Seventh Six-month progress report for project

REPORT COVER PAGE

Participating UN Organization:	Cluster:
UNESCO	B (Education)

Project No. and Project Title:	Report Number:
B1-14: Revitalization of Technical and Vocational Education and Training – Phase II	5

Reporting Period:	Project Budget [and revision if applicable]:
1 July – 31 December 2007	$ US 3,000,000

List Implementing Partners:	Geographic Coverage/Scope:
Ministry of Education (MoE)	Governorates of Baghdad (Kharkh 1 and 2, Rasafa 1 and 2) Babylon, Waset, Thiqar, Basra, Kerkok, Nenawa, Dyala, Karbala, Najaf, Diwanya and Missan Upgrading of equipment for 37 Vocational workshops in 37 schools for 10 vocational disciplines.

Abbreviations and acronyms:	Project Status: Duration/Closed Project/Timeline Extension:
MOE: Ministry of Education. TVET: Technical and Vocational Education and Training. EFA: Education for All. MDGs: Millennium Development Goals. ILO: International Labour Organization NDS: National Development Strategy	Project Duration: From 1st September. 2005 to 31 December 2006. Project Extensions: First project extension (approved on 24 Jan. 2006) from December 2006 to June 2007 (Additional 6 months). Second project extension (approved on 10 June 2007) from 1 July 2007 to 30 September 2007 (additional 3 months). Operationally closed but evaluation underway. Budget Revisions: First Budget Revisions approved on 6 April 2006. Second Budget Revision approved on 18 July 2006.

Report Formatting Instructions: We kindly ask that you review the instructions below and follow them in the preparation of your report:	Number all sections and paragraphs as indicated below	Format the entire document using the following font: 12point _ Times New Roman & do not use colours.	Highlight any new challenges/constraints, mitigation strategies and lessons learned during the reporting period as well as monitoring processes and assessments, evaluations and studies undertaken/published in the period. Attach documents.	Attach any available photos relevant to the project.

NARRATIVE REPORT FORMAT

Purpose

Provide the main objectives, outcomes, outputs of the programme/project

Objectives of the programme/project:

To provide essential and basic workshop equipment, computers and training materials for 9 vocational high priority disciplines;

To provide computer labs for students and computers for improving IT skills for teaching staff;

To produce training material in 9 vocational disciplines in Arabic and train master instructors on the design review and delivery of new training material

To train senior managers in vocational education directorate at MOE on leadership and management and conduct selected study visits.

Outcomes of the programme project:

Improved quality of teaching and training for vocational students in the vocational workshops at 37 schools in governorates of Baghdad, Babylon, Waset, Thiqar, Basra, Al Kerkok, Dyala, Karbala, Nenawa, Najaf, Diwanya and Missan through provision of new vocational specialized equipment, acquisition of IT skills; and production of new training materials in Arabic for 9 vocational disciplines.

Outputs of the programme project:

9 technical and commercial schools in Iraq adequately equipped with workshops and networked computer laboratories;

Study visits organized to provide hands-on experience in leadership; planning and management of TVET;

9 vocational and technical disciplines revised and updated;

Core team of trainers trained to work in the Staff Development Unit at MOE General Directorate for vocational education.

Explain how the programme/project is relevant to the following benchmarks:

UN Assistance Strategy for Iraq,

UN Millennium Development Goals,

Joint Needs Assessment ,

Iraqi National Development Strategy

UN Assistance Strategy for Iraq

The Project contributes to the UN Assistance Strategy for Iraq (2005-2007) by focusing on strengthening service delivery. The project meets the strong and pressing demand for TVET Institutions and contributes to the achievement of national EFA and MDGs through the partnership of civil society and various other sectors.

UN Millennium Development Goals

This project fits well within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals. The project aims at reducing poverty by providing access to education that will lead to employment opportunities and income generation (MDG1 T1) including widening employment opportunities to youth (MDG 8 T16) and ensure access to skills in new technologies in partnership with private sector (MDG 8 T18), as well as endeavoring to achieve main EFA Goals: progress towards better quality in education.

Joint Needs Assessment

The project was developed in response to the National Needs Assessment survey for the education sector/TVET conducted by UNESCO in 2004. The assessment indicated areas of quality improvement of content of training material, leadership and management development, upgrade of TVET facilitates and training of trainers.

Iraqi National Development Strategy

The Project contributes to the following Iraq National Development Goals:

(a) Providing adequate supplies of material, equipment and furniture to schools; and

(b) Modernize the outdated education system primarily through the linking of vocational, technical education/higher education with the labour market.

Indicate the main implementing partners, their roles and responsibilities, and their interaction with the Agency

UNESCO is the implementing agency for the project. The Ministry of Education is primarily responsible for planning and supervision. During the implementation process, an inter-agency (ILO, UNHABITAT, and UNIDO), local experts and UNESCO staff co-operation and co-ordination has been assured and maintained. The Ministry of Education co-ordinated with all the TVET institutions (schools) to prepare their respective inventories of both the existing and required facilities and the computer centres in the recipient institutions. MOE assumed the responsibility for custom clearance, delivery and installation of equipment, monitoring the operation of computer laboratories and for the training of TVET staff to ensure the effective and efficient use of equipment.

MOE coordinated the monitoring of the effective implementation of the different activities of the project, particularly, the monitoring of the delivery, installation of equipment in the final destinations at designated schools and training on the use and maintenance of these equipments.

Human Resources

National staff (programme):

6 National Staff NO level partially co-shared with other projects

11 National Staff GS level partially co-shared with other projects

1 National Staff GS level full time

International Staff

1 Project Manager based in Amman (full time)

Methods of Operating

Summarize the implementation mechanisms primarily utilized and how they are adapted to achieve maximum impact given the challenging operating context.

The Ministry of Education is the main national implementing partner and is responsible for planning and supervision in close cooperation and consultation with the national staff and UNESCO Iraq Office.

The Ministry of Education co-ordinated with all the TVET institutions to prepare their respective inventories of both the existing and required facilities and the computer centres in the recipient institutions. MOE also assumed the responsibility for custom clearance, delivery and installation of equipment, monitoring the operation of computer laboratories and for the training of TVET staff to ensure the effective and efficient use of the equipment.

UNESCO prepared equipment lists and was responsible for the procurement of project equipment. UNESCO also provided technical support for the project activities and maintained effective monitoring of progress at each stage of project implementation.

Because of the security restrictions on UNESCO staff (internationals outside the country, nationals largely confined to home), there was a need for a new dimension in monitoring of programme inputs/effectiveness. This had to be achieved without compromising either UNESCO own rules or regulations or the safety of those individuals employed to do the monitoring. UNESCO used a combination of contracted external monitors, monitors from other agencies as well as its own monitors based in Iraq to ensure overall monitoring and control.

Provide details on the procurement procedures utilized and explain variances in standard procedures.

All procurement activities included in this project were implemented according to UNESCO’s standard rules and procedures of international competitive bidding.

Provide details on the monitoring system(s) that are being used and how you identify and incorporate lessons learned into the ongoing programme/project.

The project used the mechanism of contracting a team of local national monitors in Baghdad to monitor progress in the field, in addition to the daily and close monitoring by the project implementation unit. This all was coordinated with MOE to ensure efficiency.

Report on any assessments, evaluations or studies undertaken.

An external evaluation of the project is planned to begin March 2008.

Results

Provide a summary of programme/project progress in relation to planned outcomes and outputs; explain any variance in achieved versus planned outputs during the six month reporting period.

Output 1:

9 technical and commercial schools in Iraq adequately equipped with workshops and networked computer laboratories.

Activities undertaken include:

The program outlines for 9 vocational disciplines were fully prepared in order to identify the specifications for the equipment. A workshop for the finalization of equipment specifications was conducted in May 2005. Specifications were all endorsed by experts and Iraqi partners for 9 vocational disciplines. Tenders were launched in July–August 2006 and were studied by UNESCO contracted specialists and finalized by end of September 2006.

The project provided computers and training materials for high priority disciplines such as carpentry. It also provided workshop equipment for the following disciplines: mechanical, automotive, welding, electronics, business and secretarial studies, home economics, health and nutrition and handicrafts. Particular reference was given to the learning needs of girls.

Output 2:

Study visits organized to provide hands-on experience in leadership; planning and management of TVET.

Activities undertaken include:

Previously completed in November 2006. The study visits were organized for senior staff from the MOE General Directorate for Vocational and Technical Education. They visited selected countries in the Middle East and Asia to share experiences and “best practices” of other developing countries in reforming Iraqi TVET system. The study visits aimed to provide hands-on experiences in the planning and management of TVET education.

Output 3:

9 vocational and technical disciplines revised and updated.

Activities undertaken include:

The content is designed to meet the new needs of Iraq labor market and to be in line with international practices: MOE has prepared an initial outline of the vocational disciplines needed to be updated. These included: mechanical, automotive, welding, electronics, business and secretarial studies, home economics, health and nutrition and handicrafts. UNESCO has prepared the final draft outline for the vocational disciplines. A workshop to finalize and update the content of the vocational disciplines was organized in December 2006.

Output 4:

Trained core team of trainers to work in the Staff Development Unit at MOE General Directorate for Vocational Education.

Activities undertaken include:

The purpose of setting up the TVET Staff Development Unit is to provide training to a core team of 30 trainers to be deployed as Master Vocational Trainers nation-wide to plan and organize continuing staff training: MOE has identified the management team and the core staff for the Development Unit.

Report on progress made toward the achievement of specific medium-term outcomes of the programme/project as a result of the achieved short-term outputs during this reporting period.

The project objective was to speed-up the process of recovery, reconstruction and revitalization of technical education schools and institutions in Iraq in order to provide quality TVET education and training through the provision of essential vocational workshop equipment and IT Infrastructure to the MOE vocational.

The project has been successfully implemented in line with the planned strategy. The project’s tangible outcomes will be mainly represented by the fully equipped 37 technical and vocational schools with workshops and a network of computer centres, improved quality of teaching and training for students in the 37 vocational schools through the acquisition of IT skills; and improved IT facilities.

It is expected that the impact of the project will be clearer within the scholastic year 2007-2008 with the availability of the newly equipped workshops and computer labs. This will enable those institutions to improve the quality of education delivered with a higher emphasis on practical training.

In addition, important benefits for students, teachers and instructors are expected from this project through the improvement of quality of training and education, which will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the overall national education development policy, particularly in the TVET sub-sector.

Report on the key outputs achieved in the six month period including # and nature of the activities (inputs), % of completion and beneficiaries.

MOE cooperated with UNESCO in the preparation of the training manuals in Arabic for 9 vocational disciplines.(100% completed)

MOE has established the staff development unit at MOE for Master Instructors Training. (100% completed).

Tenders for equipment procurement are all contracted by UNESCO (100 % completed).

Study and analysis of equipment tenders were finalized by UNESCO (100 completed)

Delivery of all equipment (90% Completed).

28 Training handbooks (in Arabic) belonging to the 9 vocational disciplines for grades 10, 11 and 12 in addition to books and manuals have been prepared by international experts in electronics, sewing, agriculture, communication, automotive, mechanics, food service and production, construction.(100% completed).

A training workshop for 30 master instructors in 9 vocational disciplines was organized (100% completed).

Explain, if relevant, delays in programme/project implementation, the nature of the constraints, lessons learned in the process and actions taken to mitigate future delays.

The project exercised a slight delay in the procurement of equipment – all contracts in excess of USD 100,000 must be approved by the Contracts Committee at UNESCO Headquarters before awarding. Additionally, some equipment was re-tendered due to the unavailability of suppliers to Iraq for certain kinds of equipment. However, the project delay was acceptable to MOE.

List the key partnerships and collaborations, and explain how such relationships impact on the achievement of results.

The key partner was the MOE in Iraq which played a major role in the success of this project. The counterparts at the directorate for vocational education in Iraq were effective and efficient in communication with UNESCO and facilitated though implementation of the project.

The Ministry of Education was primarily responsible for planning and supervision. During the implementation process, close co-operation and co-ordination was maintained between agencies (ILO, HABITAT, UNIDO, the World Bank, etc.), local experts, and UNESCO staff.

The main asset of the country lies in its educated and highly experienced personnel. Iraqi TVET schools and education institutions have very highly qualified teaching and technical staff.

Summarize achievements against planned results for cross cutting issues: security, gender, human rights, employment (including # of short and/or long-term jobs created), and environment.

Security:

Because of security situation inside Iraq, most of management and training activities were implemented out of the country due to the availability of trainers and expertise. In order to minimize the risk and maximize the effectiveness, capacity building activities and coordination meetings were focused out of the country with agreement with MoE. UNESCO maintained a strong liaison with monitors in Baghdad to ensure smooth implementation.

Gender:

Although the target beneficiaries of this project are students in the secondary vocational education of the selected 17 technical and vocational institutions, a particular emphasis is put for engaging and incorporating the provision of vocational and technical skills for girls. MOE placed emphasis on the need for open access for both males and females for relevant vocational disciplines, and created new vocational disciplines that matched both the needs of both genders and labour market requirements.

Human Rights:

The project addresses the fundamental human right of access to education. The project grows out of the need to have quality and global education to avoid discrimination based on race, religion, origin, or geographical areas.

Employment:

The main objective of this project is to enhance the capacities and skills of TVET students (target of the project is around 4500 students) in order to provide them with quality education which enables them have marketable and applicable skills. Technical and vocational education as preparation for an occupational field provides the foundation for productive and satisfying career.The project will contribute to alleviate poverty by helping youth enter the labour market with skills. The project will have an impact on enhancing the long term potentials and options for students to select their career path in a way that matches their own capacitates. Thus, after the completion of TVET education, there will be hundreds and thousands of children who will be capable of finding gainful employment in a variety of skilled trades.

Environment:

The project does not have a direct impact to environment. Nevertheless, environmental concerns were discussed with MOE with regards to workshops that might produce some materials that need special attention. Recycling of remaining material was also discussed with MOE in order to achieve best use of product with no harm to environment.

Future Work Plan

Summarize the projected activities up to the end of June 2008 indicating any major adjustments in strategies, targets or key outcomes and outputs planned.

Completion of delivery of the remaining equipment to MOE, as shown in Annex 2.

Finalization of Payments to equipment suppliers.

Completion of distribution and installation of equipment to designated schools at MOE.

External Evaluation of the Project completed by June 2008.