Participative Decentralized Development for Preschools (CI0017)

Commitment 2 : Build 80 community preschools through community or Participative
Decentralized Development approach
July 2018-June 2020
Lead implementing
agency/actor
Funding Improvement project for education service deliveries
(PAPSE)
Commitment description
What is the public problem
that the commitment will
address?
In Côte d’Ivoire, the preschool attendance rate is relatively
low in rural areas; it is 5% against 30% in urban areas.
What is the commitment?
This includes the building of 80 community preschools over
2018-2020 period through community or Participative
Decentralized Development approach. (DDP).
This approach empowers the target community once
financial resources are transferred to it for the achievement
of building or classroom rehabilitation under a
Training/Action process ;
How will the commitment
contribute to solve the
public problem?
A management committee will be in charge of funds,
recruiting companies to build and equip classrooms,
monitoring construction works and report to the community.
This approach shall help build efficiently, quickly and at low
cost 80 economic, sustainable and quality community
preschools with all amenities (toilets, running water)
involving rural community's active participation.
Why is this commitment
relevant to OGP values?
- The commitment promotes citizen participation;
- transparency ;
- The construction of classrooms through the community
approach shall make the recipient community responsible
once financial resources are transferred to it for the
building activities under a Training/Action process ;
Additional information
The implementation of the commitment includes recruitment
of community teachers supported by the community. The project is part of the strategic plan of the 2016-2025
Education Training sector.
Milestone Activity having
a verifiable deliverable
Start date End date
Grass-root management
training for communities
(financial management,
participative monitoring and
assessment, service and
maintenance of
infrastructures and
equipment, procurement).
November 2018 June 2020
Construction of 80
community kindergartens
facilities in rural areas
January 2019 June 2020
Establishing of management
committees (COGES) January 2019 June 2020
Basic and continued training
of community preschool
teachers
January 2019 June 2020
Establishing of a monitoring
system to help communities
to ensure a quality
preschool education by the
Ministry..
January 2020 June 2020
Contact information
Name of responsible person
from the implementing
agency
YEO Péfougne Abraham
Title, Ministry PAPSE Coordinator/ Ministry of National Education, Technical
Education and Vocational Training.
Email and phone - yeo_pefougne@yahoo.fr;
- (225) 22 41 87 26
Other Actors
Involved
State actors
involved
- Directorate of education and continued-training(DPFC)
- School, middle and high schools management board
(DELC)
- Directorate for financial and administrative affairs
(MENETFP)

2. Build 80 community preschools through community or Participative Decentralized Development approach

Commitment description as it appears in the action plan:

"Building of 80 community preschools over 2018-2020 period through community or Participative Decentralized Development approach (DDP). This approach empowers the target community once financial resources are transferred to it for the achievement of building or classroom rehabilitation under a Training/Action process;"

Milestones:

1. Grass-root management training for communities (financial management, participative monitoring and assessment, service and maintenance of infrastructures and equipment, procurement).
2. Construction of 80 community kindergartens facilities in rural areas.
3. Establishing of management committees (COGES).
4. Basic and continued training of community preschool teachers.
5. Establishing of a monitoring system to help communities to ensure a quality preschool education by the Ministry."
6. Recruitment of community teachers supported by the community. For the full text of this commitment*

*Editorial Note: the IRM researcher added milestone 6 to reflect the “additional information” of the commitment as indicated in the action plan. See Côte d'Ivoire’s 2018-2020 action plan for the full commitment text: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Cote-Divoire_Action-Plan_2018-2020_EN.pdf.

Lead implementing agency/actor: Project Management Unit for the Improvement of Educational Services (PAPSE) / Club of mothers of girl students (CMEF).

Start Date: July 2018

End Date: June 2020

Context and design

Since 2011, Côte d'Ivoire’s educational system has seen rapid expansion through increased access to schooling in underserved areas. However, preschool attendance is relatively low (8% in 2016) and is typically concentrated in urban areas, although preschool has had positive effects on children’s development and their opportunities to later complete compulsory education. [25] The root causes of this issue involve both supply and demand. Civil society representatives interviewed by the IRM researcher conceded that low preschool rates in rural areas is due to a shortage of centres and their distance from the families’ homes. Overall, communities are disconnected from the educational sphere and school administration. [26]

In 2017, the government of Côte d’Ivoire approved a ten-year Education and Training Sector Plan endorsed by diverse development partners. [27] Among other objectives, the plan would increase access to preschool by 25% by 2025 and upgrade centres to minimum standards, particularly in rural communities. The plan seeks to encourage and promote integrated child development from 0 to 6 years by training families and communities “to ensure the operation and management of the centre(s) through an agreement between the state, communities and structures.” [28] In July 2018, the Ministry of Education launched the Project Management Unit for the Improvement of Educational Services (PAPSE) [29], supported by the World Bank through the Global Partnership for Education and UNICEF, to strengthen the role of rural communities in the formation and supervision of preschools and promote instructional environment in primary schools in regions with the lowest school attendance. [30]

Supported by these national priorities, the commitment intended to build 80 community preschools in rural areas over two years, following a Participative Decentralized Development approach. [31] This approach implies the transfer of financial resources from the state, so each local community is responsible for building or renovating facilities and for recruiting teachers and personnel.

The commitment is specific enough to be verifiable, although certain elements were not entirely clear under the action plan. In particular, there was a lack of indicators concerning the role and composition of school management committees (COGES) and the grass-roots administrative training for communities.

With regard to open government values, the commitment is relevant to civic participation as it involves community members in decision-making and rollout of local initiatives in education. However, civil society representatives unanimously agreed that building a number of local pre-schools would only partially address the disparity between rural and urban rates of schooling. Further work is required to facilitate access and explain the benefits of taking children to preschool, especially since preschool (before the age of 6) is not mandatory in Côte d’Ivoire. [32] Even so, civil society representatives expressed that the commitment, and the PAPSE project, could empower beneficiary communities and enhance participation in local school administration. [33] This commitment is also relevant to public accountability, as citizens are involved in monitoring education delivery.

This commitment is expected to have a moderate potential impact on civic participation and accountability of education service delivery in rural areas. As requested by rural communities and funded by the World Bank, this commitment is backed by local ownership and financial support to guarantee success. Moreover, establishing local committees for each school would ensure direct channel for communities to oversee the quality of construction and education services. Engagement between teachers, parents, and others will be bolstered by continuous training. Therefore, this commitment offers a clear lens on open government, as parents will be able to monitor and influence education services. This commitment would be potentially transformative if it represented a nation-wide program to promote participatory monitoring and expand early education access.

Early results

Level of completion of activities

All activities are concluded and the commitment is fulfilled. ^[34] With additional donations, the timeline was re-examined and 117 community preschools with two classes each were built, instead of the targeted 80 (milestone 2). [35] A School Management Committee (COGES) was established or revitalized (milestone 3) for each centre, as well as Club of mothers of girl students (CMEF). ^[36] During the 2019-2020 school year, 110 centres were up and running. ^[37] According to a representative from the ministry for education, COGES received training in capacity-building before each phase of the project (milestone 1). ^[38]

In terms of recruitment, 420 non-civil servant preschool supervisors were selected and paid by the School Management Committees (COGES) and underwent initial training (milestones 4 and 6). COGES are responsible for disbursing monthly salaries for community teachers (milestone 6). [39] In the absence of specific tools, government monitoring is handled with community control over payment to educators and assistants (milestone 5). The contracts for educators and preschool assistants are signed by COGES and educators. This means that educators are accountable to COGES, which oversees the quality of education services. [40]

According to a Ministry of Education representative, each project phase was documented (dossier of instruction phase, validation, grant approval to the COGES, financing and reception of the buildings, and training reports to said committees). [41] However, the IRM researcher did not receive these primary documents for review. General documents on PAPSE on their website, but reports need to be uploaded. [42] A civil society member of the OGP Technical Committee stated that they had not seen any documentation of this reform, but instead received assurances that implementation was underway. The IRM recommends that documented evidence for this commitment be more readily available to civil society and the public.

School management committees (COGES) and community involvement

According to government officials, the plan reached rural and remote communities and focused on populations as its center. At the outset, considering the predetermined regions, [43] the communities expressed concerns to the Ministry of National Education about access to preschool education; the Ministry subsequently determined the locations for the new schools. [44]

Management committees (COGES) were formed or revitalized for each school. COGES include parent and teacher representatives, with the President of the Regional Council or the Mayor as chair. They hold regular meetings at the school. [45] In each COGES, the Bureau is responsible for setting up public bids to select construction companies. COGES Bureaus took responsibility signing contracts and payments to companies selected to build the new schools. Works were monitored by the Technical Implementation Committee, within the COGES Bureau, with the support of a civil engineering technician from PAPSE. Once finished, the building was received by COGES with the support of the civil engineering technician and local and educational authorities.

COGES are a strong entry point for public participation in the education sector, since parents and teachers are members. COGES exercise significant autonomy and play a role in contracting, construction, staffing, salaries, and monitoring quality. Similarly, COGES received training in financial management, participative monitoring and assessment, service and maintenance of infrastructures and equipment, and procurement. However, one civil society interviewee was not able to confirm the quality of public participation, owing to a lack of information. [46] Based on government interviews and available technical documents, the IRM concluded that this commitment resulted in a major opening of government. Specifically, COGES made it possible for parents to be involved in monitoring school construction and quality of education. However, the IRM recommends that the Ministry of National Education inform and involve civil society, by issuing more technical and monitoring documents on the project.

Next steps

Implementation of this commitment has improved education service with greater community oversight and ownership of preschools. The government has confirmed that it would assume the project financially after 2023 (until World Bank funds are ensured), with various options under review. [47] To continue this successful reform, the IRM recommends

• Increased project transparency by updating the PAPSE website with regular reports and open up public information about educational statistics.
• When following a participatory decentralized development approach, define a clear set of responsibilities for the COGES and opportunities for public involvement.
• Supplement new schools and COGES with public awareness campaigns that will encourage parents and communities to register children in preschool.
• Use OGP action plans as an opportunity to increase the ambition and broaden the scope of pre-existing reforms and development strategies, such as the Education and Training Sector Plan. Indeed, the OGP process can be a knowledge- sharing platform to identify best implementation practices, connect with technical experts, and build political will where needed.