book-keeping have been introduced in Amhara. Thetraining has been relevant to woreda staff, whoare under pressure to account more promptly andaccurately for development funds.

• The training is practical. For example, the BESOeducational planning training invited participantsto bring their own data so that they were able toproduce something (an action plan) that wouldbe of direct use to them on return to work.

• In both cases, teams of colleagues attend thesame training, so that a 'critical mass' of gradu-ates returns to the workplace.

Notes9 The deputy head of the Bureau of Finance and Economic

Development in Amhara provided evidence of dramaticimprovements in financial reporting following theintroduction of new procedures derived from the DSAproject.

3.6 Capacities for capacity building

The issue of capacities for capacity building has beenaddressed during the preparation of PSCAP. The DiPreport (2003) lists the main (public sector) capacitybuilding centres, together with details of current andpast activities, as follows:• The MCB supervises the Ethiopian Civil Service

College (ECSC) and the Ethiopian ManagementInstitute (EMI). The MoE is jointly accountable tothe MCB and the Council of Ministers via thePrime Minister. Regional capacity buildingbureaux supervise regional education offices andmanagement institutes.

• The ECSC provides a wide range of managementprogrammes for federal and regional staff relatedto the implementation of the CSRP (supported byDfID).

• The EMI trains private and public sector managers(60% from federal or regional governments) - asurvey in the four main regions concluded thatmanagement and leadership capacities at woredalevel are very scarce.

• Neither the ECSC nor the EMI have links withregional management institutes (RMIs), whosestaff and capacities are reportedly weak, althoughthe Amhara RMI offered CSRP training for nearly2500 staff in 2004. The regional government isbuilding a new facility in Amhara at considerablecost.


9Notes10 The author of the DiP report was involved in capacity

building in Zimbabwe in the 1980s and 1990s using anapproach encouraged by facilitators within target localgovernments.

Box 3: The MCB's NGO/CSO capacity building strategy

The Ministry of Capacity Building's NGO/CSO capacity building strategy aims to equip civil society organi-sations (CSOs) to play a role in the Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Programme (SDPRP), aswell as in efforts to promote democratisation, improve the delivery of services, and to achieve decentralisa-tion. The strategy is based on the premise that CSOs are autonomous and must take charge of the processof building their own capacities. A separate component of the SDPRP is devoted to forging partnershipsbetween the government and civil society, and institutionalising dialogue on policies, planning and imple-mentation issues.

A technical paper prepared for the MCB noted that there are three types of CSO: trade unions, cooperativesand religious foundations; NGOs and advocacy groups; and informal traditional groupings (a 2002 GTZstudy estimated that the latter had over 39 million members, over half the population). The paper envis-aged complementarity between the MCB-led CSO capacity building work and that done at woreda level toencourage popular participation in governance and (for example) school management (GoE, 2004d).tarity between the MCB-led CSO capacity building work and that done at woreda level to encourage popu-lar participation in governance and (for example) school management(GoE, 2004d).

• There are no facilitators of organisational capaci-ty building at woreda level, nor have any beentrained in the past.10

We are not aware of any organised efforts to devel-op the capacities of Ethiopian consultants.

The dissemination of a MCB policy on capacity build-ing for civil society and non-governmental organisa-tions (CSOs/NGOs) was imminent but still pendingat the time of our review (GoE, 2004d). One compo-nent of the national capacity building plan is devot-ed to civil society (see Box 3).

In an analysis of the impacts of Pact's past efforts in24 NGOs, Fesseha (2002) found improvements ofbetween 20% and 50% in seven key areas (gover-nance, management, human resources, financialmanagement, service delivery, external relations andsustainability). The impact was greatest in thosecases where tailored training was followed by men-toring in the workplace (DiP, 2003, p.21).

1. In August 2002 the Ministry of Educationissued a comprehensive set of guidelines foreducational management, community partici-pation and finance (GoE, 2002b).

2. A significant proportion of donor support (foreducation and other key sectors) is now deliv-ered via budget support rather than projects,although the EDSP Secretariat still manages 32bilateral projects, as well as the ESDP.

3. The annual joint review mission (JRM) appearsto be a valued as a mechanism for monitoringprogress and identifying implementationproblems.11

4. Block grants are in operation in the fourlargest regions. There is evidence that thesehave acted as a 'capacitator', in that woredaand kebele councils have to distribute scarcebudget resources among competing sectors.No funding is earmarked at regional level


10

4 Key capacities in the context of devolution

4.1Roles and performance

This section examines the roles assigned to variouslevels of government (Box 4) in the devolution policyas the basis of our assessment of 'which capacitiesmatter most'. We then explore aspects of the per-formance of the education system from several per-spectives.

Based on our discussions and visits, the mainchanges introduced in the above levels of govern-ment through devolution (especially since 2001)include the following:

Box 4: Roles assigned to various levels of government for education

Federal level (Ministry of Education)Federal ministries formulate and implement policies, strategies and plans, and establish and implementnational standards. In practice the MoE is also involved in curriculum development (for senior secondaryand higher education institutions) and guides regional governments in curriculum development for pri-mary and junior secondary schools. The MoE also sets minimum teaching qualifications; sets examinations;promotes the provision of materials and textbooks; licences private higher education institutions; preparesand implements development projects; devises approaches for providing education services to minoritiesand adults; supports mass media applications; supervises educational institutions run by other organs ofgovernment; and takes the lead in statistical data collection and analysis to monitor progress in policyimplementation. It is the primary level of government-to-government engagement in respect of officialdevelopment assistance.

Regional state level (regional education bureaux, REBs)The REBs prepare and implement plans for providing access to education; ensure compliance with nationalstandards; prepare curriculum for primary and junior schools; train and deploy teachers; ensure the ade-quacy of examinations, books and materials; administer primary and junior secondary schools; licence andsupervise schools established by other organisations; undertake studies and compile statistical data;mobilise public support for education; and provide capacity building support for the woredas.

Woreda-level (woreda education offices, WEOs) The WEOs establish and administer primary and secondary, technical and vocational schools; prepare edu-cational plans based on the regional plan; ensure equitable distribution of services especially in deprivedareas; issue requirements in respect of new schools, and decide with kebeles their siting; appoint anddeploy teachers; check compliance with quality standards; support and monitor education and trainingboards (E&TBs) and PTAs; organise symposia to discuss education problems and approaches to enhancecommunity participation; give awards to and publicise organisations or individuals who contribute to thesector; encourage 'healthy competition' within communities; develop strategies to encourage communitycontributions to schools; and, in consultation with woreda E&TBs, 'pass decisions' on teachers' disciplinematters and follow up their implementation.

Notes11 The 2003 mission included no less than 27 members from

government and donors.


11

before transfer to woredas. Compared withother decentralising countries in Africa, this isa rare characteristic (the norm is elaborate ear-marking, which partially defeats the objectiveof devolution). There is evidence, however, thatthese grants are inadequate to fund muchmore than teachers' salaries, which accountedfor 93% of grants in 2004.12 Stakeholders atnational level complain of the lack of disaggre-gated data on actual allocations to educationat woreda level.

5. Councils, education and training boards at alllevels, and school PTAs were active in the areaswe visited. Political and community accounta-bility aspects of devolution appeared to be inkeeping with policy aspirations. Woreda edu-cation management is scrutinised by theE&TBs, while scrutiny of school managementhas been devolved to community level in theform of PTAs.

These changes have been accompanied by (but havenot caused) a favourable trend in enrolment. Themajor factor influencing enrolment was the decisionto scrap primary education fees in 1994; othersincluded policy consensus, changes in parental atti-tudes, and the improved supply of teachers. Between1992 and 2002 aggregate enrolment in grades 1-12increased at an average of 9% per year (World Bank,2004b), and the primary gross enrolment ratio tre-bled to 62%. Ethiopia's enrolment rates are now onlyslightly below those in other countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Enrolments in tertiary and vocationaleducation grew from 3000 in 1995 to 54,000 in 2002.

4.2 Efficiency and performance in the education system

Efficiency and performance parameters relate prima-rily to the major policy issues raised in the review bythe World Bank (2004b). Teacher-pupil ratios areclearly under stress, and have declined from 1:25 in1992 (grades 1-8) to 1:65 in 2001 (1:52 in secondaryschools). The average primary class size increasedfrom 47 in 1994 to 75 in 2001. Conditions are worse inrural areas, where pupil-teacher ratios are 50-60%higher than in urban areas.

Other policy parameters identified in the World Bankstudy relate to the costs or the cost-effectiveness ofthe education system. It drew attention to relativelycostly elements of the policy and the delivery systemin relation to what is currently affordable:• the length of primary education (8 years com-

pared with 6 years elsewhere);• the relatively high qualifications required to

teach at various levels;• the unit costs of classrooms (and the related

issue of unrealistic building standards);• the (low) share of expenditures allocated to

primary education (50%, compared to a bench-mark of 67% in the Education for All fast-trackinitiative);13

• the (high) proportion of expenditures devotedto teachers' salaries (much higher than incomparable countries); and

• the (inflated and unsustainable) per capitcosts of secondary and particularly highereducation.

Cost factors were also related to geographical andhuman resource management factors. The distancebetween pupils' homes and schools was identified asa significant constraint on access. Whether theschool could offer a complete teaching programmewas another important variable (only 20% of primaryschools offer classes up to grade 8), although this ismore of a problem in rural than in areas. The cost-effectiveness of the system was also found to berelated to the apparent randomness of teacher distri-bution (higher than in most countries for primaryeducation as a whole, and the most random in acomparison of 21 African countries at grades 1-4).

The report's conclusions on (poor) learning efficiencywere based on a MoE baseline assessment in 2000that analysed grade 4 and 8 test (correct answer)scores: 41% was the average at grade 4, and 48% atgrade 8. Thus large numbers of children were notachieving curriculum objectives, due to factors suchas inadequate access to textbooks and radios forsupplementary instruction. The report noted that atgrade 8 'process' (management environment) ratherthan input variables were the most significant. Therewas virtually no statistical link between schools'recurrent expenditures and learning outcomes. Thereport concluded that 'money by itself is insufficientto achieve good results', and that the challenge is 'todiscover the underlying support and incentive struc-tures that motivate teachers and school directors,and adopt these ...' (World Bank, 2004b, p.xxv).

Notes12 The international benchmark is for recurrent budgets to be

split 70% for salaries and 30% for other expenditures.13 An initiative launched in 2000, coordinated by UNESCO, in

which African governments committed themselves toachieving 'education for all' by 2015.


12

Community contributions to or expenditures on edu-cation are significant - in 1999/2000 they amountedto 30% of all government contributions, and morethan 50% of that for primary education. There is evi-dence that these expenditures (not fee costs) impact-ed disproportionately on the poorest. For them theopportunity costs of sending children to schoolwould be highest (in terms of lost labour) and theperceived importance of school least (for parentswho are more likely to be illiterate and with no edu-cational experience). These observations on commu-nity contributions were corroborated by the 2003JRM, and by our own visit to Mota woreda in Amhararegion where, in 2004, community contributions (inkind, labour and cash) added more than 60% to thepublic education budget.

4.3 Implications of devolution for 'capacities'

Within the federal MoE and related research institu-tions involved in educational policy, a number ofcapacities are clearly crucial, in particular the abilityto identify and analyse policy options, costs andtrade-offs. Relevant issues include minimising thecosts (and maximising revenues) of secondary andhigher education, management of higher educationinstitutions (through more devolution), setting mini-mum teacher qualifications at various levels of thesystem, and identifying ways to recruit more teach-ers. Note that the analysis of efficiency and perform-ance in the previous section was derived from areport compiled by the World Bank, not the MoE.

Devolution has clear implications for educationresource planning and management capacities atthe regional level. The major challenges at this levelinclude developing capabilities for generating andanalysing data, curriculum development, teacher dis-tribution across woredas, and allocating resources.Capacity challenges appear to be greatest in 'gettingthe learning environment right' at school level, suchas by providing guidance to woredas on the selectionof head teachers.

At the woreda level, capacities at a premium includeoptimising teacher distribution, overall recruitment,selecting and training head teachers (with help fromthe region); implementing HIV/AIDS informationcampaigns (given the significant numbers of teach-ers absent or lost due to AIDS-related diseases);analysis of the spatial distribution of schools, and ofschools offering a full teaching programme. Theabove role assignments, and the woreda staff weinterviewed, emphasised woreda capacities and per-formance in mobilising community resources. Wereturn to this issue in the discussion of incentivesbelow, given its prominence as a criterion of 'excel-lence' in regional assessments of the performanceworeda administrators.


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5 The influence of external contextual factors

In this section we review the significance of variousexternal contextual factors on capacities, learningand performance in the Ethiopian education sector.The apparently high degree of political consensus onthe constitutional, legal, organisational and policyframeworks in which education services are deliv-ered - at least since 2001 - has provided a significantand supportive context in which measures to pro-mote the development of capacities could beapplied. The principal features of this context includethe following.

1. The constitutional arrangements for regionalstates provide a stable and secure base forbuilding the capacities of institutional actorsat regional and lower levels. National develop-ment priorities have not fundamentallychanged since 1991, but were subject to'renewal' within the EPRDF in 2001. They havenot been challenged by any alternative politi-cal party machine or politically organisedvoice.

2. The dominant party has played a significantrole as a source of development ideology andpolicy, and of mechanisms for the placementof individuals who are mandated to carry itout. This has been manifested in the priorityattributed to capacity building and education,the creation of the MCB in 2002, and in ensur-ing that incumbents of senior posts in region-al capacity building bureaux and woredaoffices are party members who are committedto the policy. A (deliberately) related factor isthe formal accountability of education (and insome regions health) service agencies torespective capacity building offices. Onlycapacity building heads have positions inregional and woreda executive cabinets.

3. The 1994 education policy states that educa-tion is essential for responsible citizenship anda basic human (and constitutional) right; italso refers to the need to include the educa-tion of girls. This policy has not been funda-mentally changed, although strategies for put-ting it into practice have been subject to

annual review by the government and devel-opment partners since the late 1990s.

4. The need for effective devolution was re-emphasised in 2001, and (unusually for Africa)was backed up with flexible financialresources. Although these were inadequate tomeet all development needs, they were to beallocated by democratically elected woredaand kebele councils.

5. Since 2001 the emphasis on communityempowerment and participation has also beenbacked up with institutional arrangementswithin the education sector (education andtraining boards at local levels, and PTAs forschools), which have 'teeth' (PTAs can recom-mend disciplinary action against a teacher).This may explain the willingness and (in thebetter-off regions) the ability of communitiesto contribute to the costs of education.

6. The combination of a dominant political coali-tion, the institutional empowerment of localmanagement and 'watchdog' bodies, and theincreased awareness of their membersappears to have resulted in little or no politi-cally motivated interference in the manage-ment of education personnel or of resourceallocation among constituencies.

7. HIV/AIDs is having a major impact on the edu-cation sector. In its study of higher education,the World Bank (2003, p.50) noted that about10,000 teachers are HIV positive. About 22% ofteacher attrition is due to AIDS, and recruit-ment needs to increase by 16% annually toachieve the Education for All goals. Also,absenteeism due to AIDS-related diseases islikely to have a greater impact on educationthan mortality - the equivalent of 1035 teach-ing years were lost in 2002. These observationsaccord with our discussions, yet neither the2003 JRM nor the recent education study(World Bank, 2004b) refers to the problem.

8. The extent of the final factor, corruption, hasbeen the subject of at least two mutuallyinconsistent analyses.14 Our impression is thatin at least this basic service sector it is not amajor problem.

Notes14 One assessment concluded that 'there is a high degree of

budgetary discipline ... the risk of corruption and diversionof funds is low' (cited in GoE, 2003b, p.33), yet TransparencyInternational ranked Ethiopia 92nd (out of 133) in terms ofthe apparent prevalence of corruption (the same asPakistan).


14

6 The influence of external interventions

In fiscal year 2002/3 external grants amounted to21% of total government recurrent revenues; externalloans and other capital assistance were 44% of thetotal budget (GoE, 2003b, Table 4, p.43). Over 30% ofthe 2002/3 education budget came from externalsources (GoE, 2003c, Annex 5).

6.1Donor-supported activities

On the basis of our discussions and review of the lit-erature, we conclude that in the 1990s there was ahistory of ad-hoc donor-driven 'gap-filling' capacitybuilding approaches in Ethiopia, which the PublicSector Capacity Building Programme (PSCAP) ismeant to prevent in future. The Education SectorDevelopment Programme (ESDP) was introduced in1997 to shape a coherent externally supported pro-gramme relevant to capacity building for educationservices. This remains the principal external interven-tion in the process of building capacities in the edu-cation sector in Ethiopia.

Despite the introduction of budget support, the ESDPSecretariat still manages over 30 development proj-ects, imposing a demanding burden on the MoE'scapacities in areas such as procurement, project for-mulation, management procedures, and reporting onprogress and expenditures to individual donors.

We have observed several donor-funded activitiesthat illustrate the role of external agencies in sup-porting various functions related to building a morerigorous approach to capacity building. Examples ofthese activities include:• Evaluation: The planned impact evaluation of

in-service teacher-training in the EnglishLanguage Improvement Programme (ELIP) is arare example in Ethiopia. The comprehensivebibliography of the Devolution SupportActivity (DSA) project, for example, did notrefer to a project review or interim evaluation.

• Programme and project formulation, if under-taken in a collaborative manner, and reflectson the effectiveness of capacity building prac-tice so far, can be helpful in building analyticaland design skills. The PSCAP preparationprocess, for example, in which RCBBs wereintensively engaged, took over 18 months.15

• Programme reviews: The annual joint reviewsof the ESDP are the best examples of this typeof support function. Future missions will focuson specific themes, reflecting the priorities ofstakeholders. The 2004/5 review will examinehow education budgets are formulated andspent at woreda level, and the problems inrelaying data on local budgets to federal level.

• Production of 'tools' to support programmeimplementation: Examples include the EDSP IIproject implementation manual and theappendices to the PSCAP project document,which provide model ToRs for consultancies.

• Experiential 'stock-taking', or policy/sectoranalyses to inform policy dialogue and develop-ment. Examples include the studies by theWorld Bank (2004b) and the DiP (2003) oflocal government capacity building approach-es. The impact of these types of supportdepend on their timing, the capacities of theprincipal (GoE) stakeholders to take forwarddialogue and action on the study, and theextent to which the study was commissionedin response to initiatives or invitations frominterested (GoE) stakeholders. The HESO(2004) report was initiated and primarilysponsored by GoE.16

6.2 Donor coordination

In the education sector there is coordination amonga specialised donor (sub)group of the DevelopmentAssistance Committee (DAC), which includes DfID,the European Commission, Italy, the NetherlandsMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Sida, UNICEF, USAID, andthe World Bank. The ESDP is a sector-wide pro-gramme (SWAp)17 in which donors have agreed tosupport the policy and programme based on annualjoint reviews. The PSCAP is also intended to be aSWAp, but there is evidence that some (bilateral)donors are reticent to commit all their resources tothis 'pooling' mechanism.18

Notes15 This process was less than satisfactory for the RCBBs, since

they had unrealistic expectations, and had to cut backregional programmes. The experiences of the (few) ongoingprogrammes such as the DSA or BESO were also notassessed.

16 The DiP study was submitted to the GoE and donors butwas not discussed in the PSCAP preparation process. This isunfortunate, since it comments on successful approachesnot so far used in Ethiopia.

17 Whether the ESDP is a full SWAp is disputed. It containsseveral bilaterally funded projects whose coordination isextremely time-consuming for the MoE, and whichperpetuate the role of the MoE as an implementer.

18 For example, DfID committed £20 million to PSCAP, but only£6 million to the pool, retaining £14 million for GoE/DfIDbilaterally agreed TA to support PSCAP.

7 Stakeholders in devolved education service delivery

This section discusses the stakeholders in the educa-tion sector, in particular their relationship to servicedelivery capacities, and any apparent questions,achievements, doubts or issues arising in relation tothat relationship.

7.1 Federal level

Constitutionally, the civil service is a federal institu-tion. Regional state governments not only are gov-erned by separate constitutions, but have their ownindependent civil service commissions and policies.The only limitation is that terms and conditionsapplied by regional governments should be of a com-parable standard to federal conditions.

During our research there was little mention of fed-eral-level reform, except for the Civil Service ReformProgramme (CSRP). The only component of the CSRPthat appears to have been active pre-2001 related toexpenditure management and control. We found noindications of reform and restructuring of roles andfunctions at federal level following the devolution ofpowers to regions and woredas.19 All federal min-istries have become accustomed to playing a role inthe implementation of country programmes andprojects. Devolution implies that these tasks aretaken on by lower levels of government, yet there isno evidence of transfer of staff, exchange of staffingcategories, nor 'downsizing' at the centre to tailoradministrative and personnel structures to the morepolicy-oriented tasks.

Ministry of EducationOn the basis of our observations, and those of ourinformants, there are unresolved weaknesses incapacities at federal level, especially in the Ministryof Education. There is also apparently some resist-ance to the notion of devolution whereby lower lev-els of government have decision-making authorityand control over operational issues. Some regionalobservers with direct experience of several min-

istries' operations since 2001 felt that there was adearth of knowledge within the MoE about regionaland woreda level initiatives and realities, combinedwith a lack of caring and a 'culture' of service.The extent and nature of the MoE's reform andrestructuring efforts - past, present and future - areunclear, but we understand that a team is workingon a plan for the Ministry, due to report in 2005. Sofar there have been no official consultations with theMinistry's stakeholders (e.g. regional governmentsand donors).20 It is also unclear whether this reviewwill address the fundamental professional and man-agerial capacity constraints in the new HigherEducation Strategy Institute and Quality andRelevance Assurance Agency.

Ministry of Capacity BuildingThe MCB is structured along the lines of the nationalcapacity building strategy (see Box 1). Much efforthas gone into defining the PSCAP, which will providefinancial and technical assistance to all levels of gov-ernment to analyse deficiencies and build capacitieson a 'demand-led' and/or 'challenge fund' basis.According to one experienced observer (outside gov-ernment), however, there has been no internalisation(yet) of the notion of capacity building, and theunderstanding of the term is still limited. This givesrise to the question of how bids for capacity buildingactivities will be framed and their merits assessed.

MCB officers see their role as to provide technicalsupport to the regions, to identify (capacity) gaps,carry out relevant studies and disseminate theresults. In order to understand the 'realities' at wore-da level, the MCB has commissioned studies of theplanning and budget system and financial transfermechanisms, and is currently conducting one onhuman resource development and training needs. Infuture this will be extended to include a study ofhow human resources can be more effectively usedat that level. The study will also assess the feasibilityof merging woredas, the use of 'pooled' administra-tive and financial services in woredas, and ways toincrease own-source revenues. An overall 'impactassessment' of devolution to date is also planned.The MCB's district-level decentralisation programmeawaits completion of these studies before finalisingits programme document.

A generic problem that has begun to arise is the lackof routine flows of information from the regions tothe MCB. Studies such as those mentioned above arecurrently the only reliable way for the Ministry offi-


15

Notes19 In particular to limit the roles of Ministries to those defined

in the constitution: policy formulation, implementation andmonitoring, standard setting, and technical advice andcapacity building for implementing agencies at lower levelsof government.

20 The federal Civil Service Commission will consult regionalCSCs later this year in an attempt to redefine its role, and toprovide a new impetus for the CSRP (which is coordinatedby the CSC).

cials to learn about local implementation realities.For example, the MCB has no up-to-date data onstaff turnover at woreda level (reportedly a problemin some regions, but not apparent from our visits).21

The private and NGO sectors Although the private sector and NGOs are not yetsignificant suppliers of primary education, there is asmall but growing number of private primary schoolsin the largest urban areas. The number of private sec-ondary schools is also growing - from a larger base -also in urban areas. The MoE's Annual Abstract ofEducation Statistics (2002-3) lists 681 non-govern-ment primary schools out of a total of nearly 12,500(about 5%); over 13% of senior secondary schools are'non-government' (mostly private). NGO schools areplaying a significant role in improving access to basiceducation for children in the poorest areas.

7.2 Regional state level

The regional state level of government is - at least inthe largest and better-resourced regions - an impor-tant testing ground for innovation (see Box 5).22 Theregional councils demand accountability from theexecutive 'cabinet'. Regional government expecta-tions of federal ministries, and the extent to whichthey are met, depend on which sectoral agencies areinvolved. The relationship between the REB inAmhara and the MoE appeared to be less satisfactorythan that between the RCBB and the MCB.

7.3 Woreda level

At woreda level, we noted an apparently positiverelationship between, and complementary roles ofeducation and capacity building officers (CBOs). Theformer is subordinate and accountable to the latter,despite the relatively recent introduction of appoint-ed woreda CBOs who tackle capacity building andorientation for the school/community interface. Wewitnessed the head of a woreda CBO working along-side the head of the woreda education office at aseries of evaluation seminars organised during theschool holidays.

There appears to be a functioning relationshipbetween executive offices and elected councils,which is forged by 'cabinets' of heads of offices (ledby the woreda administrator), which report to councilmembers.25 Considerable attention is given to budg-etary matters because the council decides - on thebasis of inputs from the kebele councils - on the dis-tribution of resources (both recurrent and capital) tothe woreda. This is a heavy responsibility.


Notes21 Staff turnover varies by sector: turnover among professional

health staff is reportedly higher than among educationprofessionals and teachers. Turnover is high in remoteregions where living conditions are difficult, and no extraallowances are paid for remote postings.

22 A recent review of the CSRP found an encouraging variety ofregional initiatives. We saw evidence of one in Amhara.After workshops on job definition and public servicetransparency, RCBB and REB officers (at least) wereencouraged to put their name, job title and photographs ontheir office doors. Regular reviews of job performance werereportedly being conducted

23 It appears that such awards are not included in the bureau'sbudget, but individuals receive annual increments in salary.Since routine annual increments (i.e. a sort of seniorityrecognition) have now been stopped in Amhara, theseperformance awards are valued.

24 There is something of a paradox here: most of the capacitybuilding efforts of the E&TBs, PTAs and communities hastaken place under the auspices of the RCBB, yet the MoEbenefits from the (apparently positive) impact of BCBBcapacity building efforts: more community contributions.

25 The head of capacity building is a member of the cabinet,but the head of education is not.

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Box 5: Innovation in rewarding organisationaland individual performance in Amhara

One of the innovations introduced in Amhara isthe annual organisational performance assess-ment award scheme, which ranks regionalcapacity building bureaux (RCBBs) according toa range of variables, including service to theworeda and the public. The scheme is a key toindividual performance awards - if an officerworks well for a bureau that is deemed not toperform well overall, then he/she does not quali-fy for a performance award. This is an attempt topromote teamwork and overall organisationaleffectiveness.23

In the last two years, the regional educationbureau (REB) has performed well in achievingcommunity participation targets (i.e. contribu-tions to education), in the development of ateacher performance appraisal system, and inexpanding information systems and improvingthe two-way flow of information (so that schoolheads are more aware of how their enrolmentrates compare with those of other schools). TheREB has been successful in utilising the available(World Bank) capital development funds for edu-cation projects. The RCBB has also been in the'top ten' of performing bureaux, but is not ashighly rated as the education bureau.24

Before our visits we had heard comments about theprobable implications of procurement pressures orinfrastructure projects in the ESDP. When we raisedthis capacity challenge with woreda staff, they didnot recognise it, since the bulk of recent educationinfrastructure projects had been funded by commu-nity contributions, and had been supervised by com-munities themselves. They expected this communitysupport to continue.

The other notable feature of woreda operations isthe 'pooling' arrangements for administrative andfinancial staff, who serve several sector offices. Thisappeared to be a pragmatic move, born of necessityin view of the staff shortages that were clearlyapparent.

7.4Community level

Users/citizens The Ministry of Education Guidelines (MoE, 2002)provide a comprehensive and ambitious institutionalblueprint for woreda, kebele and community levelbodies, including education and training boards andPTAs. We heard positive comments about their activi-ties, and the impressive community contributions toeducation facilities they have helped to generate. TheRCBB has taken the lead in mobilising woreda CBOsto begin developing the capacities of these bodies, tobe maintained by the education officers thereafter.

Schools: head teachers and teachersWe were impressed by the fact that teachers willing-ly participated in evaluation seminars and group dis-cussions during their holidays. There were, however,indications of resistance from some teachers, both tothe recently introduced curriculum reform (requiringmore child/learner-centred approaches), and to theemphasis being put on their role as communitymobilisers. They could not see why they had to domore than teach.

These grievances may be related to the near-absenceof effective in-service training for teachers. It isworth remembering that, compared to the (acceler-ated) role changes facing local authority and regionalstaff, who are regularly reminded of their accounta-bility to locally elected representatives, teachers havehad little guidance through the transition from theirtraditional roles and arrangements and beingaccountable 'upwards' to head teachers and educa-

tion offices, to being accountable 'downwards' toparents and communities. They have also beenreminded of their obligation to Ethiopian society tomould its future citizens. In order to do that, the GoEclearly assumes they need to know more aboutnational development policies, and expects them todo more to explain them to their pupils.

The significance of head teachers and their leader-ship of teachers as factors affecting individual andschool performance has apparently been recognised,albeit rather late. We understand that this targetgroup and their skills are to be given prominence infuture capacity building strategies within the ESDP.


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8 Internal managementfactors affecting capacity

Apparent constraints at federal levelThere are indications of inherent constraints in policyimplementation capacities at the federal level, possi-bly caused by dysfunctional civil service structures(staff grading and training) related to routine admin-istration. This observation is based on discussionswith technical advisers in the MoE. After being askedby the Minister26 to advise on and take forward thedesign of a major aspect of policy, they were sur-prised to find that they had no counterpart profes-sionals to work with, and that there was no one toundertake basic clerical and administrative tasks intheir offices.

One senior observer in the civil service (outside theMoE) acknowledged that there were several generic'people-management' problems, including the lack ofability and willingness to delegate on the part of sen-ior staff, and a lack of internalisation of the concept ofplanning, and the framing of initiatives in relation tothe broad definitions of the functions ascribed toindividual posts. Many civil servants are still essential-ly working reactively, rather than proactively. Basedon these and other observations, we conclude thatthese apparent constraints on capacities at federallevel have multiple dimensions, including:• poor overall organisational leadership;• the failure to define an organisational mission,

leading to limited individual understandingand 'ownership';

• the reluctance to engage fully in the transitionto new policy, advisory and evaluation rolesunder devolution, and the tacit perpetuationof project implementation duties (necessitat-ed by the continuing bilaterally funded proj-ects despite the ESDP);

• poor work assignment and organisation; and • limited group and individual motivation, and

poor attitudes, knowledge and skills.

Of these, only individual knowledge and skills areamenable to conventional training solutions. It isdoubtful whether individually oriented 'capacitybuilding' in the form of training courses will make animpact on what appear to be symptoms of the needfor organisational development approaches. The DiP(2003) study concluded that not only was this tenta-

tive diagnosis broadly applicable, but that there wasa dearth of organisational development experienceand (therefore) a shortage of facilitators who couldtake forward this type of capacity building work infuture. No capacity building institution in Ethiopia iscurrently engaged in developing organisationaldevelopment facilitation skills.

Clear responsibility for capacity buildingOne positive factor is that the MCB has clear respon-sibility for coordinating capacity building efforts. Asindicated above, the MCB would do well to study sys-tematically the (considerable) capacity buildingefforts and experience in developing finance- andeducation-related systems and capabilities throughthe USAID-supported DSA and BESO programmes.This would help strengthen the assessment modali-ties and criteria for the selection of proposed capaci-ty building schemes for the three levels of govern-ment as the PSCAP gets underway.

Reforms in human resources managementThe Civil Service Reform Programme (CSRP) Therehave been several reforms (some still ongoing) ofHRM practices in the CSRP. These include perform-ance-oriented job descriptions, together with moreopen, and more functional performance appraisalmechanisms (beyond the gemgema system).Innovative criteria are now also used for assessingperformance - e.g. the significance attached to com-munity participation/contributions in assessing theperformance of woreda administrators in Amhara.

Management of information between levels of gov-ernmentAn underlying, and largely unresolved managementissue that is emerging in the relationship betweenlevels of government is access to, and managementof information. This may well be addressed by theproposed VSAT satellite data and video exchange sys-tem once it is connected. We saw that satellite disheshad been installed (but not yet connected) outsideseveral secondary schools. This ambitious IT compo-nent of the national capacity building plan willimprove access to and reception of educational pro-grammes (already a feature of the education systemin Ethiopia using radio and TV in areas where signalsare available). The system will eventually permitvideo-conferencing, and will as more regular flows ofdisaggregated budget/expenditure data, schoolenrolment and performance data between three levels of government.


Notes26 An unusual feature of the Ethiopian civil service - at least

compared to Commonwealth versions of the Whitehallmodel - is the absence of a 'principal' or 'permanent'secretary (chief civil servant) and related support staffbelow the minister(s) of a department.

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Unclear situation on staffing at local levelAccording to our informants and the literature, staffshortages and turnover, especially at the woredalevel, are major problems for local development. Weasked about this, but emerged with the impressionthat they must be more significant issues elsewherein the country. There appears to be no reliable infor-mation about the need for staff of requisite gradesand qualifications, staff available in post, or historicturnover statistics.27 It should be noted that in theearly days of the decentralisation policy, the WorldBank was critical of 'theoretical' woreda staffingstructures, labelling them 'unrealistic and unsustain-able'.

We conclude that there may be an increasing risk ofthe public sector losing skilled staff - particularly atthe technical and professional levels - as morebecome trained in commercially valuable skills suchas double-entry book-keeping.

9 Capacity, changeand performance in Ethiopia

There is a dearth of well researched, objective evi-dence of what has changed, and why, in public serv-ice delivery performance, standards, effectiveness ofmanagement of inputs, and effectiveness of capacitybuilding programmes attempted so far. This hasimpeded our research, and inhibited the drawing offirm conclusions. If not attended to, it will inhibit theprocess of defining optimal approaches to capacitybuilding within the PSCAP and other programmesplanned within ESDP II.

With the above caveat, we put forward the followingtentative conclusions on the relationship betweencapacity, change and performance in the Ethiopianeducation service delivery system. It is hoped thatthe analysis will contribute to the deliberations offorthcoming annual joint review mission of the ESDP.

Evidence of change especially at woreda levelThere is evidence of considerable (positive) changesin public service delivery since 2000. Reform is beingseriously attempted particularly at regional andworeda levels of government. Compared with the sit-uation in the late 1990s (World Bank, 2001), thedegree of change is particularly marked in the opera-tional environment at woreda level, and in the atti-tude of regions towards woredas and communities(and the impact of the fiscal policies introduced in2001).

Factors supportive of systematic capacity buildingeffortsWhat is clear, however, is that a wide range of mutu-ally supportive factors is affecting regional and localorganisational performance in the current Ethiopiancontext. These have created favourable circum-stances in which systematic capacity buildingapproaches (such as those used in the DSA and BESOprogrammes) have been able to deliver positiveresults. These factors include:• The decision in 2001 to provide unconditional

block grants (covering routine and capitalfinance) to woreda councils (in the mainregions) was significant. This gave woredasunambiguous responsibility for fair and effi-


19Notes27 The MCB plans to examine this issue in the near future.

cient allocation of resources among sectors,uses and geographical areas. These blockgrants were significant as a symbol of and atool for woreda empowerment.

• This unusually liberal grant mechanism repli-cated the federal-regional government grantmechanism that had been in place since 1992.Both mechanisms owe their existence tounusual constitutional features of Ethiopia:each regional state has its own constitutionand can secede from the federal republicunder certain conditions, and the fact that fed-eral powers over regions are strictly circum-scribed.

• The consensus about and coherence of policydirection in relation to devolution, capacitybuilding, and the importance of educationsince 2001 have been positive factors. Thepolitical consensus - that devolution must bemade to work, and local accountability struc-tures have an important role to play - is oneelement in this context. There are now clearerincentives, internal to organisations, combinedwith external pressures to perform. The capac-ity building implications of desired perform-ance change are thus becoming clearer.

• This consensus appears to be related to thedominance of a durable coalition of politicalgroupings at all four levels of political repre-sentation (federal, regional state, woreda andkebele), and the fact that the coalition is basedon a consensus around a national develop-ment credo and ethos. This was forged in abloody, bitterly fought civil war that cementedrelationships among allied ex-fighters. Theperiod in the past when this alliance wasunder strain was successfully and decisivelybrought to a conclusion, when only those whowere loyal to party policy were allowed to con-tinue in the party and government.

• These themes in the political background ofEthiopia have served to minimise competitionbetween politicians at the different levels, andhave led to an absence of political interferencein resource allocations (in terms of functionaluse, and geographical distribution), and (atleast relative to other neighbouring countries)an absence of financial corruption.

• Pressures from councils of public representa-tives at regional, woreda and kebele levels,together with large community contributionsto education service infrastructure and evenrecurrent costs, have created considerable and


20

continuously high levels of accountability. Thisappears to be related to the 'depth' of democ-racy in terms of elected institutions in Ethiopia(the (low) average numbers of electors perrepresentative at kebele and woreda levels areshown in Figure 2).28 This, in our view, appearsto compensate for any (inevitable) deficienciesof technical capacities at local level, and obvi-ous delivery imperfections and systemicstresses due to the chronic shortage ofresources.

• Given the limited size of the Ethiopian privatesector, the turnover of (trained) staff has notyet been a major threat to local governmentcapacity ... but it could well be in the future,given the considerable capacity building activi-ties planned in the public sector, and the grad-ual introduction of 'marketable' skills.

• Decentralised human resources managementarrangements in the civil service (with regionshaving their own civil service commissions)appear to encourage innovative measures toenhance organisational as well as individualperformance. In Amhara, innovative initiativesto increase the performance orientation ofstaff focus first on organisational and thenindividual performance, as an incentive toimprove teamwork and cohesion.

The modest impact of the Ministry of CapacityBuildingThe impact of the Ministry has not yet been fully felt,probably due to its novelty (it was created only in2002). Its role has been limited to the preparation ofthe major (forthcoming) PSCAP (which will impingeindirectly on education service delivery); handlingthe community and parent-teacher mobilisationaspects of the ESDP (with very positive results, basedon our consultations). It appears, however, that theMinistry has not kept abreast of, or contributed to,some very significant and innovative capacity build-ing experiences in the education sector, particularlythose sponsored by USAID.

The biggest capacity gaps are at the federal levelThe extent to which the capacity gaps within theGoE are acknowledged, is unclear. We heard severalnegative comments about lack of coherence in theMinistry of Education, and about the apparent short-age of technical and implementation capacities insome departments, especially the new ones such asthe Higher Education Strategy Institute and theQuality and Relevance Assurance Agency.

Appendix: List of individuals interviewed DfID EthiopiaDr Hazel Bines Education AdviserAto Alemayehu Minas Education AdviserAto Kalayu Gebre-Selassie Capacity Building AdviserGovernment of EthiopiaAto Haile Melekot Giorgis State Minister of Capacity BuildingWro Yeworqabeba Bahru Expert, HRD, MCB Tesfaye Bekelle Team Leader, Planning, MCBAto Mesfin Tafesse Commissioner, Civil Service CommissionAto Atakilti Head, Training Department, CSCAto Sitotaw Yimam Head of Planning and ESDP II, MoEAto Alemayehu Worku Project Preparation and Monitoring Expert MoEAto Tizazu Asare Institute of Curriculum Development and Research MoEAto Demissew Bekelle Director, Education Media AgencyWro Kassech Demissie Senior Expert, Women's Affairs Department, MoEWorld BankAto Getahun Gebru Education AdviserUSAIDAto Aberra Mekonnen Education AdviserSida Kenthe Wickmann Education, Research and Culture AdviserTony Redmond Team Leader, MoE/EC/British Council Education Accounting and

Procurement ProjectAmhara regional state governmentAto Yoseph Anteneh Head of Regional Capacity Building BureauAto Yinager Dessie Deputy HeadAto Tesfaye Mehoye Education Desk Officer Ato Fanta Moges Deputy Bureau Head, Regional Education Bureau (REB)Ato Mekbib Alemu Zemenfes Deputy Head, BoFEDAto Theodoros Shewareget Head of Human Resources, REBAto Setu Ainalem Head of Planning and Information REBAto Takele Kidan Head of Programming REBAto Habtamu Bizuneh Head, Planning REBWoreda Fogera:Kibret Mohammed Head, Woreda Capacity Building OfficeMulu Mengesha Head, Woreda Education OfficeWoreda Mota:Melese Belchu Head, Woreda Education OfficeTibebeu Yigzae Education Expert, WEOMengistu Anley Head, Woreda Capacity Building Office Woreda Merawi:Minas Hiruy Head, Woreda Capacity Building OfficeBayalew Menesha Head, Woreda Education OfficeWoreda Tarma Ber-DebresinaYilma Tilahun Head, Woreda Capacity Building Office


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Documents

Analysisecdpm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DP-57H-Capacity-Building...RCBB regional capacity building bureau REB regional education bureau RMI regional management institute SDPRP