69503 REPORT FOR THE WORLD BANK Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) Early Childhood Care and Development Project Agreement No. TFO: 052939 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION MEMORANDOM (ICM) (January 2005 – December 2007) April 2008 ICM_JSDF_ECCD Vietnam 2004/2007 Table of contents A. GRANT OBJECTIVES ............................................................................. ..4 B. OUTPUT …………………………………………………………………….......7 C. OUTCOME……………………………………………………………………..13 D. IMPACT………………………………………………………………………...25 E. PERFORMANCE………………………………………………………………27 F. LESSONS LEARNED/ RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………28 G. PROCESSING…………………………………………………………………29 2 Abbreviation CHC Commune Health Center BCC Behavior Change Communication DoET District Department of Education and Training ECCD Early Childhood Care and Development ECD Early Childhood Development ECED Early Childhood Education Department GMP Growth, Monitoring and Promotion IEC Information, Education and Communication IMCI Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Strategy IECD Integrated Early Child Development Irs Intermediate Results JSDF Japan Social Development Fund MOET Ministry of Education and Training MLE Multilingual Education NERP Nutrition Education and Rehabilitation Programme NIN National Institute of Nutrition NSC National Steering Committee PE Parental Education PMB Project Management Board PSC Project Steering Committee PoET Provincial Department of Education and Training SCUK Save the Children UK SCUS Save the Children US SCJ Save the Children Japan TOT Training of Trainers WB World Bank WHO World Health Organization 3 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION MEMORANDUM (ICM) TF Name: Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) TF Number: Grant No. TF052939 Report Date: 04/30/2008 Program: Japan Social Development Fund Net Grant Amount: US$1,910,800 Donor(s): Japan Approval Date: 01/20/2004 Closing Date: 12/31/2007 A. GRANT OBJECTIVES Original Statement of Grant Objectives U Provide original statement of objectives from the approving grant or cleared IBTF. The objective of the Project is to assist the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, through Save the Children UK on behalf of International Save the Children Alliance acting under the coordination of the Early Childhood Education Department of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in establishing an enabling environment in the poorest and most vulnerable communities, and providing young children the opportunities to develop to their full potential The expected performance outcomes include: Children, parents, community members report and demonstrate increased understanding of and support for their children’s overall health and development. Children, parents, community members report strengthen ECCD support services. 95% of children enrolled in primary school with ECCD experiences and demonstrate learning-readiness. 6-8% decrease in malnutrition rates. 90% of key Government personnel and local communities demonstrate increase in awareness of and support for programme models. Changes to Grant Objectives U If original objectives have been changed, explain the nature of the revisions and the justification for them. The Grant objectives were not changed. Achievement of Grant Objectives Discuss and rate the extent to which the activity achieved its relevant objectives. All communes in three selected provinces of project locations (Quang Tri, Yen Bai and Dien Bien) face food insecurity, limited access to markets, limited provision of basic infrastructures, poor health, inadequate education, high illiteracy and environmental degradation. As such, the project did operate in three of the poorest and most disadvantaged districts of Vietnam. The difficulties inhabitants face in both districts were studied during Year 1 through a baseline survey and were yearly reviewed through communities self-assessment of their difficulties and constraints in fulfilling children needs. The main difficulties underlined by these studies and that the project tried in particular to improve, were high child malnutrition rates, food and clean water seasonal ICM_JSDF_ECCD Vietnam 2004/2007 shortage, inadequate sanitation facilities, low school access and high drop out rate and low education quality. There is great diversity in terms of culture, language, level of development and geographical conditions in these areas which are the challenges for the project implementation. The majority of inhabitants in these communes are Hmong, Thai in Dien Bien; Dao, Day, Tay, Nung in Yen Bai; Van Kieu and Pa Co in Quang Tri. These different minority groups have distinct characteristics in term of their languages, ways of living, development level, and isolation. The language of instruction in school as decided by the Vietnamese Government is the Vietnamese language. This causes many difficulties for children in their communication and learning, as a result, it hinders their learning competency. People and communities were at a very different “starting point� on ECCD related issues and in understanding and implementing a development project. So their levels of understanding and acceptance of the holistic approach to ECCD is being discussed and taken up at different levels. Although the project activities were rolled out at the same time in all three project locations, different Save the Children organisations established their partnerships with respective local partners at different times and the focus of activities implementation by different organization is somewhat different. Planning and monitoring has been one of the areas which has been particularly challenging. Some activities are relatively straightforward to carry out in some sites where the infrastructure is “ready� and in place and where communities have higher capacities. However, in sites where communities live in scattered locations and the infrastructure is poor, it has proven more difficult to ensure the proactive involvement of communities. In order to undertake the planned activities in these sites, project staff took considerable time and effort in monitoring and coaching key stakeholders. During the time of the project implementation, there were also positive factors influencing the program outcomes. The cooperation and support among project consultants, Save the Children Alliance staff, Ministry has developed considerably during the years of the project implementation. This is important as a facilitator of a more unique implementation of project activity toward the project overall objectives. The commitment of the Government on ECCD had become greater through adoption various decisions on the recruitment of teachers for mountainous areas, providing the opportunity to have more preschool teachers and set up many more preschool classes for children. This will facilitate better care and education for young children in preparation for primary schools. In the context that not many NGOs work in the project areas, and even less that work on children issues, the project support has been very much welcomed and appreciated by local leaders and community people. Right from the early stages of the project, local authorities demonstrate high attention and commitments to project objectives and activity. This facilitated open discussion and trust among parties involved. Despite the challenging contextual environment in which this grant has taken place, the grant objectives were largely highly satisfactorily met and fulfilled though four key intermediate project results. Increased access and availability of ECCD services and supplies though buiding new/upgrading preshchool classes, supporting community ECCD initiatives, providing basic equipments to all project Commune Health Center (CHC), supplying and monitoring the use of iron-folate pills and vitamin A for mothers with children less than 2 years, and de-worming tablets, health check for pregnant women, mobilising various forms for chilren nutrition service, such as food 5 demonstrations at villages, growth monitoring and promotion (GMP), home-visits for counseling by village health workers, teachers, nutrition education and child care integrated in parent education sessions and IEC campaigns, Nutrition Education and Rehabilitation Programme (NERP) model, school feeding in some classes in Muong Cha with the contribution of parents and support partially by the project fund. Increased quality of ECCD services (Health and Education) through improving the preschool curriculum for ethnic minority children; improving teachers and health workers capacity to be more relevant with the local context, Increased family and community awareness and capacity to promote utilization of ECCD services though Creation of community ECCD networking groups, Parental education sessions, IEC campaigns Improved implementation of policies in support of ethnic minority children though the implementation of policies for ethnic minority children, strengthening the active role of Department of Early Childhood Education (MOET) and Provincial Department of Education and Training in the implementation, monitoring, promotion of experience sharing on all project components; exploring the better implementation Government policies relating to support ethnic minority children in early childhood education; organizing series of IEC activities, workshops, forums to promote children’s rights and the important of ECCD for related government bodies, especially the people’s committees at provincial, district and commune level; improving curriculum developments for ethnic minority children. B. OUTPUT Achievement of deliverables U U 1. Discuss and rate the actual output or deliverables completed, compared to the expected output, for each component of the grant. Component 1: Family and Community Support Creation of community ECCD networking groups With an aim to facilitate the promotion and reinforcement of best practices through parenting/care-giving sessions, nutrition and education, key actors in a community, including health workers, preschool teachers, members of Youth and Women’s Unions and Farmers’ Association were invited to participate in the project implementation as ECCD promoters. ECCD promoter groups have been established and operative in all communities of 15 communes in 3 districts of the project areas. At the beginning, most of ECCD promoters had difficulty in conducting Parental Education sessions, because (1) they were too shy and inexperienced; and (2) lack of skills and expertise to do the job ECCD promoters’ capacity has been built and strengthened through training and work experiences. Now as comments by the local people has shown that ECCD promoters are active, and they demonstrate good work. It is reported by the local authorities that the ECCD promoters are all now able to coordinate themselves to conduct Parental Education sessions. Their capacity has been improved though various TOT training courses on methodologies for and developing a plan of organizing Parental Education sessions, IECDC related contents. 6 Table 1: numbers of outputs under the creation community ECCD networking Activities Outputs (number of people) Muong Cha dist. Luc Yen dist. Dakrong dist. (Dien Bien prov.) (Yen Bai prov.) (Quang Tri prov) TOT 39 31 37 ECCD promoters 225 172 108 (collaborators) Number of meetings 2175 1,767 1218 facilitated by ECCD promoters Number of parents attended 26,914 30304 24329 % parents in villages 81 75 80 There is a mechanism in place for ECCD promoters to share their experiences, discuss their concerns, and promote better coordination between themselves. In Muong Cha, promoters work better in teams and they support one and others in carrying their own work. The more frequent changing of promoters in Luc Yen caused difficulties to the project implementation. New promoters needed training and it took them time to get on well with the Parental Education sessions and other project activities. Parental education sessions Parental education sessions (PE sessions) are organized regularly on a monthly basis as a community activity rather than training to enhance the awareness, knowledge and skills of parents and caregivers about better child care and development. The PE sessions (with the total 5,160 sections) draw attention of not only parents and care- givers (e.g. grandparents, older parents), but also other people in the community (e.g. young people, pregnant women). Participants are both men and women, but mainly women (mothers, grandmothers, pregnant women) with an estimation of more than 81,517 participants to date. The topics discussed in the PE sessions include: Children’s rights and child development; family relationship and children development; children learn best through daily routine; reading for children; care for pregnant women; hygiene, nutrition and health care of young children; care for children with illness; childhood injury prevention. It is reflected by all participants that the topics are interesting and relevant, and the sessions are arranged in a proper time of the day to mobilise full attendance of participants. In most communities, PE sessions have been integrated in community activities, such as village meetings. This is a good channel for women (mothers, grandmothers, pregnant women) to have a better access to other information. As a result, the rate of parents and caregivers having knowledge of malnutrition in the project communes increased dramatically (please refer to section “C_ outcomes� for its detailes) There have been several constraints and limitations of the PE sessions. Language is the first limitation where some groups of ethnic minority women do not speak Vietnamese (especially with H’Mong women in Muong Cha). Although ECCD promoters are local people and they speak ethnic minority language, all materials are in Vietnamese and some terminologies and concepts are new to the indigenous people. In some communities women are not attending PE sessions as many as men due to (1) the local customs that men do not want their wives to attend community activities, and (2) they live too far away from the venue where the PE sessions take place, and/or the PE sessions are organized in the evening1. 1 Mostly happen to H’Mong people in some areas of Muong Cha. 7 Child nutrition Child nutrition promotion and activities have been taken in various forms, including food demonstrations (1545 people participating in Muong Cha, 1200 people participating in Daknong and 6551 in Luc Yen), growth monitoring and promotion (GMP), home-visits for counseling by ECCD promoters, nutrition education and child care integrated in PE sessions and IEC campaigns. The Nutrition Education and Rehabilitation Programme (NERP) model has been introduced in 5 villages in Dakrong to provide intensive care and support to malnourished children under 2 years old. School feeding is offered in some classes in Muong Cha, training and making soybean milk in Quang Tri. Information on nutrition given to parents and caregivers through PE sessions and food demonstrations emphasize a balanced diet, ways of cooking food, green vegetables, complementary food for vitamins, etc. Messages on improved food intake for children have clearly been disseminated and understood by many. Parents believed that most of them have been able to practice at different degrees. Parents add more nutritious food (meat, fish, vegetable, etc) to the soup which they have to either buy or collect locally, while some others only change the way they cook the soup. During the project implementation, various forms of consultations, having the interaction between the project implementers and caregivers ensuring the understanding on the messages about nutrition, possibility to change their attitude and most importantly their application in their daily childcare actions. NERP model has been replicated in 4 out of 5 communes in Dakrong where it had been supported by another project of Save the Children US. School feeding in Muong Cha is jointly supported by the project and the communities and basic cooking kits (pot, bowl, and spoon) were provided to 61 preschool classes. It is believed that school feeding is more about attracting and retaining children at school than a nutrition input. It is expected that parents and caregivers have to contribute rice and help prepare meals for classes where school feeding provided. That is the way to strength the linkages between ECCD service and communities for better child care. Materials development The preschool curriculum for ethnic minority children has been an area where we have had considerable success. Based on the Save the Children UK’s preschool guidelines (150 lessons) for ethnic minority areas, the newly revised version was finalised. The preschool teachers reported that the curriculum is very appropriate for ethnic minority children. The program has finally secured approval for our guidelines on the implementation of the preschool curriculum in Ethnic Minority Areas in Vietnam by 2010 along with the new national preschool curriculum of the Ministry of Education and Training. 4,750 copies of the newly revised curriculum were printed for its Table 2: PE Flipchart topics distribution. 1. Children’s rights and child development 2. Play and child development Pamphlet and flipcharts on early 3. Family interaction with child childhood development are the other development materials the project has produced. 4. Telling stories and reading for children The project communities were 5. Preparing for having healthy newborns associated to the design process to 6. Hygiene, nutrition and health for make it more appropirate to their children situation. The flipchart has enhanced 7. Care for sick children the attractiveness and impact of PE 8. Injury prevention for children sessions in the community because 8 ECCD promoters have been trained on using the flipchart as an effective aid for these meetings. The Project has printed numerous project materials (See Table 3). About Table 3: Types of materials Quantity 1,250 sets of posters for village homes (sets) were also printed and distributed in Flipcharts 2,500 Hanoi, Dien Bien, Yen Bai, and Quang Volunteer guidebooks 2,500 Tri. The project products were Parent guidebooks 10,000 also shared with other INGOs, MOET, Guidebooks on newborn care 7,000 national and local sectors, and local and nutrition NGOs. 8,000 project pamphlets in Posters for village houses 1,250 English and Vietnamese were also Project pamphlets 8,000 completed and distributed to project Total 36,250 sites. To propagate the project, these pamphlets were also sent to national and local level partners, INGOs, and other relevant projects in Vietnam. Information Education Communication campaign In total 113 IEC campaigns were orgranised though the annual organisation of the International Children’s Day (1st June) in all project villages, a series of activities responding to the Global Education Campaign in Muong Cha, and ECCD promoter competition, competition on related IEDC topics such as food safety, telling stories etc. The events involve mass participation of local authorities, relevant community organizations, parents, children, and the community as the whole, and have promoted the children’s rights. People seem to be very excited to talk about these events as festival days for children and the community as well. IEC campaign is a good measure to draw attention of the public on ECCD as well as to raise awareness and understanding of the communities on the project approaches and activities. Community initiatives The training provided hands-on guidelines on the quick assessment of community needs and the processes of planning, implementation and monitoring and mobilization of community participation. The idea of this activity is to promote local initiatives, support the community, and serve the public interest. Although the investment is modest, it is reported in all villages that the implemented initiatives, on one hand have met the need of local people and mobilised the community participation and contribution, on the other hand, promoted community ownership and the relationship among community members. In total there were 596 community initiatives (with total cost USD106,177) in which communities contributed USD43,827 accounting for 41% of the total cost. Some highlighted initiatives include: organizing mid-Autumn children festival in all villages; setting up 73 mini libraries in villages; improving hygiene conditions at home, in the villages, in preschool classes; play ground, construction of community house, water container, and sanitation and drainage system, playground for children etc. Community planning, decision making and management The project put a lot of emphasis on increasing the capacity in holistic ECD at the village, commune and district level, through various trainings events and workshops but also through close follow-up by project staff and local partners. Commune and District Project Steering Committees have been set up in all project 3 districts and 15 communes which are led by the Vice Chairman of District People’s Committee. 9 Members of the commune PSC included representatives from Health, Education, CPFC and Women’s Union. 100% of district and commune PSCs members attended training courses on project orientation and management, participatory project planning. An operating mechanism has been set up for all project communes and districts. . Monthly review and planning meetings were held at district and commune level. In this last year of the project, local partners have been more and more involved in project implementation and management so as to ensure the sustainability of the project activities. They proved not only eager to learn and to apply knowledge gained from training and experience shared between colleagues but also keen to integrate the project best practices in their daily action plans. They are now very familiar with the project’s steps and with the project cycle: from building plan, budgeting, implementing (monitoring and evaluation) and reviewing. This positive change can be clearly assessed by the quality of reports made by partners and people involved in the project activities. Component 2: Strengthened Local ECCD Institutions - Support to Pre-schools, Transition into School, and Health Programs/Services Kindergarten/Preschool classes and links to primary schools One of the key activities is to build new or upgrade preschool classes or kindergartens which were in serious shortage in project communes. 56 preschool classes were newly built and 10 classes upgraded with playground and essential facilities to ensure a friendly and safe environment for children. In Muong Cha, Save the Children UK has mobilised other funding sources to upgrade/build 10 classes in the project areas Graduated teachers have been appointed to preschools in all project communes. The contribution of local authorities and communities is quite significant both in terms of financial and working force contribution. In many villages in Muong Cha, the local contribution was even greater than the project funding, accounting for 67% of the total of newly set up classes. Overall, it should be highlighted that the budget from the community for these activities were USD145,438 (accounting for 54%) of the total cost (USD267,043). Teaching aids, toys, facilities, ECCD materials are also provided for 129 classes to enable teachers applying their active teaching methods. As such, around 80% classes in project communes are considered to meet minimum national standards. Thanks to the government policy on early childhood education, newly graduated teachers have been appointed to preschools in all project communes, and there is no longer a shortage of preschool teachers, especially in remote communes. During the project implementation, in three locations there were 134 training courses/seminar, workshops (69 in Muong Cha, 35 Dakrong and 30 in Luc Yen) for 378 preschool teachers, 203 primary teachers. They have been trained on early childhood care and development, active learning methodology, child-friendly environments, preparation of children readiness for primary school, teaching Vietnamese as a second language, etc. Course contents and duration are tailored considering the local context and needs (e.g. teacher’s professional capacity, children’s ability). Thus, in Muong Cha, more training courses were provided. Preschool teachers, especially newly graduated ones, reported that they found these courses very helpful, not only as refresher training, but more likely equipping them with new skills, techniques and methodologies. In some communes, where Kinh teachers do not speak the ethnic minority language, teaching assistants have been recruited to promote the bi-lingual approach. It has however not been easy to find the right people (mostly young women, educated to lower secondary level, willing and enthusiastic) to take on the teaching assistant role and it is also a matter of whether the local authority will be willing and able to pay the costs. 10 To put the active learning methodology in practices, teachers and children have been provided with toys and materials for their play and learning activities. 58 preschool schools in Muong Cha received toys and learning aids; 644 and 544 sets of toys and learning aids were provided to preschool classes in Dakrong and Luc Yen respectively. These enable teachers to promote active learning with ethnic minority children and help the children to interact in a better environment. At the same time, teachers were trained on how to create toys from used materials which are available locally. The teachers then train and instruct parents and community members on how to create toys so that they can make toys for their children at home, and some donate to the classes. Women reported that their husbands made toys for the kids thanks to the instruction of preschool teachers. School transition All communes have conducted their school transition activities since the first quarter of 2007. Teachers from preschool and primary schools in each commune organized workshops where they discussed problems that children and teachers had to face during transition period and how the coordination among schools and department could make the transition period smooth so the children can perform better in the 1st grade. Teachers and children of pre-schools also had a chance to visit grade 1 and see what is different between two levels that could help children to be prepared for their further learning. Promote better use of health care services The project supported the existing health services system and helped the communities in better use of existing networks, and more importantly support the government public health programmes. The intervention in the health sector includes, but is not limited to, the provision of basic equipments to all 15 commune health care stations, and basic tool-kits (e.g. tool-kit for prenatal check-up, medical box, personal health check bag) to 73 and 45 village health workers in Muong Cha and Luc Yen respectively2; supply and monitoring the use vitamin A for mothers, and de-worming tablets for 100% children 2 to 5 years olds. Various training events were supported to increase the capacities of CHCs and District Health Staff. A core technical health team (made up of 5 people) was set up in each district. These teams play the role of key facilitators in trainings on health care for commune and village health workers. Capacities of villagers on basic health and hygiene issues were increased. Targeted people included members of the Village IECD groups who became key facilitators on health and hygiene issues. Training and refresher courses topics included nutrition, child development, growth monitoring, sanitation, safe motherhood, child illness, injury prevention, post natal care, prevention of HIV/AIDS, counseling skills, TOT skills and communication skills. Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Strategy (IMCI) was introduced in Luc Yen and Muong Cha with a series of training events (for 48 health workers in Muong Cha and 32 health workers in Luc Yen, in which 10 in Muong Cha and 16 in Luc Yen received longer training and are expected to become trainers in IMCI). IMCI aims to improve the quality of childcare in health centres; The project supported per diem and travel fees while districts supported logistics and organization for training, meeting room, trainers from the core technical health The specific approach used by the project as well as the efforts made by related staff have been highly recognised by community leaders and people. The record books at all health stations we visited have shown a significant increase in the number of 2 In Dakrong, the basis tool-kit were provided by SCUS’s Child Servival 18 project. 11 pregnant women who come to health stations from 1-3 times during the pregnancy for prenatal check-up. Component3: Monitoring and Evaluation Strengthening planning and monitoring at district level At the beginning of the project implementation, the baseline was set by data indicating the realistic context of the project areas and a basic for later monitoring. A participatory midterm review was conducted with the great engagement by the project users. It was good opportunity to review the project progress, its strategy lessons learned to achieve the project overall objectives; The midterm review’s conclusion highlighted the fact that the project’s approaches, method, activities were fairly responsive to the needs of young children and that the project components were well on the way to fulfilling most of the project activities. The final independent review was conducted to assess the project initial impacts, the project strategy, its sustainability, effectiveness and lessons learned for the future. On the whole, according to the external final evaluation that was carried out in Dec 2008, the project can be deemed very successful, especially when considering that quality results are extremely difficult to achieve in mountainous areas with poor ethnic minority groups. The evaluation report highlighted the strong level of partnership that was developed between community and authorities at each level of operation and the intensive training programme and hands-on post training monitoring and supervision which strongly contributed to the positive outcomes of the project. Tools, methodologies and IECD concepts were considered appropriately adapted and favourably accepted, while the project has successfully impacted on the policies and strategies adopted by national and local authorities. During the project implementation time, a participatory monitoring mechanism has been set up from the central to grassroots level. At the central level, the National Steering Committee under the coordination of Save the Children UK and ECED of MOET is responsible for strategic planning and policy making. The core group of Save the Children Alliance meets monthly for periodical planning and provides guiding to the local project team. The Project Management Boards at district and commune levels play the role in facilitating project implementation and monitoring with strong support of the ECCD promoter network. A project management guideline (including financial guideline) has been adapted and get consensus among the project implementers Meetings, monitoring and supervision, field visits by project staff of central and provincial levels are conducted on a regular basis. Monitoring data is collected from the field by ECCD promoters and PMB’s members, and is forwarded to district PMB and the project team at central level. Project planning is developed by project team in conjunction with the set of process and impact indicators under the four categories of intermediate results (IRs) of the project monitoring and evaluation system. The monitoring system was reviewed and refined in view of the Global Impact Monitoring tool developed by Save the Children Alliance and is a very important tool to bridge project planning toward project objectives achievement. The process data being collected seem to be used mainly for progress report and be analyzed for improving programming. Sharing experiences During 3 years, the project organized 18 study tours for Project management Boards, teachers, health staff and promoters. These study tours provided a chance for people to 12 share their experiences and learn from one another about the knowledge and skills required to organize ECD activities. The study tours for PMB members and ECD promoters brought time for them to learn from each other’s experiences and agreed that they should raise their concerns to the People’s Committees in their home communes. The study tours were very useful for our partners, not only for the project but also for them to understand another ethnic minority culture in Vietnam. Study tour for 80 teachers and education leaders to visit other preschools within their locations was organized to share experiences in teaching methods and educational models. This activity is highly appreciated by community. Component 4: Documentation and sharing of Lessons Learned In the first two years the project pamphlet, which is designed for advocacy and dissemination of project information has been finalized, printed and distributed. Almost all other activities under this part have been done in the second half of the project implementation. The project implementers with local partners putting an emphasis on the development of communication messages on IECD. At district, commune and village levels: The project set up IEC campaigns, workshops as well as publications. Commune radio stations supported tremendously advocacy campaigns by broadcasting series of messages with specific topics on child health, IMCI and announcement of some threatening diseases to the location with warning to local people: bird flue, ARI and CDD. Health workers at village level actively disseminated information in time and did counseling/consulting to households and individuals At province and national levels: IECD models of the project have been documented for use in provinces and at national level through meetings and workshop. Links with line ministries were also strengthened. Lesson learned on the project implementation were publicized through news papers, TV, booklets and the dissemination workshop with 160 turns up from UN, NGO, Gov and provinces. Information on project implementation and its new ways of the partnership or approach were shared to WB and other donors. The project’s areas welcomed many visitors from the Government, donors and NGOs. . They are from Tien Yen district, Quang Ninh province; Simacai district, Lao Cai province (ECCD project site of Enfants et Développement), Myanmar, China and Bangladesh. The participants enjoyed observing ECCD activities in the project location and had time to share their experiences and learn from each other. 2. Discuss and rate as to how well the grant output met the quality standards of the recipient and the beneficiary. Overall, the Grant outputs were highly satisfactory in all three components. Children now have access to adequate quality holistic ECCD facilities, including education, health/nutrition, child stimulation, good hygiene condition. Teachers, health workers, ECCD local promoters have been well-trained, are regularly supported through various innovative approaches. At the grass root level, there are supportive political commitments and a “do-able� mechanism for ECCD. C. OUTCOME 1. Achievement of developmental results 13 Discuss and rate the actual developmental results, compared to the expected outcomes, for each component of the grant. Early childhood education services are available and accessible for children, especially from 4 to 5 years: one of the most important results of the project is that number of children enrolled in kindergarten increased significantly from 30% before project to around 60% for children 3 and 4 years, especially in Muong Cha, from 33,9% to 76% (figure below). 98% children at 5 years attended pre-primary classes preparing them to be ready for primary education. Most of parents with children under 6 provided with knowledge and skills on health care, nutrition and protection of their children. 80 76 75 60 46.6 37.7 33.9 40 Baseline 21.4 End 20 0 Luc Yen Dakrong Muong Cha Figure 1: Enrollment rate of children aged 3-4 years old in kindergarten (n=1271) In comparison with the baseline, the enrollment rate of children aged 3-4 years old (from 36 months to 60 months) at the end was significantly increased in all 3 project areas positive changes was found highest at Muong Cha (increased in 42.1%), followed by Luc Yen (increased in 28.4%), and Dakrong (increased in16.3%). In all project communes, it is evidenced that infrastructures for preschool education improved significantly, from "zero" or very poor to satisfy most of local need of children enrolled in kindergarten. Before the project, most communes did not have separate preschools for children under 6, often some classes belonging to primary schools, with primary "mission" to prepare children for entering primary school. There was increase enrollment rate in kindergarten significantly (from around 60% before project intervention to around 98% by the end of 2007 in end-line). Village libraries are highly appreciated as source for parents and communities to provide early education for their children at home. In household survey, 44.4% of parents said that there were books at home for their child, in which 62.4% of Luc Yen, 42.6% of Dakrong, and 28.9% of Muong Cha, much higher compared to the baseline (17%). It is a significantly positive change. However, it was still lower in Dakrong and Muong Cha even though the village libraries with materials/books were available. The finding showed that there was 38.6% of parents used books from village libraries in which 41.7% in Dakrong, higher than that of Luc Yen (25.2%) and Muong Cha (12.6%) The main reason is due to language barrier, especially in Muong Cha, where illiteracy rate was highest (87.7% of mothers & 51.8% of fathers), Dakrong (58.5% of mothers & 29.7% of fathers), Luc Yen (22.8% of mothers & 18.8% of fathers). Parents wanted to get books for their child. Many of them thought that reading for their children is very 14 important for their development. The final evaluation finding showed that in Luc Yen the rate of parents borrowed books from village libraries was low but they were really interested in and the socioeconomic condition was better than other two areas which many parents could afford to have books for their children. Children are provided with care and support through parent education and home visits by trained ECCD promoters. All ECCD promoters addressed one of their regular tasks is to conduct home visits to provide ECCD services and knowledge for parents and caregivers of children under 6 years in their areas. In practice, village health workers (members of ECCD promoter network) were appreciated by parents in all our group discussions in three project districts. Table 4: People come to family to provide ECCD services or counseling 3 Family with Very often Sometimes Children under 3 Village health workers: most Village women’s union, years common. Often remind health check, Population Collaborators vaccination, provide vitamin A, Iron- or village leaders to call tablets, counsel on nutrition, for meetings. Children 3 to 5 Village health workers: most often, Preschool teachers: years remind on health care and introduce mobilize parents to take services, guide for health check for their children to class. children and pregnant women Calling children to school. Children have more opportunities to receive health care and nutrition services through their parents, village and commune health care services. Trained village health workers and staff of commune health stations are involved in providing services for children. Messages on improved food intake for children have clearly been disseminated and understood by parents expressed in our group discussions. It was evidence that children with health problems would be brought to health stations for health check rather than staying at home for prayer. Table 5: Frequency distribution of prenatal care and birth delivery in 3 areas (n=1271) Maternal care Luc Yen Dakrong Muong Total end-line Cha Delivery place (at 30.7 43.4 88.7 52.3 home)*** (baseline: (baseline: (baseline: (baseline 62%) 42%) 54%) 88%) Tetanus injection*** 89.2 85.9 30.6 70.8 Iron 85.9 86.2 24.8 68.0 supplementation*** Vitamin A supplement 55.7 44.9 13.5 39.4 after birth*** Nutrition and health 87.6 86.6 62.9 80.0 education given*** ***p<0.0001 Delivery place compared to baseline data. The rest compared between Luc Yen, Dakrong to MuongCha There was still half (52.3%) of women gave their birth at home, however, compare to the baseline, there was significantly dropped by 9.7% , especially in Luc Yen (11.3%) and 3 Common results from group discussions with parents in three provinces. 15 Darkrong (11.6%); Because of various reasons, such as unavailable transportation, custom (H’mong, Dao delivery at home with the help of their parents), there was no significant change made in Muong Cha compared to the beginning of the project implementation. Children provided with opportunities to play at classes, villages and their homes for their holistic development. Household survey showed that 67.9 % children played with toys; highest rate in Luc Yen (87.1% versus 53% in baseline), Dakrong (42.6% versus 25% in baseline) and Muong Cha (28.9% versus 19% in baseline) Most of toys were hand made and could be a great impact of the project interventions. Before project implementation, toys for children were bought but mostly were unaffordable. The project had provided training courses for parents, teachers to enable them to make toys based on available local materials for their children. 2. Intermediate result 2: Increased quality of ECCD services (Health and Education) Young children in project commune enjoy better quality health and nutrition services. Quality of health services for children improved with trained village health workers and commune health staff. It was evidenced that commune health stations in project communes are better equipped, and staff better trained on child health and nutrition, safe motherhood, injuries and accident prevention addressing physical development of children. Trained village health workers had chances to participate directly in sharing knowledge and experiences on nutrition, health care for parents with children under 6 during village monthly meetings and related project activities. Breastfeeding The final evaluation showed that 99% of children had breastfed, The success of the project reflected in significant change of the rate of colostrums (25% of the baseline compared to 80.8% of the end) . The rate of colostrums was highest at Luc Yen (88.6%), and Dakrong (85.9%), lowest at Muong Cha (67.9%). In detail, the positive significantly changes was found highest at Dakrong (61.9%), followed by Muong Cha (56.9%), lowest at Luc Yen (43.6%) . Changes of breastfeeding practice were found significantly high in the communities with high illiteracy rate among women. 100 88.6 85.9 80.8 80 67.9 60 45 Baseline 40 End 24 25 11 20 0 Luc Yen Dakrong Muong Cha Total Figure 2: Change of colostrums practice compared to baseline (n=1271) The results from household survey showed that prevalence of mothers who gave their child some fluid before breast milk at 3 areas (8.6%) was significantly decreased 16 compared to the baseline (17.0%), as well as among areas, the biggest changes found in Luc Yen (23% in changes) Honey and sugar were often used before breast milk coming out. Group discussion and depth interview with mothers found that they still did not know when and how to stimulate for breast milk running out soon, 84.3% mother gave breast immediately/within one hour. 40 39 30 20 16 Baseline 17 End 8 9 10 4.7 5.8 8.6 0 Luc Yen Dakrong Muong Cha Total Figure 3: Prevalence of other fluid given before breast milk Complementary feeding The median of weaning food introduction was 6.0 months, better than baseline (5.0 months). The weaning food in Darkrong was lower with median of 4.0 months, however, introducing food period increased in 3 project areas. By 4 months, 30.2% introduced weaning food in which 35.5% of Muong Cha, 48.6% of Dakrong and 6.6% of Luc Yen. In comparison with the baseline, early weaning food introduction was significantly reduced (9,5% compared to 18% in baseline), 25.5% for Muong Cha (28,8% in baseline), 11.4% for Dakrong (13,7% in baseline) and 15.4% for Luc Yen (17,9% in baseline). This is one of the indicators reflecting the awareness and practice of parents, especially mothers to increase the breastfeeding period which contribute to reduce the underweight children significantly in project communes. Child heath status There was a difference in prevalence of diarrhea, fever and ARI within two weeks of the end line and the baseline. The prevalence of ARI was high at the end (59.0%) compared to the baseline (40.0%) due to different time of data collection at the baseline and the end. Considerably, prevalence of diarrhea and fever were found lower rate compared to the baseline, especially in Darkrong and Quang tri. BCG scar was found lower rate at end compared to the baseline. Main reasons explained were: Child were sick after injection, leading to weight lost, and crying Not easy to access due to far distance Capacity of village health workers limited 17 Table 6: Comparison of child heath in the baseline (B) and end (E) of the project (n=1271) Child health Luc Yen Dakrong Muong Cha Total B E B E B E B E Had diarrhea within 10.0 11.6 34.0 28.6 27.0 14.6 24.0 18.6 2 weeks Had fever within 2 32.0 31.0 53.0 45.8 40.0 31.6 42.0 36.4 weeks ARI within 2 weeks 40.0 56.2 60.0 65.8 52.0 54.3 40.0 59.0 BCG scar 94.0 84.1 90.0 76.7 40.0 45.5 75.0 68.7 Vitamin A 80.0 79.9 84.0 67.3 25.0 38.5 61.0 64.3 supplement B: Baseline; E: End Vitamin A supplementation was found higher rate at the end (64.3%) compared to the baseline (61.0%). However, the positive changes were found significantly only in Muong Cha (13.5% increased). Children (over two years old) had an experience in vomiting or feces with worm in three districts were 31.1% in which Darkrong (44.3%), Muong Cha (41.2%), Luc Yen 14.5%. Deworming applied for children over two years that given by the project with the rate of 53.7% in which of Luc Yen (68.2%), Muong Cha (57.4%) and Darkrong (39.8%) This number showed that the health condition of children in Luc Yen is much better than other two districts, Dakrong and Muong Cha. However, socio- economic development and living standards of people in Luc yen is one of the key factors contributing to the better health status of children. Hygiene practice for children Household survey found that 99% of children whohad a bath at the preceding week, no different in prevalence with the baseline. The rate of children had a bath with detergence was increasing (62.6%) compared to the baseline (51%) The prevalence was different in these areas: Luc Yen (64.7%), Dakrong (69.3%) and Muong Cha (53.6%) Herbal leaves and warm water often used for taking a bath here at the time of winter. About 50.6% of children with appearance looked clean in which the highest belonged to Luc Yen (75.3%), then Dakrong (39.6%) and Muong Cha (38.8%) Child care and nutrition Both qualitative and quantitative data found showed that parents are now spending more time to care for their children. 70.4% children were taken a care by parents compared to the baseline (64%) . Duration for child care daily was 7 hours higher than of the baseline (6 hours). Spending time for their child increased after project implemented in Luc Yen (3.7 hours vs. 7.4 hours), Dakrong (3.7 hours vs. 8.9 hours) and Muong Cha (3 hours vs. 4.4 hours). With the project interventions, child care practice by parents has been improved significantly, and could be seen as an important indicator for the success of project interventions, especially parent education and related IEC activities through different channels (ECCD promoters, teachers, health workers…) 18 80 65 65 Baseline 47.7 58 60 55 End 38.6 35.1 31.1 40 20 0 Luc Yen Dakrong Muong Cha Total Figure 4: Underweight among children 0 – 60 months in three districts and en average There were about 38.6 % of underweight under-five children at three project areas, declined in 19.4% underweight rate after intervention.The significant positive changes were found also among these areas with the biggest change in Muong Cha (33.9%), followed by Luc Yen (30.9%) and Dakrong (7.3%) .However, the underweight rate among these areas was still high compared to the national data. Impact of parent’s KAP on health and nutrition in these remote and poor communities need time to be evaluated in longer term. For short term project, underweight is the most important successful indicator. Stunting reflects a chronic/cumulative process often related to the reoccurrence diseases or poor socioeconomic condition. The stunting prevalence has not seen to be dropped at three areas of the project, but the prevalence was lowest at Luc Yen (36.9 %, slightly reduced compared to the baseline 38.1% and still very high in two poorest districts, Darkrong and Muong Cha overall prevalence was of 52.7%. The finding of these two areas showed that there was more prevalent of food shortage, inadequate of food intake and meals as well as low socioeconomic condition than those at Luc Yen (data were shown above and below) .The stunting was classified by age group showing that the prevalence of stunting in children less than one years old was 20.8%, then was accumulated in the first year with the an additional decrease in the second year (≈60.0%). The result was similar as the baseline report. Wasting reflects acute malnourished often related to the disaster of food shortage. The data showed that prevalence of wasting in Dakrong and Muong Cha slightly reduced compared to the baseline (7.1% and 5.6% vs. 5.4 and 4.7%, respectively), but increased at Luc Yen. At that time of evaluation, The Dao minority was in food shortage period, which may be a reason why the prevalence at the end of the project (9.1%) tended to be higher than the baseline (7.7%) Data from household survey showed that 79.9% of their parents thought their children are healthy, compared to the baseline of 70%. Main reasons for that: their children did not often suffer from diseases; they were more active and growing-up healthy. The opinion was found to be different between these areas, Muong Cha and Quang Tri are more concerned with disease while Luc Yen more concerned on safe health and social interaction. This implies that the quality of child care in Luc Yen is higher. Children at kindergarten age enjoy better quality of preschool education. The project has had a great impact on improving capacity and awareness of teachers, ECCD 19 promoters to support the holistic development of children in early years. Following aspects are major findings from the final evaluation observations: Generally, preschool teachers have better skills, friendlier, speak local languages better, communicate more frequently with parents, and cooperate better with other stakeholders in early childcare and development. They are capable to provide comprehensive services on care and education for children in schools. 80% of ECCD promoters are capable and willing to assist parents in accessing to ECCD services and information through meetings and village activities including libraries. ECCD promoters (village health workers, women’s union, CPFC, teachers) participate actively in IEC for communities. Quality of preschool teachers improved significantly, 85% teachers in the project areas are capable of applying active teaching methods, which enable children to play and learning actively in classes, better interaction with their friends, more confident in groups. Teachers, especially newly graduated teachers, communicate better with ethnic minority children in classes after attended training courses on local languages. 150 sections curriculum for ethnic minority children has been applied in project communes and expanded to all communes of project districts. Most of teachers agreed that this curriculum is relevant, simple, flexible and appropriate with ethnic minority children. As such, the MOET and provincial departments of education and training in project provinces have decided to expand its application to other communes. Creating a child friendly environment is one of the major new initiatives. 80% of preschool classes met the set out minimum standards for child friendly environment. The finding from endlline servey reported that teachers expressed their high appreciation with this improvement since they did not understand the concept before. It is interesting to mention the fact that most teachers interviewed expressed their high appreciation with the practice to "create" friendly environment for children. This is more important for ethnic minority children since they are often shy, could not speak Vietnamese, and attracting them to preschool is one of the main tasks of teachers Parent’s participation in ECCD with teachers contributed to improve the quality of services for children. Parents were supported to make toys for their children at home as well as in classes. Reading for children, safe environment for children, language development for children are jointed efforts of parents, teachers and ECCD promoters in project areas. MLE model is potential for learning, sharing and replication. Children in MLE classes are provided bilingual education both teachers and mothers who can speak Vietnamese and local languages. The Child performance test was tested and validated in a number of schools in four different areas: Luc Yen, Dakrong, Muong Cha. In the final evaluation, the same tool in and the baseline was mobilised to compared the children achievements in their respective categories i.e. language acquisition, cognitive development and motor development. Language acquisition combines the reading (number of words read, words needed to spell, answering questions on the text read), writing (dictation of ten words) and the verbal meaning tests. Cognitive development combines the marks of the math test and the exclusion and quantity tests. Motor development is evaluated by the bloc design and drawing test and the capacity to write clearly and on the line. The maximum total score is 64 points. 20 Overall, there was a big change in the children’s motor development in all project location. It should be highlighted that there is no or not much change in language development. The evidence from the project supports the language development theories: it takes 2-3 years to learn a new language enough so we can use it for everyday communication and it takes 5-7 years to learn a new language well enough so we can use it to learn abstract concepts . The project duration is not long enough to bring the visible impact on language development of the ethnic minority children. Table 7. Test scores of the overall test and their major subcomponents by areas. Test (max score) Muong Cha Luc Yen Dakrong B E B E B E Total score (64) 24 23 33 37 26 31 Language (27) 13 8 19 16 14 11 Moto development (17) 4 9 4 11 5 9 Cognitive development (20) 7 7 10 10 8 9 Data from our household survey showed that 85% of children enrolled in primary school at 6 and 7 years of age with the highest rate of Luc Yen (94.8%), followed by Muong Cha and Dakrong with similarly rate of 81%-82% . The net enrollment rate calculated at around 98.1%, the enrollment rate was higher in comparison with the baseline such as Luc Yen (97.6% vs. 99.0%), Dakrong (90.2% vs. 96.9% ), and Muong Cha (96.7% vs. 98.7%; ). 100 94.8 82.6 85 At 6 yrs old 80 81.1 At and over 7 yrs old 60 40 17.4 18.9 15 20 5.2 0 Luc Yen Dakrong Muong Cha Total Figure 5: Starting time of children enrolled in primary schools Increased family and community awareness and capacity to promote utilization of ECCD services. Awareness of parents and caregivers of ECCD improved significantly,which then changed their attitude and practice to support child development. The finding from endline showed that 47% of parents involved in activities at kindergarten (where their children enrolled) in which 63.7% of Muong Cha, 55% of Dakrong and 26.4% of Luc Yen They participated in building and upgrading preschool to clean and decorate and to contribute woods/labors/money/rice. Compared to the baseline, there was a big change 21 in the attitude of parents to support their children in preschool education, increased from 25% at the baseline to 47% at the end of the project . IEC campaign is a good measure to draw attention of the public to ECCD as well as to raise awareness and understanding of the communities on the project approaches and activities. Line departments at village and commune levels provided with knowledge to participate actively in IEC for parents to use health, education and recreational services for their children. Play for children is valued by parents Findings from the end line evaluation showed that 93.1 % of parents valued that play is important for their child development. This number itself did not change differently compared to the baseline (in baseline 95%) However, parent’s awareness on the impact of child play was significantly changed, that makes children happier, helping their children healthier, smarter and more active. In our observations, children at preschools and in groups were confident, free to play with their friends, with created toy and others objects. Parents and communities appreciated this as one of the major impact on the holistic development of their children. Capacity of partners in project planning, monitoring and evaluation improved. Monitoring data is collected from the field by ECCD promoters and PMB’s members, and is forwarded to district PMB and the project team at central level. The project has established a two-way flow of information in planning, implementation and monitoring. Monitoring data is collected at all levels and is accessible to all stakeholders. Results from monitoring and supportive supervision have helped improve the quality of project activities. A participatory monitoring mechanism has been set up from the central to grassroots level. The Project Management Boards at district and commune levels play the role in facilitating project implementation and monitoring with strong support of the ECCD promoter network. Capacity for PMB members have been improved significantly especially for commune PMBs, and some of its results have impacted positively to their management style for their regular responsibilities at commune level. Improved implementation of policies in support of ethnic minority children. The project has had great impact on raising awareness of community and leaders toward better investment for their children holistic development in early years. There are facts regarding change in government and community relating to the investment for ECCD: Communities participated actively in the contribution for upgrading ECCD services for children, mobilizing local resources for ECCD especially for preschool education. Commune leaders provided land areas, local resources, and mobilize people to build classes for children. In the school upgrading, the community contributed for 64% of the total cost. All communes provided with trained teachers paid by Government salaries. All children at 5 years mobilized and provided opportunities to access free preschool education as Government’s policy for ethnic minority children. 22 The project has positive impact on local and national ECCD related policies, mainly on education for ethnic minority children in remote and poor areas. Some of the project models applied in other communes: training on the application of the 150 sections curriculum, mobilize parents to contribute for pre-school construction. In general, children have easy access to village health workers or commune health stations. In particular, chairmen of some communes had provided an ‘’introduction paper� in advance to set a priority for children receiving a health check and reducing bureaucracy. Social policies for children in poor households is one of the priorities of the Government, and that most of people’s committees have expressed their commitment and pay attention to the implementation, especially subsidies for the poorest children to access to preschools. Save the Children UK, as a coordinating agency in the ECD Working Group at national level, took advantage of the project experience to advocate for IECD policy change at all levels. The project experience has become a good reference for the Government in drafting key strategy papers in IECD, like ECCD strategy, Project 149 “Preschool education development for the period 2006-2015� approved by the Prime Minister in June 2006. 2. Relevance Rate how well this activity was consistent with the development priorities of the country, the Bank’s country assistance strategy (CAS) and the Bank’s sector strategy. This proposal was fully aligned to the new World Bank Group Country Partnership Strategy and Vietnam’s tenth Socio Economic Development Plan. It is directly linked with the broad objectives of strengthening social inclusion with the priorities are given to (a) piloting new instruments to reach the poor; (b) mainstreaming gender issues across the portfolio and including people with disabilities in the project development process; (c) increasing the access to affordable quality education services; (d) including and empowering ethnic minorities children and community in the development processes; (e) improving policies to address the needs of ethnic minorities will be initiated. In addition, this new partnership arrangement [the World Bank- Ministry of Education and Training and Save the Children] contributed to the achievement of the Hanoi Core Statement goals on ownership, alignment, harmonization, results and accountability. The project will contribute to the World Bank supports ensuring that growth continues to be equitable and pro-poor, renewed emphasis to reach out to marginalized groups. The ECCD project is in line with the government National Programme of Action for Children 2001-2010. In the health and nutrition sector, the National Programme of Action targets “to ensure that all children enjoy good health by having access to high quality basic health services, and that parents receive appropriate information and knowledge on nutrition and health care�. In the education sector, it’s target is “to ensure that all children have high quality comprehension and assessment skills enabling them to become good citizens�. This project is in close linkages with regard to the WB supported Primary Education for Disadvantaged Children Project (PEDC) implemented by the Ministry of Education and Training. The project objective is to improve access to primary school and the quality of education for disadvantaged girls and boys, with special attention to school-aged children who are not enrolled or are at risk of not completing their primary education; children who attend schools that do not meet fundamental quality standards; and children with disabilities or children from other highly vulnerable groups, such as street children, migrant children or girls from certain ethnic minority areas. The ECCD project aims to increase the availability of and access to ECCD services and supplies, as well as the quality of education and health services for all children 0-6 years of age. There 23 are good lessons in the ECCD project (e.g. network of ECCD promoters, PE sessions, curriculum for ethnic minority, teachers assistance etc.) could be replicated in the PEDC project benefiting ethnic minority children in 42 provinces in Vietnam. 3. Efficacy Rate how well the activity achieved its stated grant objectives. Amongst many significant achievements in three years, Project partners were successful in fostering the following outcomes: Taking the advantages of a new way partnership, better developing/implementing ECCD at all levels for the ethnic minority’s children in Vietnam. Strengthening/ formulating availability of quality villages based ECCD services which are accessible for all young children Improving attitudes, skills, productivity and levels of professional competence amongst administrative and technical staff in ECCD services (education, health, nutrition offices) Increased family and community awareness and capacity to promote utilization of ECCD services. Introducing/demonstrating strategies for community mobilisation in providing quality ECCD services That led to positive outcomes on children life as discussed above Children benefit better nutrition and nurturing. Children benefit better parental interaction and stimulation. Children are given more favorable conditions for development. Children are better prepared for primary school Children benefit a better learning environment and education, care and stimulation 4. Efficiency Rate the results of this activity relative to its associated costs, implementation times and economic and financial returns. Most of the project sites especially in Muong Cha district (Dien Bien province) province are among the least accessible and poorest in Vietnam. Prior to commencement of the Project 60% villages never had access to preschool education and inadequate nutrition/ health care, many parents have no ideas of the right of young children in holistic ECCD. Three years of the project implementation time was rather short, the actual field activities were about 29 months. Furthermore, a long rainy season turns vast parts of the province to be completely inaccessible. Yet, grant objectives and deliverables were completed satisfactorily and on schedule, with the exception of the targeted beneficiaries. The changes in the local government officers turn over among the recruited staff, limitation in understanding the WB’s procedures at the beginning experience were challenges for the project implementation Construction activities were completed under budget, slow at the beginning ensuring the requirement on the procurement procedures, a high level of quality. The level of community involvement in the management and ongoing supervision of the building process was also exceptional. All the technical assistance staff was Vietnamese, representing sizable savings in staff salaries. Payments for the national Consultants in the Project budget were very modest. 24 The salary was ranged from USD 8000 to less than USD12000 per year. Any other comparable organization working in education in Vietnam would be employing at least two or three specialist international staff on a program of this level of sophistication. Expatriate TA of comparable experience if any were available in country, could be (conservatively) estimated at $30,000 to $60,000 per year. More likely would be expatriate consultants without in-country experience in which case the initial 3-6 months of any contract is needed to develop some understanding of the context in which they are working. UN agencies working in Vietnam routinely budget $250-300,000 per year for program officers. D. IMPACT 1. Capacity Building Impact Rate how well this activity contributes to capacity building. ECCD required a holistic coordination. As the result of the project implementation, the capacity of all related project holders is improved as expected. Children are reported as smarter, more intelligent, more polite and cleaner. Children like their school and get better results in class. Children are better in their mother tongue and Vietnamese. Teachers actively improved their proficiency through self-assessment as well as teacher- to-teacher support; Teachers report that children are more active in class, they are more motivated. There are better relationship between parents and school. Parents and community members, who had engaged in whole project implementation,. They are strongly involved in ECCD activities, ranging from school construction to school data collection and instructional programs. Parents have improved parental interaction at home. Fathers share responsibility in taking care of the children. ECCD promoters are key facilitators at commune levels. There capacity has been improved knowledge and awareness on ECCD. They now know how to work with other stakeholders to educate and advocate for holistic child care and development, how to integrate project activities into regular work. There has been a dramatic change in attitudes and practices during the Project life among the local authorities. District staff can operate effectively and efficiently in managing administrative matters, monitoring ECCD outcomes and supporting ECCD mandates. Save the Children and MOET has better understanding on the requirements of the WB, JSDF procedures, also have better skills to advocate for ECCD in the moutainous areas. 2. Sustainability Rate how likely the results will be sustained. The sustainability of the project is viewed through the following indicators The ownership and awareness of parents, communities, leaders on ECCD improved Capacity of teachers, ECCD promoters, health workers, PMBs strengthened. 25 Institutional sustainability and the integration contents of ECCD into regular activities Impact of the project to the implementation of related policies The ownership and awareness of parents, communities and leaders improved resulting in increasing both demand-and supply side and the need to promote children development: It is obvious that parents are now willing to send their children to preschools, contribute their labor and resources for upgrading schools and many of them have to take their children to classes which are far from their homes. In all three project locations the local governments and education agencies have developed a strategy for preschool education development, focusing on physical, intellectual, emotional and cognitive development of the children. The project also promoted close collaboration among schools, families and the whole community in the care and education of preschool children. The children and pregnant women come to commune health stations rather than “prayer� as their own tradition. Commune and village leaders realized their responsibilities to provide ECCD services not only education, but health, recreation and safe environment for children in their localities. Capacity of teachers, health workers, ECCD promoters, PMB members strengthened through training, workshops and sharing as well as their involvement in the project planning, monitoring and evaluation: Capacity building is one of the key components of the project, and the biggest category in terms of grant allocation. All target groups receive training by one way or the others. PMB members, ECCD promoters, preschool teachers, village health workers have been trained on various topics. Most of them have been able to carry out their tasks properly. The PMB play an active role and gradually take control over decision-marking in planning, implementing and supportive supervision/monitoring the project. ECCD promoters are now able to conduct effective PE sessions and actively involve in the project implementation, especially in advocacy and communication to the community. Changing teaching methodology by implementing active learning methodologies, or changing the behaviour of adults towards children are a long term processes. The project gave important support in strengthening teachers and health workers competences through training and monitoring. Efforts by all stakeholders must be sustained. Preschool teachers are appraised for “good performance� in applying active learning methodologies. The project has strengthened institutional capacity in managing the project implementation as well as integrate into existing structure: Capacity of the PMB at all levels has been built to respond to the need of managing a multi-sector project in health, education, social protection, recreation. The collaboration among stakeholders at district, commune and village level improved in an effort to provide ECCD services for children in health, nutrition, education, recreation, protection. Financial sustainability:The project developed financial appropriate models to ensure the financial capacity of replication by partners., As a whole, the project was more a technical support project than a financial support project. However, it gave small amount per diem or allowances to assist the implementation of the activities - for instance for teachers’ in-service training, for meals delivery at school, etc. The allowances paid by the project were justified as the per diem can be considered as a refund for the costs borne by the participants and/or compensations for the hours spent working for the project, etc. Furthermore, allowances strictly respected the districts’ regulations. 26 It is the policy of the government that, preschool education in these areas is subsidized. There is no doubt about financial support in the long run to maintain most of the on- going activities of the project on early childhood education. Investment priorities are given by the capital from state budget to build and strengthen the capacity of preschool education, focusing on infrastructure, qualification of preschool teachers, renovation of curriculum and pedagogical methodology. 3. Follow-up Activities and/or Investment Provide a description of any follow-up activities or investments resulting from the original activity. Strategically, right at the beginning of the project implementation, discussion was on how the project activities could be sustained in long term. Therefore, most of the project activities are integrated in their local plan. In final stage, PMB of three districts have developed their detailed plans for maintaining most of project results/activities, in particular, results of preschool education; village based libraries, support the operating costs of some other regular activities, for instance, PE sessions, nutrition rehabilitation centers, providing teaching assistants for bi- (and in some cases multi-) lingual education, especially once the programme finishes. In addition, the Government and Bank continues to support education inclusion. This Project aims to assist Vietnam in implementing its sector goals to expand access to education services by addressing supply, demand, quality and efficiency constraints, with a special focus on poor and underserved communities. In such a short time, the project has demonstrated several innovative features in the program strategy and its implementation. It is proved that community participation in ECCD planning and management as an effective ways to improve its quality. There were efforts in adapting the curriculum and learning materials to local context with cultural diversity, starting points for promotion of both mother tongue and Vietnamese as language of instruction in school for effective learning, starting strengthening linkages between preschool – primary and lower secondary schools for smooth transition education, especially for girl ethnic minority; The unique partnership, partnership: World Bank – MOET – NGO has become a great model for ECCD programming emphasises the knowledge sharing and mutual influencing to change policies and practices that affect programme delivery in all three partner organisations. This reflexive engagement by the project partners is increasing the overall effectiveness of ECCD interventions as partners are able to work together to develop relevant and appropriate policies and processes to respond to the issue on the ground. There is a need to have more time for further strengthening, refining these innovative approaches at all levels. For its continuation, with the supports and encouragement from the WB, Save the Children in Vietnam, MOET and local partners plan to apply for another project from JSDF to improve quality basis in education for the project areas. E. PERFORMANCE 1. Bank Discuss and rate how well the Bank carried out specific responsibilities assumed by the Bank for this trust funded activity. 27 The primary role of the Bank was to disburse funding to the recipient, monitor Project progress and provide advice on technical issues. Funds were disbursed in a timely fashion. A “special account� was established only to serve for this project. The Task Manager has always provided the speed and usefulness of communications, guidelines for the effective project implementation 2. Recipient Discuss and rate how well the Recipient fulfilled the different tasks that were expected as part of the trust funded activity. Save the Children Alliance especially Save the Children UK - the implementing agency, has long been involved in Vietnam in the areas of ECCD and basic education in partnership with MOET, key ECCD players at national level and local provinces. Its extensive experience in the area of ECCD/education and familiarity with geographical conditions of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas in Viet Nam have undoubtedly benefited project implementation. Project implementation has been without doubt excellent. Reporting was conducted on a timely basis, with exhaustive data tracking Project outcomes over time and comparing it to baseline measures. Procurement and financial management supervision revealed efficient administration of Project funds. All audit reports were quality qualified. F. LESSONS LEARNED / RECOMMENDATIONS Discuss the most significant positive and negative lessons learned from the success or failure of the grant activity and make recommendations for different stakeholders. Chosen interventions and delivery strategies • It has been shown that a multidisciplinary, multi-sector approach to supporting ECCD at family, community and institutional levels is possible and viable as well. Combined interventions have greater impact on children’s development than any isolated intervention. • A positive policy climate now exists in the country and increasing resources are being channelled to ECCD services. However many children from marginalised minority ethnic areas are still missing out on adequate ECCD. This project offers a practical way to address this and can serve as model. Most projects models are vertically structured. But in this project, the WB_MOET_INGO and local partners has proved an effective model in addressing specific problems in a limited area, risks not being sustainable in the long run as funds dry up and momentum to sustain the project gains ultimately fade away. This model of ECCD programming emphasises knowledge sharing and mutual influencing to change policies and practices that affect programme delivery in all three partner organisations. This reflexive engagement by the project partners is increasing the overall effectiveness of ECCD interventions as partners are able to work together to develop relevant and appropriate policies and processes to respond to the issue on the ground. Health and nutrition, education and protection are crucial for the holistic development of children, chosen for interventions in all project locations. However, these are broad technical areas which need a lot of effort and commitment of staff and partners to ensure the quality of it's implementation. In addition, capacity of 28 ECCD promoters including village health workers are often limited, as such, it is often very difficult to train all these people so that they can become "trainers". In order to overcome this difficulty, the project has applied different methods and topics based short training courses to build capacity for ECCD promoters. Participatory monitoring and supervision made by commune management board and preschool teachers have helped improve the performance of ECCD promoters at village level for parents and communities. Language is a crucial area for child development particular learning Vietnamese is the crucial for ethnic minority children in Vietnam; the project design should be long enough (at least 5 years) with the adequate technical investments. Project interventions developed in a participatory planning process. Monthly, quarterly and annually plans developed by district project management board with participation from commune management boards, technical support from project staff and advisors. Beside the interventions on the key areas for child development, including health and nutrition, education and recreation. The project also encourages local initiatives addressing local needs for the holistic development of children. Some of these initiatives have been developed to be models for learning and sharing, such as reading for children, village based libraries, community contribution for upgrading preschool classes; The participatory and dialogue-based approach undertaken with families and community members, in assessing and defining what is to be the most appropriate in their context, represents a very empowering process for the community Cooperation among stakeholders on ECCD at commune and district level improved, especially between health and education. Strategic planning is designed by NSC and the project teams in collaboration with district PMB. The district and commune PMBs are now able to develop periodical plan of actions and have increased the control over decision-making in some of project activities (e.g. community initiatives, introduce new training topics for PE sessions). The participation of the target groups has increased over the time both in terms of scale and quality. Many of the project activities (e.g. PE sessions, IEC campaigns…) have become the community activities and have involved the mass participation of the community. There are suggestions about alternative strategies for project implementation. It is necessary to focus on children who are not enrolled in kindergarten. This group account for most of children under 3 years old, and around 40% of children 3 to 4 years. This would include the strengthening capacity for village health workers to provide ECCD services comprehensively for parents, not only physical (health and nutrition), but emotional, mental and social development of children during their home visits. Teacher’s roles in family visits would focus on providing ECCD knowledge for parents and caregivers rather than mobilizing children to classes. Teachers should also play a more important role in village meetings to provide ECCD messages for community integrating with regular activities. Recreational activities at villages should be well integrated into regular activities, such as link with kindergarten classes in some places or activities managed by the Youth Union, to ensure sustainability of this important initiative. During food shortages, meals for the family were only of rice and vegetable, number of meals also reduced. Awareness of parents on nutrition improved 29 significantly in all areas, however, they could not apply for raising their children leading to malnutrition rate still very high, especially in poorer communes. There is a great need to improve income for parents so that they could afford to raise their children’s holistic development. Within the current education and development status, it would be good if the innovative approaches in this project (strong children and community participation in project planning and management, local or culturally sensitive learning materials, taking the advantages of the tri-partite partnership for a new model of Knowledge Reflection Influence among related parties) can be applied to develop and implement a comprehensive project on quality basic education supporting ethnic minorities children from preschool to lower secondary levels. Project approaches and implementation The project has applied a bottom-up approach, especially in project planning and monitoring, with active participation from ECCD promoters, commune project management board and preschool teachers. "Community initiatives" enable flexibilitiy to respond the needs of children in local context. This would be difficult for project staff to manage project activities diversified in different communes, however, good initiatives such as village based libraries, has been replicated within the project locations. The MOET has coordinated to implement government policies, consolidate and disseminate lessons learned from the project as well as from their own experiences with other interventions for partners from villages, to commune, district and three project provinces. Community initiatives from each commune also are introduced to others for learning and sharing to improve the availability and quality of services for children. At the provincial level, a group consisting of the Provincial Educational office and the Nutrition Program involved in providing technical support, supervision, and planning. A district project management board established to include the district People’s Committee, health center, education office, Committee for Population, Family and Children (CPFC), local mass organizations (WU, YU, and Farmer’s Association), and INGO field office representatives. The district project management board reports to both the provincial and central management teams. Model of cooperation between Save Alliance with partners at district level to implement a “multi-sector project approach� is relevant for mountainous areas. A commune project management board plays the most important role in the implementation and monitoring all project activities at commune and village level. This board headed by chairman of the commune People’s Committee, members come from women’s union, health and education staff officers, and the committee for population, family and children in which, head of preschool is standing deputy leader. This group is responsible for coordinating, organizing planning, monitoring and implementation all project activities in the communes, villages and reports to the district project management board. G. PROCESSING Prepared by: Dinh Phuong Thao, Education Program Manager, Save the Children UK in Vietnam Task Team Leader: Binh Thanh Vu, Senior Education Specialist, EASHD 30 5777+266 Tvu@worldbank.org Date Submitted: May 2, 2006 Comments: Manager: Date Approved: Comments: References: 31