Attachment_1.Strengthening_State_Systems _Increasing_Access_.NEI.pdf

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Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access

Nigeria Northern Education Initiative Project Report

ATTACHMENT 1: SOL-620-14-000012

Page Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access

Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access

Nigeria Northern Education Initiative Project Report

February 2014

ATTACHMENT 1

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February 2014

For additional copies of this report, contact Semere Solomon or Semra Seifu at Creative Associates International or visit our website at www.creativeassociatesinternational.com

Prepared Under: Nigeria Northern Education Initiative Contract No.: EDH-I-00-05-00026-00; Order #EDH-I-03-05-00026-00 Submitted to: USAID/Nigeria General Development Office/Education Unit Murjanatu House No. 1 Zambezi Crescent, (Off Aguiyi Ironsi Way) Maitama, Abuja P.M.B 519 Garki, Abuja, Nigeria This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of Contract EDH-I-00-05-00026-00 through the Nigeria Northern Education Initiative (NEI).

Recommended Citation Creative Associates International, Bauchi, Nigeria. February 2014.

U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

ATTACHMENT 1

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Abstract

Creative Associates presents the Final Progress Report of the Nigeria Northern Education Initiative (NEI) Project. NEI is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to strengthen systems for delivery of basic education and to increase access of vulnerable children to basic education and other services in two northern states of Sokoto and Bauchi.

When the project commenced in November 2009, basic education indices in northern Nigeria sharply contrasted the national average to the extent that while the national average of children who had never attended school was 31%, the averages were 52% in Bauchi and 66% in Sokoto states [Nigeria DHS EdData Survey (NEDS), 2010]. The challenges faced by basic education were compounded by factors such poor planning, weak budgeting systems, low capacity of officials, non-involvement of communities and civil society in service planning, delivery and monitoring as well as a poor perception of the concept of vulnerability among children.

NEI in partnership with state and local governments agencies and and non-governmental organizations set out to address some of these problems by improving the delivery of quality basic education. To support the project hypothesis two hundred (200) public and Qur’anic schools were selected as demonstrations schools.

In addition, NEI supported Bauchi and Sokoto states to improve their delivery system by introducing a mechanism to collect and process school-level data regularly to inform a consultative decision-making process involving Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs), communities and civil society organiza-tions (CSOs). This consultation followed a deliberate, reflective planning process, that utilized tools and methods in setting standards, goals, and benchmarks to establish state-wide policies and procedures which improved classroom instruction, teacher performance and supervision as well as support to vulnerable children (VC) to access and succeed in school.

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Contents

Forward....................................................................................................................................................vii

Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................................ix

Introduction

Chapter One: Improving Planning, Management and Administration of Basic Education in Bauchi and Sokoto States

Chapter Two: Impact of Financial Expenditure Analysis in Decision making for Basic Education in Bauchi and Sokoto States

Chapter Three: Managing Teachers for Improved Learning Outcomes

Chapter Four: Supporting Vulnerable Children to Access Basic Education and Vocational training in Bauchi and Sokoto states

Chapter Five: Working in Tsangaya (Qur’anic) Schools: NEI Experience

Chapter Six: Impact of USAID-NEI Project on grantee NGOs’ capacity to implement basic education project in Bauchi and Sokoto states

Chapter Seven: Strategies For Reaching Out to Vulnerable Children: FOMWAN and CSACEFA’s Experience Under NEI

Chapter Eight: USAID-NEI Gender Interventions

Chapter Nine: Measuring progress under the USAID-NEI Project

Chapter Ten: Main Challenges

Chapter Eleven: Lessons Learned

Conclusion

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Forward

Creative Associates International, leading a consortium of international partners - Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and Johns Hopkins University - Centre for Communications Programs (JHU-CCP), and School-to School (STS) - and local partners - Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All (CSACEFA) successfully implemented the USAID funded Nigeria Northern Education Initiative (NEI) in two northern states of Nigeria - Bauchi and Sokoto. Although initially a four-year project, NEI was implemented in a four and half-year time span following the award of a six-month No-Cost Extension (NCE) from 20 September 2013 to 19 March 2014. This USAID supported initiative is greatly acknowledged and highly appreciated by the state governments of Bauchi and Sokoto.

Prior to NEI, the two states witnessed limited access to basic education and health care services. In addition, the number of vulnerable children (VC), including boys leaving home, remained high in the north, and systems for identifying and supporting them were only beginning to develop. NEI had two objectives set out to address key issues in the management, sustainability and oversight of basic education. Its interventions focused on facilitating policy development and implementation; the introduction of information management system and use of data for decision-making; and human resource development and management including training, monitoring, and supervision. Additionally, NEI supported the two states to increase access of VC to basic education and other services through innovative approaches such as Non-Formal Learning Centers (NFLC) that catered for the educational and psycho-social needs of out-of-school youths. Support services provided to VC included in-school and out-of-school activities such as life skills education, and psycho-social support. The children were also provided with referrals to the nearest health facilities supported by other USAID-supported health and HIV/AIDS interventions.

In collaboration with state governments NEI developed or adapted policies that enabled planned, data-informed, structured, and result-driven implementation of basic education. The Mid-Term Sector Strategy (MTSS), State Education Sector Operational Plans (SESOP), State Education Management Information System (EMIS) policies, the State Teacher Education Policy (STEP), and the Teacher Recruitment and Deployment (TRD) procedures all encouraged better management of basic education services. NEI also adopted a community-based approach to education access. Using community mobilization strategies, the project supported school governance structures that helped bridge the gap between government and the local communities. These structures made immense contribution to improve the school environment.

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It is our sincere hope that as leaders of the sector in both states we will not only to work to sustain the effort of USAID-supported NEI project but also build on its achievements, own it and sustain the interventions. We hereby recommend that other development partners in the Nigeria explore the USAID-NEI model of interven-tion in the education sector especially in the area of increasing access to vulnerable children (including the Almajiri) using community-based approach.

Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Aminu Alhaji Bello Yusuf Danchadi Honorable Commissioner for Education Honorable Commissioner for Education Bauchi State Sokoto State

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Acknowledgements

The successful implementation of NEI is attributed to the support provided by various stakeholders. First and foremost, our appreciation goes to the USAID Education Team under the able leadership of Drs. Sandy Ojikutu and Jill-Jupiter Jones. Beyond providing the hands-on technical direction to the project, both made tremendous efforts to make sure it succeeded. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the wise leadership provided by Dr. Ray Kirkland, Mrs. Dana Mansuri, and Mr. Michael Harvey who one after the other served as Mission Directors for USAID Nigeria.

We can never forget to commend the contribution of the people and governments of Bauchi and Sokoto states who have at different times during the life of the project expressed their appreciation to the support provided by the American people through USAID. Not only did they support the project but owned it to improve the lives of their children through taking part in meeting the project objectives: strengthening state and local government capacity to deliver basic education services and increasing access of OVC to basic education and other services.

Creative Associates representing the consortium is also highly indebted to the Technical Working Groups, members of the Community Coalitions and Community Education Forums, mentor teachers, the classroom teachers/facilitators, the Ma’alams and proprietors of Tsangaya centres, grantee NGOs who were the foot soldiers that raised the standards for i) high enrolment, ii) the formation of highly mobilized compassionate communities, iii) data-driven decision making process, and iv) result oriented policies. The political will and support from policy makers was outstanding.

Suffice to mention the strong backing accorded to the project by the two states’ Executive Governors - Malam (Dr.) Isa Yuguda (Matawallen Bauchi, Obasayero of Oyo Empire) and Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko.

Last but not least, Creative Associates would like to express its gratitude to the field management team and project backstops of all members of the consortium - Creative Associates, Research Triangle Institute (RTI), John Hopkins University/Centre for Communication and Policy JHU-CCP), School-to-School, the Civil Society For Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) and the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN) - who for four and half years went back and forth in providing the much needed technical and administrative support to the project.

We would in particular like to recognize the visit of the President and CEO of Creative Associates International - Mrs.

Charito Kruvant – to Bauchi state at the height of security challenges. This is a rare demonstration of passionate leadership.

Creative Associates International

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NEI is a four-year basic education project (a six month No-Cost Extension was added later) funded by USAID and implemented in partnership with the Government of Nigeria (GON). NEI strengthened the capacity of state and local government to deliver quality basic education services and increased access to education (and related services) for OVC in the northern states of Nigeria - Bauchi and Sokoto.

This was achieved through strong collaboration with state partners such as State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Women Affairs (MOWA), Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA), Adult and Non Formal Education Agency (ANFEA), Bauchi State OVC Agency (BASOV- CA), Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria (BACATMA), Local Government Area (LGA) education authorities, communities and community structures such as Community Coalitions (CC) and Community Education Forums (CEF), head teachers, school structures such as School-based Management Committee (SBMC) and Center CBMC, other cooperating partners such as DFID, other and USAID implementing partners such as TSHIP, LEAD and WOFAN. Federal agencies that took part in this effort included UBEC, TRCN and FMOE.

NEI’s approach was based on three fundamental principles: building on what exists, effecting change through a three-pronged change strategy, (build capacity, promote advocacy for acceptance and sup-port transparency and accountability), and embrac-ing a system approach (horizontal and vertical) that ensured comprehensive coverage of processes the project aimed to strengthen. In line with this concep-tual framework and supported by its well experi-enced team and dynamic leadership, NEI set itself to build on what existed at national, state and Local Government Area (LGA) levels and took advantage of

Introduction

Page 2 Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access the experience accumulated under previous USAID-funded projects - Community Participation for Action in the Social Sectors (COMPASS), State Education Accounts (SEA), and the Literacy Enhancement Assis-tance Program (LEAP).

Taking advantage of its wealth of experience in Nige-ria, NEI successfully met the project’s overarching goal of strengthening states’ and local governments’ systems in Bauchi and Sokoto, and established func-tional models to increase access of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) to quality basic education.

This effort laid the foundation for delivering quality basic education services in both formal and non-formal education with unprecedented community participation.

The initiative was implemented in twenty LGAs (ten per state), 120 formal schools and 80 Non-Formal Learning Centers (NFLCs). During the life of the proj-ect, NEI built the capacity of 461 administrators and government officials in competencies directly related to their primary assignment and day-to-day activi-ties. The project supported the training of 5,685 (3323m and 1362f) teachers and educators both in in-service and pre-service surpassing the target by 53%. NEI also reached 1,422,925 (853,418m, 569,507f) children in both states resulting in 33% increase in enrolment during the life of the project.

Enrolment increased by 23% in all demonstration schools/centers. The project also witnessed a 23% increase in enrolment in both states as against the envisaged 15% increase by the end of project. This state wide increase in enrolment could be attributed to the system-wide approach of the project which was endorsed and scaled up by the state through the application of plans, budgets, policies and other interventions modeled and supported by NEI to non-project LGEAs and schools.

The project introduced an Education Management Information System (EMIS) in twenty pilot LGEAs in Bauchi and Sokoto states. NEI distributed an updated EMIS Toolbox that incorporated the 2012/2013 An-nual School Census (ASC) data. Also, the project trained the executing bodies of one hundred and twenty (120) School Based Management Committees (SBMCs) and eighty (80) Center-Based Management Committees (CBMCs) on effective schools manage-ment strategies and monitoring. NEI supported these school structures to develop plans and budgets. In addition, the project supported the State Education Accounts (SEA) Working Groups (SWGs) in both states to take a leading role in the conduct of SEA Round II resulting in the successful and timely com-pletion of the exercise. The use of the train-do-train approach helped build the capacity of the SWGs and gave them a sense of ownership which was demon-strated by their willingness to sustain SEA.

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The project adapted and/or developed thirteen poli-cies, guidelines and procedures to improve equitable access to quality basic education services. Chief amongst them are: the Med-Term Sector Strategy (MTSS); State Teacher Education Policy (STEP); Teach-er Recruitment and Deployment (TRD) procedures;

and Guidelines for Civic Society Organizations (CSO) Role in Partnering with Government. The most recent is the Teacher Management Information System (TMIS) - a statewide system that integrated informa-tion on teachers in a comprehensive yet accessible and timely way for efficient human resource manage-ment. This tool is currently being used to ensure fair and equitable distribution of teachers in schools and across LGEAs. These documents were approved by the State Basic Education Steering Committees (BESC) following a thorough deliberation and review.

In order to ensure ownership and sustainability of government projects within the communities, NEI supported the establishment of twenty Community Coalitions – CCs - (one/project LGA) and 200 OVC Support Teams (OSTs) and provided training to help them support 200 demonstration schools/center (one/school) established by NEI.

The project conducted a symposium on adolescent girls and VC that brought together key religious and community leaders, NGOs, and representatives of key government agencies. The project also conducted formative research in view of identifying the needs of VC. The research also led to designing relevant proj-ect interventions on Adolescent Girls Program (AGP), Kids Forum (KF), and also in creating radio programs used for advocacy purposes.

Over the life of the project the number of OVC enrolled and provided with services (education, Page 4 Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access health, nutrition and psychosocial information) reached 16,000 (9770m, 6230f). The breakdown is:

Bauchi 8000 (4425m, 3575f), Sokoto 8000 (5345m 2655f). NEI also supported the well-being of these OVC through the provision of support packages and recreational learning materials. Furthermore, it sup-ported 2,686 adolescent girls (Bauchi 1402, Sokoto 1284) by providing literacy, numeracy, life and voca-tional skills instructions in the twenty AGP centers;

and 6,714 (4,293m, 2,420f) caregivers were trained to support VC education and well-being.

The last two years of the project were geared towards ensuring sustainability. Specific project interventions such as MTSS, EMIS, SEA, STEP, NEI Teacher Training Model, TMIS, AGP and VC care and support were adopted as models by the two states and approved for scale up by relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Progress of project implementation was carefully monitored through periodic engagement of govern-ment officials, surveys (to identify gaps and plans to redress them), annual data quality assessments (DQAs), and portfolio reviews by USAID. These ef-forts paid off since it enabled NEI to surpass targets that it set for itself at the inception of the project.

Project planning, implementation and monitoring were conducted in deliberative consultative forums that involved regular attendance of key government officials. The various inter-ministerial Technical Working Groups (TWGs) at the state and LGA levels were the driving forces in the implementation of the project. The Civil Society Action Coalition on Educa-tion for All (CSACEFA) and the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), and oth-er Civil Society organizations (CSOs) served as grant-ees to support project interventions and to engage state governments and communities in the planning and improvement of the education sector.

In conclusion, the project succeeded in strengthen-ing education delivery systems in Bauchi and Soko-to states by building the capacity of relevant MDAs and CSOs. Presently, school-level data are regularly collected and processed to inform a consultative decision-making process involving LGEAs, commu-nities, and civil society organizations. This consulta-tive process follows a deliberative and reflective planning process, utilizing established tools and methods to set standards, goals and benchmarks in establishing state-wide policies and procedures which in turn helped improve classroom instruction, teacher performance and supervision as well as im-proved VC to access.

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Chapter One: Improving Planning, Management and Administration of Basic Education in Bauchi and Sokoto States

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Understanding the context In Northern Nigeria, despite the immense efforts made by the state governments to design sector plans, they can be difficult to implement for a variety of reasons. Sometimes priorities are unclear or goals reflect ideal rather than attainable standards. At oth-er times plans can fail to include critical details such as provision of a sufficient number of teachers for a proposed expansion. Sequencing of activities is fre-quently ignored, institutional review processes can often weak; redundancies between Federal, state and LGEA plans are also seen to lead to cost inefficiencies;

and at times implementation can be derailed by bureaucratic logjams and stalemates.

Although some financial reforms have solved key problems, resource management in Bauchi and Sokoto have been hindered by poor coordination among the three tiers of government, unclear roles and responsibilities of financial managers, and weak fiscal administration. Equity often means equality, resulting in problems like the delivery of equal num-bers of benches to schools, regardless of need.

Charts of Accounts are often too general to show whether funds are truly spent against specific budg-eted items. For example, instructional materials are all classified under material supplies, a category that is not broken down between basic and secondary education in the Finance Ministry‘s Chart of Ac-counts. Weak administrative capacity also leads to extended procurement processes and missed dead-lines for federal funding. At the local level, few schools are authorized to manage their own budgets or provided the funds to do so. This results in limiting the sense of community ownership of education.

Significant challenges surround the supply and use of data. Supply problems include the existence of mul-tiple data sources and data sets (e.g. EMIS census data, household data), differing methodologies and definitions for their use, and debates over contradic-tory numbers and the validity of different data sets rather than productive discussions about numbers and their implications. Use problems consisted of limited capacity to collect, capture, and use data. For example, the Sokoto EMIS unit had only two staff and four functional computers. The server (provided by UNICEF) was not functioning for lack of an operating system, and the MoE could not keep up with internet subscriptions. The new National EMIS (NEMIS) policy accounts for some of these problems, but it had not been applied at the state level.

In Bauchi and Sokoto few formal mechanisms existed for cross-Ministry and cross-department coordina-tion of specific operational plans, so problems are overcome through informal channels and hierarchi-cal relationships. Although mechanism exist at state level for public participation in policy dialogue, infor-mation that articulates a clear rationale behind re-

Improving Planning, Management and Administration of Basic Education in Bauchi and Sokoto States

Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access Page 7 source allocation decisions is not publically available.

Similarly, mechanisms that enable school-based con-straints or best practices to be channelled to higher decision-making bodies are ad-hoc and informal, with the consequence that civil engagement in school management is difficult to sustain. NEI strate-gy has been to reinforce accountability by building the capacity of civil society to participate in the educational planning, information tracking, and re-view process in the delivery of quality education.

Strengthening the system to deliver quality basic education The NEI project focused investments in improving: (i) Education Sector Plans and Mid-term Sector Strategy (MTSS) budget development processes and tools; (ii) EMIS systems and deployment mechanisms; (iii) civil society participation in educational planning and monitoring; periodic monitoring of quality by School-based Management Committees (SBMCs);

(iv) community-based access to educational informa-tion and participating in educational planning through Community Education Forums (CEFs); and

(v) Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Assess-ments (EGRA and EGMA) that highlights student performance at the Primary 2 and Primary 3 grades.

NEI succeeded in improving and demonstrating a system for making school census data accessible through the use of School Profile Reports generated from the EMIS Toolbox. NEI also used school statisti-cal data as a feedback mechanism to inform systems strengthening efforts.

Through a series of technical workshops, NEI im-proved the capacity of the TWG and of the BESC on budget development by moving from the use of Excel spreadsheets to the introduction of the ad-vanced budget planning tool (BPT) software. Skills

Page 8 Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access were developed to create a policy framework to develop a prioritized MTSS budget. The BPT allowed the states to better allocate resources to key inter-vention areas and track progress against planned targets.

The introduction of the EMIS Toolbox in Bauchi and Sokoto states improved the perception and use of data in the decision-making process. Capacity build-ing investments by NEI improved the quality and use of data by LGEAs and State EMIS personnel. The project supported the states to establish EMIS units -initially in 20 LGEAs (in the two states) and later expanded to all 43 LGEAs. The process introduced in the annual school census (ASC) gave greater validity to the EMIS data through improved data collection processes and validation measures.

Significant success was realized in the way civil soci-ety and government worked together, starting with the sensitization and awareness of civil society part-ners to the Freedom of Information Act. NEI in-formed key stakeholders of their rights under the law regarding the types of information and data that could be requested from government officials at the state and federal levels. This led to groups requesting for data that helped in preparing work plans and activities to support the state’s efforts as well as monitor activities planned by the states. The devel-opment and introduction of the CEF regularized the round-table discussions and facilitated the participa-tion of civil society partners in the budget and plan-ning process. The formation of the CEFs gave local communities the platform to interact with local gov-ernment officials in a way that highlights priorities and supports the efforts of government. CEFs are also taking a more proactive approach to addressing community education needs through the creation of targeted work plans.

Building on earlier work by UNICEF, NEI improved the management capacities of SBMCs in both states and enhanced community participation in education. The committees ensured effective management of re-sources at school level, promoted positive educa-tional outcomes and quality learning environment, increased the range of school decision-making and resource utilization, and enhanced the school's ability to set priorities and give more control over how resources are spent. Technical assistance was provid-ed to facilitate the development of effective School Improvement Plans (SIP) that were used in the man-agement of the schools and monitoring of education service delivery. The work plans were also used by the SBMCs to address needs at the school level.

NEI supported the use of EGRA and EGMA to provide data on learning outcomes that can be used to im-prove education planning and delivery. NEI worked with relevant institutions and personnel within SUB-

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EB, MOE and the COE to familiarize them with the EGRA and EGMA tools, their purpose, and how to use the data for effective education management and decision making. NEI worked with these partners to administer four EGRA and/or EGMA exercises. The assessment results were used to: (i) provide all edu-cation stakeholders with information on learning outcomes; (ii) inform education sector strategic plan-ning and budgeting; (iii) provide recommendations on how to improve teacher training and instructional practices in early grade reading and mathematics;

and (iv) develop reading and mathematics indicators and benchmarks.

Results and outcomes The strengthening of EMIS activity in the education sector had improved awareness, effectiveness and efficiency in planning for the education sector. State agencies realized the importance and relevance of collecting accurate data and in all thematic area of education planning. These resulted in the creation of EMIS unit in LGEAs in Sokoto and Bauchi states.

Consultations were made to fast-track the adaptation of the NEMIS policy in the two states, with the acro-nyms SEMIS and BEMIS representing Sokoto and Bauchi state adaptations of the national policy. The EMIS implementation committees were inaugurated at the local and state government levels headed by the Education Secretary and Director planning Re-search and Statistics respectively.

With technical support from NEI, the Technical Work-ing Groups (TWG) produced the MTSS, a three year mid-term plan for basic education for the period 2010-2013. Interventions proposed in the plan in-cluded the expansion of schools infrastructures, inte-gration of IQE, establishment of additional Early Childhood and Care Education Development (ECCED) centres, recruitment of more qualified teachers, pro-

Page 10 Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access vision of instructional materials, involvement of pri-vate sector, and empowerment of communities through SBMCs. Through dialogue with state part-ners, points of entry were identified where the utiliza-tion of new tools would had a significant impact on decision-making and planning. Working at three lev-els, i.e. state, LGA and civil society, NEI built the capacity of the BESC and TWG to create MTSS annual implementation plans and budgets that take into account system linkages and priorities. NEI support-ed both states to improve the rational use of Charts of Accounts, consolidated capital expenditures, and activity-based budgeting. To further build capacity and cultivate advocacy, the project organized a series of study tours and inter-state conferences for educa-tional leaders, decision-makers and technicians to ESSPIN states. Finally, NEI reinforced accountability by building the capacity of civil society organizations to participate in the educational planning and per-formance monitoring process.

The successful implementation of the 2010-2013 MTSS plans in both states led to further demand for a successor mid-term plan. NEI supported each state to develop its 2014-2016 MTSS plan and assisted in implementation by supporting the development of 2014 budgets from the MTSS plans.

Community education forums were conducted once each year in all pilot LGAs of both Bauchi and Sokoto states. During these forums different stakeholders held roundtable discussions to identify issues of con-cern, prioritize, and develop action plans to address those challenges. Some of the action items were implemented at the local level while others that could not be addressed at that level, were forwarded to the state for inclusion into the state budget. LGA Implementation Committee (LIC) activities such as advocacy, sensitization and meetings with the vari-ous stakeholders culminated in classrooms construc-tion, renovation, and the purchase of teaching and learning materials support to OVC to influence changes towards improving the situation of educa-tion at both community and local government levels.

This resulted in increased enrolment and attendance of pupils in primary schools.

Challenges, Lessons Learned and Recommendations for future programs While both education sectors improved allocation for education, budget execution remained a challenge.

The challenges of data supply and use was addressed by focusing on the adoption of the NEMIS policy to each educational level in Bauchi and Sokoto states and the supply of basic education data by supporting the Annual School Census (ASC) in each state.

Through a consultative process the national policy was adapted to state and local needs and conditions, each state’s EMIS units were equipped with computer

Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access Page 11 hardware and software, including NEMIS software, and trained in its use. Training also extended to ASC data gathering, cleaning and validation and report-ing. This support was also provided to all LGAs in Bauchi and Sokoto states.

Decisions about educational issues, needs, priorities for schools and communities were made without due consultations with the direct beneficiaries resulting in misplacement of priorities and de-standardization in the delivery of educational services. Improved community participation in education and establishing the CEFs improved government responsiveness and planning based on local priorities.

Untimely completion of ASC exercises slowed down availability of updated data for planning and decision making. These examples are a result of the organiza-tional development issues that still need time to adapt to more effective approaches to efficiency, accountability and transparency.

The most important recommendation is for govern-ment to improve the release of funds to support activity-based budgets prioritized across policy ob-jectives. This will help further strengthen the founda-tions NEI has established in the following areas: (i) Strengthened strategic planning systems; (ii) Im-proved financial resource management and budget-ing; (iii) Strengthened EMIS; and (iv) Improved performance management and accountability

Further integration and use of BPT will improve edu-cation service delivery and facilitate monitoring against planned targets. Referencing timely and ac-curate data collected through the ASC, will allow decision makers and planners to make informed decisions regarding resource utilization and prioriti-zation of initiatives. Additionally, ongoing monitoring of student performance will assist administrators to address issues related to teacher quality, learning materials, curriculum and teaching pedagogy.

Finally, a strong collaborative relationship between state governments and CSOs is needed to achieve strategic results. CSOs and other local community groups can inform government on key education priorities that budgetary resources should be direct-ed to. CSOs can also act as monitoring agents on behalf of government to ensure quality standards are maintained, and inform the relevant government agents when action is required to correct a matter.

This level of partnership will address the real needs of the education sector.

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Chapter Two: Impact of Financial Expenditure Analysis in Decision making for Basic Education in Bauchi and Sokoto States

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Preparing State Education Accounts State Education Accounts (SEA) are modelled after the National Education Account framework, which can be described as a transparent method for collect-ing and analyzing data on actual allocations and expenditures of resources in the education sector and linking those allocations and expenditures to system reforms.

SEA is a planning tool that provides a snapshot of financing during one school year. It identifies the sources and uses of funds and the contributions made to financing education at the state level by the federal, state and local governments; international and indigenous donors; and private contributors and households. It, therefore, measures the “financial pulse” of a state education system by answering four key questions:

● Sources of Financing: Where does the money come from?

● Financing Agents: What is the flow of funds?

● Providers: To whom did the money go?

● Functions (Uses): What service was actually pro-duced and who benefits?

Data are presented in standardized, user-friendly matrices that can be easily interpreted by policy makers to allow for comparisons and decision mak-ing in future education financial expenditures in the state.

SEA creates a standard format of accounting for educational expenditures that establishes the plat-form for technical analysis of the performance of the education sector and permits comparisons of rele-vant indicators between states and internationally.

SEA provides a framework that helps policy-makers, financiers, and providers of education answer ques-tions that help improve the performance of the edu-cation system and improve the efficiency of the sector. Furthermore, since SEA uses a standardized format, the information that it provides allows mean-ingful within state and interstate comparisons. SEA is the only tool currently available in the education

Impact of Financial Expenditure Analysis in Decision making for Basic Education in Bauchi and Sokoto States

Page 14 Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access sector that combines all data on spending in a sys-tematic way. Therefore, as a planning tool, SEA pro-vides vital information for decision making.

The SEA Process: A Case of Bauchi and Sokoto states SEA was conducted by the State Ministries of Educa-tion in both States. The process included and capacity building for ministry officials that lasted nine months. The process is divided into two major phases. Phase one is the planning stage that involves the establishment of structures, the organization of orientation workshops, and the prep-aration of a framework document. Phase II is the preparation of a SEA report, which is made up of data collection, data validation, data analysis, and a report detailing the findings as prepared and presented for review ( ). The data is drawn primarily from existing reports and studies, excepting for private schools and donor financing which usually requires primary data collection. Figure ll below indicates the timeframe for the major activi-ties under the SEA process

SEA impact in Bauchi and Sokoto States For the first time in the two states, a survey was conducted that showed the flow of funds in the education sector. The results of the first round of SEA was released in Bauchi in October 2011 and in Sokoto in September 2012. This enabled the general public to become aware of funding sources and expenses in the education sector. This awareness generated a lot of discussions by many stakeholders about the huge expenditure on education without corresponding impact on pupils/students’ performance. As a result, several organizations are now actively involved in budget tracking to ensure that budgetary allocations are released and used as planned. SEA also influ-enced better data storage in the two states with several organizations now using electronic devises for data storage.

Orientation Framework Document Data Collection Data Validation Data Analysis Findings Final Report

Month 1 Month 3 Month Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month

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As a planning tool, SEA identified key issues that were generated from the MTSS. The results of SEA feed into budget development, estimating cost of teacher development, and other planning process in both states. SEA also enabled NEI to provide techni-cal assistance to the states to develop new budget classifications, chart of accounts, activity-based bud-geting and map the role of different ministries in procurement and process management to develop training to improve these functions. Members of the SWG are making concerted efforts to ensure that annual budgetary allocations are made based on educational priorities of the states. In addition, many non-governmental organizations are also actively participating in ensuring that allocation of resources are in conformity with the state educational priorities

In both Bauchi and Sokoto, SEA identified key issues generated from the MTSS. As a result of the linkages established with MTSS, the results of SEA feed into:

(i) budget development, (ii) estimating cost of teach-er development, and (iii) other planning process in both states. Using the categories and classifications used in SEA as well as the training provided to the SWG on resource mapping, the NEI project was able to provide technical assistance to the states to:

● Develop new budget classifications and chart of accounts,

● Develop activity-based budgeting and maps on the role of different ministries in procurement and process management,

● Identify education funding flows and reduce dupli-cation in the allocation of capital resources, and

● Develop a consolidated budget

State-specific results: Bauchi SUBEB used the SEA findings to compile an action plan for accessing federal UBEC funding in 2012. The MOE and SUBEB annual budget proposals for 2013 emphasized construction, feeding and the procure-ment of instructional material, based on the SEA findings. In addition, NEI assisted state EMIS units in linking SEA data to EMIS. It also supported two follow-on studies to explore ways of using SEA data to enrich EMIS data, inform policy, and influence implementation.

The comparison of data from both SEA rounds in Bauchi provided evidence that there was an increase in educational expenditures by the private sector on voluntary schools (this includes community schools) in urban areas. While this would need a follow-up study to confirm the findings, anecdotal evidence suggested that this increase in expenditures is a result of the migration of families from neighboring ‘conflict’ states. Many migrating parents were unable to enrol their children into public schools, being non-indigenes of the state, and thus send their chil-

Page 16 Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access dren to the private and community schools. SEA is now reflected in the Bauchi State MTSS/SESOP2 plan.

This will ensure the conduct of SEA in subsequent years.

State-specific results: Sokoto The presentation of SEA report at the Executive Council Secretariat resulted in directives given by the governor for the state to conduct Education Ac-counts annually and for the State to explore option of conducting similar accounts for other ministries.

Additionally, SEA report influenced the State House Committee on Education to set up a sub-committee to ensure resources committed to education are effectively utilized to ensure that the desired educa-tional goals of the state are achieved. SEA results also promoted dialogue on education financing in the state and generated intense public interest and de-bate on education sector funding. Civil society groups in the state are now asking questions related to effective utilization of the education sector funds.

Addressing key challenges Accessing data sources from public officials and pri-vate schools (including Almajiri and Qur’anic schools), was challenging as the exercise was associ-ated with increase in taxation, unwanted integration of secular subjects, or exposure to law enforcement agencies. The 2011 elections, nationwide labor strikes, Sokoto State political campaigns and gover-norship election, and closure of several private schools by a Sokoto State task force impeded data collection or implementation. The unavailability of quality data, poor data storage and poor data trans-mission system also delayed program implementa-tion. Data on public expenditures for religious formal schools at the primary and secondary levels was unavailable though there were expenditures made by the public sector on those schools. The lack of sufficient information on household consumption from household data surveys was also a key challenge.

NEI held meetings with government officials who are the custodians of data and the National association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) executive officials and community leaders were involved in data collection. The SEA WG worked with various departments within the MOE as well as with the private schools association to develop an accurate list of functioning private schools. Data cleaning was introduced to improve data quality. Extrapolation and estimation was used to resolve unsegregated data to some extent. However, effort should be made to collect future data disaggregated by education level, gender, urban/rural basis. Data from Consumer Price Index was extrapolated to obtain the break-down of household consumption of education ser-vices.

Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access Page 17

Lessons Learnt and recommendations for future programs SEA activities should be conducted with the active participation of government officials, representatives of private and civic organizations to incorporate sus-tainability into the process. Capacity building and mentorship of the SEA Working Group (SWG) (

) in Bauchi and Sokoto, and the use of the approach built their leadership skills used in during SEA I and SEA II. This strategy solidified the training and increased the potential for long-term sustain-ability. The SWP developed and began implement-ing an action plan for sustaining SEA after the NEI intervention. It is recommended that future pro-grams support the establishment of a permanent SWG to work with the MOE and SUBEB based on the findings of SEA II and in preparation for subsequent SEAs. The MOE and SUBEB should make more con-certed effort to gather annual data on indicators of school quality such as retention, promotion, drop-out rates for students, to be collected and made available to the SEA team.

Other investments should focus on additional train-ing for SUBEB and MOE staff on the use and develop-ment of the database, addressing data quality issues including storing state expenditure data in electronic format, ensuring the availability of household data (including detailed information on household expen-ditures) and training for LGAs to improve their under-standing on SEA and use of data for decision making.

It is also recommended that a network of profession-als be established to support future SEA exercises and that SEAs should be conducted annually to facil-itate tracking of progress. An SEA desk officer desig-nated by the MOE or SUBEB will improve liaison and facilitation of all SEA matters. Other recommenda-tions include intensive teacher training, recruitment of certified qualified teachers, investments in in-ser-vice training, institutionalization of feedback mecha-nisms, and continued education dialogue as initiated by NEI.

SEA is the only tool currently available in the educa-tion sector that combines all data on spending in a systematic way, which is essential for evidence-based decision making. There is, therefore, the need to institutionalize its conduct and use in all States.

To improve the performance of the education system and efficiency of the sector, which is the goal of the SEA, there is the need for a stronger collaboration among all stakeholders. Government officials should further appreciate and encourage Public Private Part-nership (PPP) in education financing. Enabling envi-ronment should be provided for NGOs, CBOs and other stakeholders to enable them to actively partic-ipate in budget planning and tracking. This will en-sure that state education funds are spent efficiently, Page 18 Strengthening State Systems, Increasing AccessStrengthening State Systems, Increasing Access Page 18

Chapter Three: Managing Teachers for Improved Learning Outcomes

Introduction: Teacher Management in Nigerian Context The performance of teachers in delivering quality services has direct impact on improving learning outcomes of pupils. This performance is hinged on the effective management of teacher recruitment, training, retention, as well as supervision and sup-port. Yet evidence from studies conducted by USAID-funded Literacy Enhancement Assistance Programme (LEAP) and Enabling HIV/AIDS, TB and Social Sector Environment (ENHANSE) project, and the World Bank show that while Nigeria’s teacher education system has improved over the years, it has not adequately succeeded in preparing teachers for classroom teaching, especially in primary schools. Also, oppor-tunities for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) are inadequate with little school-based sup-port for teachers.

The National Teacher Education Policy (NTEP) offers the framework for states to access federal funding, and to design and implement teacher education improvements programmes. However, it was not included in the States MTSS planning process. Other challenges impeding teacher performance include inappropriate recruitment and deployment, inade-quate incentives, weak information systems for track-ing teacher deployment and progress, unclear priorities and unrealistic goals, financial inefficiencies and bureaucratic logjams resulting from redundan-cies at the different government levels.

Improving Teacher Management in Bauchi and Sokoto: Elements of NEI Strategy In response to these challenges, NEI interventions targeted a variety of policy development and institu-tional strengthening activities. Both Bauchi and Sokoto States were supported in adapting the NTEP

Managing Teachers for Improved Learning Outcomes

Strengthening State Systems, Increasing Access Page 19 to state requirements and contexts resulting in the development of State Teacher Education Policies (STEPs).