2.1 Education Service Efficiency

Objectives and Justification » Up

The education service efficiency program outcome will be to ensure equitable access to education services through eliminating informal payments by parents especially in grades 1-9, in conjunction with improved and performance based staff remuneration. Another outcome will be the improved equity and efficiency in the deployment of teaching and non-teaching staff, responding to targeted expansion of primary and secondary education opportunities to under-served and difficult/remote communes, as well as a more equitable deployment of subject specialists. An associated objective is to also contribute to improved quality of education by replacing the retiring and contract teaching staff with better-qualified staff and new teachers from TTCs.

Indicators and targets » Up

• 95% of new graduates from TTCs will be assigned to work in disadvantage and remote areas by 2008.

• From the beginning of 2006 onward, 1,500 student teachers will be recruited from the remote areas sources and then assigned back to work at the source areas after they finish at teacher training.

• Based on present projections from 2006 onwards MoEYS needs to recruit 5,000 new teachers per annum for 5 years.

Strategy and Coverage » Up

The program will increasingly focus on deployment of new teachers, rather than re-deployment of existing ones which has proven to be difficult over the past years. When teachers and administrators retire from over-staffed schools, they may not be replaced in order to minimize disparity between over-staffed and under-staffed schools. All existing teachers and non-teaching staff in remote/difficult areas will be provided with remote/difficult posting allowances. This program component will be complemented by the teacher housing program in the facilities development program to enhance staff retention. It is proposed that all new teachers posted to remote or difficult areas should also receive a special posting allowance.

A comprehensive program of performance-based allowances is in place and will be strengthened in the medium term, through the introduction of a nation-wide staff performance appraisal system and regulation of minimum standards of performance and workloads. The performance-based pay reforms will be extended to encourage teachers to take on additional duties, including double shift and multi-grade teaching. In the medium term it is intended that the program will expand to provide the basis for performance related promotions. The performance allowances will also be extended to school directors in incomplete primary schools to enable them to arrange multi-grade or double-shift teaching so that the school can offer the full range of grades 1 to 6.

Main Programmes and Activities » Up

• Provide Performance-based incentives to key groups, including school directors, staff working in remote and difficult circumstances and double shift and multi grade teachers. The MoEYS will review guidelines for targeting and allocation of these allowances.

• Match teacher supply to the proposed education sector expansion, keeping in mind especially the balance between primary and secondary teacher needs. Planning process will take into account the projected fall in primary enrolment and the subsequent expansion of secondary enrolment. MoEYS will also set more rigorous targeting criteria and mapping of under and over staffed schools.

• Finalize the staff utilization plan and develop an evaluation system according to the proposed action plan based on minimum level of staff performance and responsibility.

• Prepare instructions for education planning components in the provinces and implement a detailed annual plan for the use of staff, newly trained teacher deployment and re-deployment;

• Prepare budget allocations for the provinces and set minimum efficiency targets for each province (e.g. The number of staff to be deployed and re-deployed at minimum level);

• Prepare implementation plans for staff deployment in the ministry, PDE and DEO and post-secondary and higher education institutions;

• Review and monitor staff deployment plans, in particular at the provincial level and for newly trained teachers.

Program Management and Monitoring » Up

The Director General of Administration and Finance and Personnel Department of the MoEYS will be responsible for all projects, program monitoring and coordination. The program will be managed through provincial BMCs based on agreed staffing regulations and norms with monitoring by HQ Personnel Department with phased delegation to District Education offices. MoEYS will review guidelines for targeting and allocation of remote and difficult areas allowances as part of the proposed salary reform initiative. The Directorate of General Administration and Finance (DGAF) will arrange sample technical audits and Inspectorate General (IG) will arrange sample internal financial audits. The Ministry will review the role of BMCs for PAP 1 to consider further decentralized management, including use of provincial staffing committees to coordinate staffing of newly constructed schools.

Financing Plan » Up

Table 1: Education Service Efficiency And Performance Financing Plan

Activities	Costs in Riels millions
	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
1. Management and technical support program	1,500	1,520	1,550	1,580	1,600
2. Teacher re-deployment and new trained teacher deployment support program	2,200	2,900	2,800	2,700	2,600
3. Performance-based and remote/ difficult areas posting allowances	12,000	13,000	14,000	15,000	16,000
4. Orientation and monitoring material support Program	500	520	550	580	600
Resources: Total	16,200	17,940	18,900	19,860	20,800

Capacity Development needs » Up

• Support towards strengthening program budget management: through reviewing and revising the guidelines and performance indicators for school operational budget execution and assessing the efficiency of the priority action program budget allocation mechanism.

• Support towards strengthening the planning and management system at central, provincial and district levels through: 1) Preparing the guidelines on management and responsibilities of district and school BMCs 2) strengthening the transformation and information management system based on ICT and support to the operation of district BMCs; 3) Conducting an evaluation of the impact of capacity building strategies to district BMCs and schools. 4) provision of technical support to provincial and district authorities

• Support towards strengthening Human resource management and monitoring systems through a) conducting an initial analysis of the roles and responsibilities of MoEYS departments as a basis for broader functional analysis b) issuing new staffing guidelines for teaching and non-teaching staff in education institutions, c) action plan for implementing ICT-based central and provincial personnel MIS, d) an action plan for delegating personnel management responsibilities to provinces and districts, e) progress reports on operational effectiveness of greater delegated authority, including capacity building needs and MIS, and f) an impact report on operational effectiveness of greater delegated authority and staffing guidelines. Capacity building for the Department of Personnel, especially for human resource information management, will be a priority.