Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends A Qualitative ... - Unicef

Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends A Qualitative Assessment

iii

Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Directorate of Primary Education

Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends A Qualitative Assessment

Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment

First Published : November 2013

© Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), and UNICEF Bangladesh, November 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Directorate of Primary Education (DPE)

Mirpur-2, Dhaka-1216, Dhaka, Bangladesh Telephone: +880-2-8057877 Fax: +880-2-8016499 Email: [email protected] Website: www.dpe.gov.bd Power and Participation Research Centre

House 77A, Road 12A, Dhanmondi R/A Dhaka 1209, Bangladesh Tel. +880-2-8119207, 9118880 Fax: +880-2-8144379 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.pprcbd.org/new/ UNICEF Bangladesh

BSL Office Complex, 1 Minto Road, Dhaka-1000 Telephone: +880-2-9336701-10 Email: [email protected] Website: www.unicef.org.bd This publication is available in the websites of DPE < www.dpe.gov.bd >, PPRC , and UNICEF Bangladesh ISBN: 978-984-8969-16-8 Cover design : Khondoker Shakhawat Ali Cover Photo: UNICEF/Siddique Inner design : ShikkhaBichitra, 196/3, Shantibag, Malibag, Dhaka-1217,

Acknowledgements

The study was undertaken collaboratively and the report was jointly produced by the Directorate of Primary Education, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, the Power and Participation Research Centre and UNICEF Bangladesh. The purpose of the study was to assist appropriate programme and policy reforms in the primary education stipend programme for the new phase of the sector-wide Third Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP3). Contributions in conceptualization, analysis and report preparation were received from the following officials and experts: Directorate of Primary Education and Ministry of Primary and Mass Education

S.M. Ashraful Islam, Additional Secretary; Md. Serajul Huq Khan, Additional Secretary; Irtiza Ahmed Chowdhury, Project Director, Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP); and Imtiaz Mahmud, Deputy Chief, Planning. Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC)

Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman; Liaquat Ali Choudhury, Senior Research Fellow; Syed Ziauddin Ahmed, Director, Resource Planning and Khondaker Shakhawat Ali, Research Fellow. UNICEF Bangladesh

Isa Achoba, Chief, Social Policy, Monitoring and Evaluation; Mohammed Shafiqul Islam, Social Policy Specialist; and Shantanu Gupta, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. Special thanks are also due to Billal Hossain, Masudul Huq, M. Billah Faruqi, Nurul Momen. Mohidur Rahman Khan, Nurul Anwar, Subodh Chandra Sarker and Iftekhar Ahmed of PPRC for facilitating data collection, data processing and data management.

Foreword

Inclusive primary education has been a policy priority of all governments of Bangladesh since independence. The Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP) has been one of the key instruments to advance the causes of this national policy goal. The PESP has evolved in targeting and scope over the past decade, currently reaching 7.8 million children per annum, drawn largely from poor households with cash incentives to reduce schooling cost. Various studies during the preceding decade underscored the PESP's important role in increasing enrolment and reducing, albeit slowly, the drop-out rate, which remains a critical challenge in primary education. Poised to complete its second five-year phase and as the primary education sector as a whole embarks on a new round of reforms and targets through the Third Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP3), it is timely that an in-depth analysis of the PESP be undertaken jointly by the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME), Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and UNICEF. Going beyond the limits of usual impact analysis, this study has utilized a variety of qualitative research instruments to establish the ground realities vis-à-vis PESP operation and has engaged the critical range of stakeholders composed of key duty bearers and rights holders to assess strengths and weaknesses and identify the reform priorities that can further enhance the role of PESP in accelerating inclusive primary education. It is indeed a matter of concern that rising costs of schooling are impacting on the ability of poorer families to avail themselves of the opportunities of primary education. The opportunity cost of schooling is particularly significant for the students of the higher grades of 4 and 5 and their families. While Bangladesh does not charge tuition fees for primary schooling, the entrenched problem of drop-out is a consequence of user costs among several other barriers. A particular strength of this study has been to provide innovative and credible analysis of these and related factors and to indicate where reform actions may bear the optimal dividend for Bangladesh's inclusive growth.

vviii iii

Bangladesh B angladesh P Primary rimary E Education ducation SStipends tipends : A Q Qualitative ualitative A Assessment ssessment

The partnership The partnership tthat hat led led tto o this this sstudy tudy and and its its eensuing nsuing findings findings aand nd rrecommendations, ecommendations, iiff iimplemented, mplemented, ddemonstrate emonstrate tthe he vvalue alue ooff a ssocial ocial eector-led ctor-led approach approach to to cchild-sensitive hild-sensitive ssocial ocial protection protection in in the the ccountry's ountry's move middle with m ove ttoo m iddle iincome ncome status, status, w ith eequity quity iin n eeducational ducational oopportunities pportunities ffor or aall ll cchildren hildren iinn Bangladesh. Bangladesh. Wee hhope will W ope this this rreport eport w ill bbee an an iimportant mportant addition addition tto o the the rrich ich body body ooff aanalysis nalysis ffocused ocused oonn PESP PESP and and tthe he ttheme heme of of iinclusive nclusive pprimary rimary education makers, education aand nd be be useful useful to to policy policy m akers, aagencies gencies and and academia. academia. Most wee hhope Most importantly, importantly, w ope that that tthe he analysis analysis aand nd recommendations recommendations eemerging merging from from tthe he sstudy tudy will will spur spur ffruitful ruitful aactions ctions to to consolidate consolidate aand nd ffurther urther sstrengthen trengthen the the important important role role of of PESP PESP in in tthe he ppromotion romotion ooff Bangladesh iinclusive nclusive primary primary education education that that has has bbrought rought B angladesh jjustifiable ustifiable gglobal lobal renown. renown.

Shyamal Kanti Ghosh h

Hossain Hossai ain Zillu Zillurr Rahm Rahman an

Pascal Villeneuve P

Director G Director General eneral Directorate D irectorate ooff Primary Primary Education E ducation

Executive Chairman Executive Chairman Power P ower aand nd P Participation articipation Research R esearch Centre Centre

Representative UNICEF U NICEF B Bangladesh angladesh

Contents Acknowledgements Foreword List of Tables List of Figures Abbreviations

1

2

v vii xi xi xiii

Introduction

1

1.1 Inclusive primary education: A policy priority 1.2 Mixed balance sheet on achievements 1.3 Distinguishing features of PESP

1 2 3

Rationale of study, scope and research strategy

5

2.1 Rationale of study 2.2 Scope 2.3 Research strategy and methodology

3 PESP in operation: A

5 6 6

reality check

11 3.1 Success in coverage and geographic targeting 3.2 Selection: Low inclusion error 3.3 Disbursement: Low leakage but transaction burdens 3.4 Changes in the real value of the stipend 3.5 Stipend spent on student, not family 3.6 Stipend, opportunity cost of schooling and drop-out dynamics

4

What has the stipend achieved? 4.1 A branding success 4.2 Impact 4.3 Spillover effects 4.4 Is the stipend adequate?

11 12 12 14 16 17

23 23 25 29 31

5 Conclusion

37

References Annex-1

41 43

List of Tables

Table 1 : Primary school completion rate, 1991 and 2010, Bangladesh

3 Table 2 : Bangladesh PESP school survey: Sampled area location 7 Table 3 : Scope of FGDs in school survey, Bangladesh 2013 8 Table 4 : Scope of interviews and case studies in school survey Bangladesh 2013 9 Table 5 : Primary stipend coverage in 2011 and 2013, Bangladesh 11 Table 6 : Changing value of primary stipend 2003-2012, Bangladesh 15 Table 7 : Items on which stipend is utilized, Bangladesh 2013 16 Table 8 : Opportunity cost of schooling: Average child wages in typical rural Occupations insights from FGDs, Bangladesh 2013 18 Table 9 : Drop-out dynamics: Two case scenarios, Bangladesh 2013 20 Table 10 : Parental aspiration on children's education, Bangladesh 2013 24 Table 11 : Perceptions on outcome impact of stipend programme: Insights from triangular FGDs, Bangladesh 2013 26 Table 12 : Average annual cost of primary education: Findings from student FGDs, Bangladesh 2013 32 Table 13 : Rural average annual cost of primary education: Findings from student case studies, Bangladesh 2013 32 Table 14 : Average annual household costs of primary education (grade 4 & 5), Bangladesh 2013 33 Table 15 : Options of adjusting primary stipend, Bangladesh 2013 35

List of Figures Figure 1: Trends in net enrolment ratio in primary education, 1990-2011, Bangladesh Figure 2: Inflation adjusted primary stipend value, 2003-2012, Bangladesh Figure 3: Rice equivalent of primary education stipend value, 2003-2013, Bangladesh

2 15 16

Abbreviations

ASPR

Annual Sector Performance Report

BBS

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

BDT

Bangladesh Taka

BIDS

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies

BRAC

Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee

CAMPE

Campaign for Popular Education

DPE

Directorate of Primary Education

FFE

Food for Education

FGD

Focus Group Discussion

GoB

Government of Bangladesh

IFPRI

International Food Policy Research Institute

MDG

Millennium Development Goals

MoPME

Ministry of Primary and Mass Education

NGO

Non-government Organization

PD

Project Director

PEDP

Primary Education Development Programme

PESP

Primary Education Stipend Programme

PMED

Primary and Mass Education Division

PPRC

Power and Participation Research Centre

SMC

School Management Committee

UNO

Upazila Nirbahi Officer

UNICEF

United Nations Children's Fund

UEO

Upazila Education Officer

WFP

World Food Programme

IIntroduction ntroduction

1

11.1 .1 IInclusive nclusive primary primary education: education: A policy policy priority priority Universal primary Universal primary eeducation ducation hhas as been been a policy policy priority priority of of all all governments governments of of Bangladesh Bangladesh ssince ince independence independence in in 11971. 971. A succession succession of of ppolicy olicy ssteps teps iin n this this rregard egard iinclude nclude tthe he nationalization nationalization of of primary primary education education in in 1974, 1974, tthe he passage passage of of the the Compulsory Compulsory Primary Primary Education Education Act Act iin n 1990, 1990, the the establishment establishment of of dedicated implementing implementing agency-Primary agency-Primary aand nd M Mass ass Education Education a dedicated Division Division ((PMED)-in PMED)-in 1992 1992 aand nd iits ts eelevation levation tto o a ffull-fledged ull-fledged ministry-Ministry Primary Mass Education m inistry-Ministry ooff P rimary aand nd M ass E ducation ((MoPME)-in MoPME)-in 2004. Alongside Alongside tthese hese broad broad policy policy and and iinstitutional nstitutional ssteps, teps, tthere here 2004. hhas as bbeen een aan n aappreciation ppreciation ooff tthe he nneed eed ffor or eextra xtra eefforts fforts tto o eenroll nroll ppoorer oorer cchildren hildren in in primary primary sschools chools and and reduce reduce tthe he ddrop-out rop-out rrate. ate. B angladesh's ddemand-side emand-side iinnovations nnovations hhave ave bbeen een ppioneering ioneering iin n Bangladesh's nnature ature and and hhave ave garnered garnered w orldwide rrecognition ecognition aass C onditional worldwide Conditional C Cash ash Transfers. Trransfers. T The he ffirst irst iinnovation nnovation uused sed ffood ood ttransfers ransfers aass aann iinstrument nstrument ttoo eencourage ncourage sselected elected ppoor oor ffamilies amilies tto o ssend end their their cchildren hildren tto o sschool. chool. The T he Food-for-Education Food-for-Education (FFE) (FFE) project project introduced introduced in in 1993 1993 on on a pilot pilot basis, basis, at at its its height, height, covered covered 27 27 per per cent cent of of the the country. country. Some Some 40 40 per per cent cent of of enrolled enrolled students students from from poor poor families families were were given given 15 was 15 kg kg of of wheat wheat or or 112 2 kg kg ooff rice rice per per beneficiary beneficiary ffamily, amily, which which w as llater ater rreduced educed tto o 110 0 kkg g ooff w wheat heat oorr 8 kkg g ooff rrice ice iin n 22001-2002. 001-2002. T To o eextend xtend coverage, coverage, a separate separate cash-based cash-based programme-Primary programme- Primary Education Education Stipends Stipends (PES)-was (PES)-was iintroduced ntroduced in in 11990-2000 990-2000 w with ith BDT Taka month B DT 225 5T aka pper er m onth pper er bbeneficiary eneficiary aass tthe he bbenefit enefit ppackage. ackage. Both FFE PES were Primary B oth F FE aand nd P ES w ere rreplaced eplaced bby y a ssingle ingle ccash-based ash-based P rimary Education Stipend Programme whole E ducation S tipend P rogramme ((PESP) PESP) ccovering overing tthe he w hole The PESP ccountry ountry iin n 22002-2003. 002-2003. T he P ESP iiss ccurrently urrently iin n tthe he ffinal inal yyear ear ooff was iits ts ssecond econd ffive-year ive-year pphase. hase. IInitially, nitially, tthe he ttargeting argeting pprinciple rinciple w as uuniform niform aacross cross uupazilas pazilas ((sub-districts), sub-districts), bbut ut iin n tthe he rrecent ecent pphase, hase, with tthe he pprinciple rinciple ooff ggeographic eographic ttargeting argetiing hhas as bbeen een aadded dded w ith ppoorer oorer uupazilas pazilas bbeing eing eeligible ligible ffor or pproportionately roportionately hhigher igher ccoverage-up overage-up tto o 990 0 pper er ccent-of ent-of tthe he poor poor cchildren hildren in in a sschool. chool.

Universal U niversal pprimary rimary education has has education been a policy poliiccy been priority of of all all priority governments of of governments Bangladesh since since Bangladesh independence in in independence 1971. 1971.

Bangladesh's Bangladesh's demand-sidde demand-side innovations have have innovations been pioneering piooneering been in nature nature and and in have garnered garnered have worldwidde worldwide recognittion as as recognition Conditiioonal Cash Cash Conditional Transfers. Transfers.


2

There have been significant achievements in school enrollment and closing of the gender gap... on other crucial indicators, progress is either more limited...

Stipends for poorer students have not been the only means of promoting inclusive primary education. There have been several other supply-side and demand-side policy steps, such as abolition of school fees, free text books, infrastructural development of primary schools and training of primary teachers. 1.2 Mixed balance sheet on achievements There have been significant achievements in primary education most notably in school enrollment and closing of the gender gap. Between 1990 and 2011, enrolment rose from 60 per cent to 98.7 per cent as per the departmental data (BANBEIS and DPE: Figure 1). Strikingly enough, girls' enrolment began to overtake boys' enrollment by 2005 and almost reached the EFA goal by 2011. Attendance too has improved from 49.7 per cent in 2001 to 77 per cent in 2011. 1

Figure 1: Trends in net enrolment ratio in primary education, Bangladesh 1990-2011

120.00

Percentage

100.00 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 0.00 1990

1995

1997

2000

2005

2006

2007

2009

2010

2011

Total

60.48

75.75

80.86

85.52

87.20

90.90

91.10

93.90

94.89

98.70

Girls

50.76

73.86

81.33

85.83

90.10

94.50

94.70

99.10

97.60

99.40

Boys

89.43

77.53

80.41

85.22

84.46

87.60

87.80

89.10

92.20

97.20

Source : BANBEIS & DPE

However, on other crucial indicators, progress is either more limited or the overall situation stark. Only 21.6 per cent of 5 year olds have access to pre-primary education.2 Disaggregated data is even starker, with remote rural areas such as Kurigram district showing only 9.4 per cent of 5 year olds in pre-primary education.

1 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and UNICEF, Child Equity Atlas: Pockets of Social Deprivation in Bangladesh (Bangladesh: July, 2013). 2 Ibid , p.43

Introduction

3

The more comprehensive indicator of cycle completion rate also shows much slower progress. Between 1990 and 2010, the cycle completion rate rose from 43 per cent to only 67 per cent as reported by departmental data (see Table 1). The picture in rural schools is probably worse than these national averages. Data from Population Censuses broadly confirm these departmental findings: proportion of out-of-school 6-10 year olds stood at 23 per cent in 2011.3 Quality indicators in terms of learning achievements also indicate a difficult situation compounded by a relative lack of independent data. Table 1 : Primary school completion rate, 1991 and 2010, Bangladesh Year

Completion Rate (per cent)

1991 2010

43 67

Source: Directorate of Primary Education (DPE)

1.3 Distinguishing features of PESP The key objective of PESP is to increase educational participation-enrolment, attendance, persistence and performance-of primary school-age children from poor families. The program, currently in its 2nd phase, is one of the biggest educational programmes of the government. According to the Revised Development Project Proforma of PESP-II of December, 2010, annual allocations stand at BDT 3.9 Billion and cover 62,087 rural schools and 7.8 million primary students. Coverage rose by 62 per cent midway through the current phase to reach current total of 7.8 million children. The program is 100 per cent financed by GoB and covers six categories of schools: government primary schools, registered non-government primary schools, community schools, satellite schools, NGO-run full (grades 1-5) primary schools approved by the GoB, and Ebtedayee Madrashas recognized by the GoB with a minimum of 100 students. The distinguishing features of PESP include: l

l

Cash-based incentive to selected poor household to send their primary-age children to school; Conditionalities on selected students to increase attendance rate and avoid drop-out;

3 ibid , p.43

The picture in rural schools is probably worse than these national averages.

4


Use of banking channel to provide the cash incentive; l Pursuit of a women empowerment goal by making the mother the authorized person to collect the cash incentive from bank; l Pursuit of a geographic targeting goal by providing proportionately greater coverage in poorer upazilas; l A transparent local-level beneficiary selection process wherein primary selection is done at the school level by school management committees (SMCs) and teachers and approval is provided at upazila level by the Government officials, specifically the Upazila Education Officer (UEO) and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO). l

Rationale of Rationale of sstudy, tudy, sscope cope aand nd rresearch esearch strategy strategy

After a decade After decade ooff operation, operation, tthe he PESP PESP hhas as pplayed layed an an important important Millennium Development Goal rrole ole iin n tthe he aachievement chievement ooff tthe he M illennium D evelopment G oal ((MDG) MDG) ttarget arget ooff iincreased ncreased pprimary rimary eenrolment nrolment aand nd hhas as hhelped elped tto o ssignificantly ignificantly nnarrow arrow tthe he eenrolment nrolment ggender ender ggap. ap. H However, owever, aass tthe he eearlier arlier eevidence vidence sshowed, howed, iissues ssues ooff ddrop-out, rop-out, llow ow attendance attendance and and child child labour labour remain remain grave grave concerns. concerns. As As the the primary primary education education sector sector transitions transitions to to the the new new sector-wide sector-wide programme programme phase phase of of PEDP-3, PEDP-3, it it is is timely timely to to take take a broader broader look look at at the the efficacy efficacy of of PESP PESP in in relationship relationship to to its its stated stated goals goals of of enhanced enhanced educational educational participation participation by by poorer poorer children children and and concomitant concomitant reduction reduction in in child child labour. labour. The The departmental departmental mid-term mid-term review, review,, the the World World Bank's PESP Bank's rrecent ecent assessment assessment of of P ESP aand nd tthe he IInternational nternational Food Food Policy Research Policy Research Research IInstitute/Chronic nstitute/Chronic Poverty Poverty R esearch Centre's Centre's impact impact assessment assessment note note provide provide useful useful insights. insights.4 However, However, an an issue issue that that merits merits deeper deeper attention attention is is the the adequacy adequacy of of primary primary stipends, in in particular, particular, how how w ell the the economic economic vvalue alue ooff the the stipends, well stipend stipend hhas as been been pperforming erforming aass an an iincentive ncentive over over time time vis-à-vis vis-à-vis the the changing changing education education cost cost realities realities facing facing households households and and the the differing oopportunity pportunity ccost ost 5of of sschooling chooling ffor or children children iin n tthe he hhigher igher differing primary primary grades. grades. The The monetary monetary value value of of the the primary primary stipend stipend has has remained remained uunchanged nchanged aatt BDT BDT 1100 00 per per month month since since PESP PESP was was introduced PESP introduced iin n 2002-2003, 2002-2003, but but the the P ESP ccoverage overage has has grown grown to to 7.8 7.8 million million children. children. Furthermore, Furthermore, the the qquantum uantum ooff the the stipend stipend is is the the same same for for grade grade 1 sstudents tudents aand nd ffor or sstudents tudents iin n tthe he hhigher igher where ggrades rades ooff 4 aand nd 5 w here tthe he opportunity opportunity ccost ost ooff sschooling chooling Additionally, bbecomes ecomes a rreal-life eal-life iissue ssue ffor or ppoor oor hhouseholds. ouseholds. A dditionally, tthe he with multiple pprimary rimary sstipend tipend ffor or ffamilies amilies w ith m ultiple cchildren hildren eenrolled nrolled iin n 4

M Ministry inistry of of P Primary rimary M Mass ass Education, Education, Final Final Report Report on on Mid-Term Mid-Term Evaluation/Assessment Evaluation/Assessment of of PESP PESP (Phase (Phase II); II); World World Bank, Bank, An An Assessment Assessment of of the the Revised Revised PESP PESP in in Bangladesh Bangladesh (Draft, (Draft, World World Bank, Bank, 2012); 2012); Bob Bob Baulch, Baulch, The The Medium-term Medium-term Impact Impact of of the the PESP PESP in in Rural Rural Bangladesh, Banglladesh, (International (International Food Food Policy Policy Research Research Institute/Chronic Institute/Chronic Poverty Poverty Research Research Centre, Centre, 2010) 2010) 5 Here it it means means income income foregone foregone due due to to school school attendance. attendance. Here

2 aan n issue isssue that that m eritts deeper deeper merits aattention ttention iiss tthe he aadequacy dequacy of of pprimary rimary stipends, stipends, ....as ..as aan n iincentive... ncentive... vvis-à-vis is-à-vis the the cchanging hanging eeducation ducatiioon cost cost rrealities ealiittiees facing facing h ouseholds... households...

6


the findings and recommendation contribute to the education sector-led childsensitive social protection reform for inclusive growth.

the primary grades is only 25 per cent higher than for a family with a single student. Given these features, the adequacy of the primary stipend vis-à-vis its inclusive education goal has become an important policy concern. The rationale of the current study is to review the basis for such a concern and, based on this, identify appropriate policy steps that may enhance the efficacy of PESP. As Bangladesh engages in wider social protection reform, the findings and recommendation from this PESP study will contribute meaningful knowledge to the education sector-led child-sensitive social protection reform for inclusive growth.

2.2 Scope The current study is a qualitative assessment of PESP based on a review of secondary data as well as a sample review of selected rural schools. Specifically, the study looks at: i The cost realities of primary education facing rural households; ii The opportunity cost of schooling vis-à-vis the prevalence of child labour; iii The beneficiary perceptions on the efficacy of primary stipends and the dynamics of drop-out; iv How best the primary stipend is repackaged to ensure an adequate incentive.

2.3 Research strategy and methodology Strategy Though the study is essentially a qualitative assessment, it entailed a rigorous research strategy based on i) an intensive review of secondary information; ii) selection of a sample of rural and urban schools spread across the country; iii) implementation of a range of qualitative instruments on key stakeholders in the selected schools and localities. Sample The qualitative assessment was national in scope with eight rural and four urban sites chosen across the country. The first step was to choose one district in each of the six administrative divisions in the country. The districts chosen were Barguna, Chittagong, Gaibandha, Mymensingh, Satkhira and Sunamganj. The second step was to choose one upazila in each of these selected districts based on two criteria: poverty rate (World Food Programme

Rationale of Study, Scope and Research Strategy

7

poverty map) and drop-out rate (DPE Annual School Survey). To ensure representation of ethnic minorities, one school each in two additional upazilas-Nachol upazila of Chapai Nawabganj district and Sadar upazila in Bandarban district-was also included. Thus, the final sample included eight upazilas. Of these, four were high-poverty upazilas and four were mediumpoverty upazilas (see Table 2) The third step was to choose six rural schools in each of the selected upazilas, having an initial sample of 36 rural schools. Two ethnic area schools in Nachol and Bandarban were added, making the rural school sample 38. During survey implementation, in one of the rural sites-Sundarganj in Gaibandha-an extra school beyond the original six of the initial sample was included due to some issues in survey implementation. Thus, the final rural school sample stood at 39. The fourth step was to add a few low-income urban area schools as per the suggestion of MoPME, covering both big and small city contexts. One school each was chosen from the two metropolitan centres of Chittagong and Narayanganj and two secondary cities of Lalmonirhat and Rajbari, bringing the total urban school sample to four. The final sample of surveyed schools stood at 43, of which 39 were rural and four were urban (see Table 2). The list of surveyed schools is provided in Annex 1. Table 2: Bangladesh PESP school survey: Sampled area locations

Rural

Urban

District

Upazila

Poverty rate (per cent)

Area characteristics

Barguna Chapai Nawabganj Chittagong Chittagong Hill Tracts Gaibandha Mymensingh Satkhira Sunamganj

Patherghata Nachol Banshkhali Bandarban Sundarganj Haluaghat Shyamnagar Bishwambarpur

36 25 22 26 39 46 65 30

Coastal Ethnic Plains Ethnic Char Plains, ethnic Coastal Haor

Chittagong Lalmonirhat Narayanganj Rajbari

Metropolitan Secondary city Metropolitan Secondary city

8


Research instruments Information was collected through five qualitative research instruments. They included: Focus group discussions (FGDs): These were held with four categories of stakeholders-parents, teachers, students and SMCof each selected school. The Table below shows that the FGDs had on average five to 16 participants per FGD for different groups. In-depth interviews: These were carried out with three categories of implementers-headmaster, Upazila Education Officer (UEO)/Assistant Upazila Education Officer (AUEO) and bank official. Beneficiary household case studies: One beneficiary household case study per school was carried out, making a total of 43 case studies. Drop-out student case studies: Case studies were also carried out on drop-out students, three per upazila, plus one each in the five urban sites and the supplementary ethnic rural site. The total number of such case studies came to 24. In-depth view exchange with PESP directorate: There were two wide-ranging and in-depth view exchange meetings with the Project Directorate of the PESP and his team on a range of operational and policy issues relevant to the study. The first meeting was held prior to the field work and the second after the preliminary report had been prepared.

Tables 3 and 4 describe the scope of each of the above. Table 3 : Scope of FGDs in school survey, Bangladesh 2013 Stakeholder Student Parents Teachers SMC

Number of FGDs

Total number of participants

43 43 43 42*

680 496 227 273

*FGD with one SMC-Banshkhali, Chittagong-could not be carried out due to severe political disturbance during field work

Rationale of Study, Scope and Research Strategy

Table 4 : Scope of interviews and case studies in school survey,

Bangladesh 2013 Number

Category Implementer interviews

Case studies

Headmaster UEO/UAEO Bank official

Beneficiary household Drop - out student

43 12 8

43 24

The qualitative instruments were supplemented by two types of fact sheets-one on the selected upazila and the other on the selected school. These fact sheets provided useful contextual information that both supplemented and cross-checked the information arising from the FGDs, case studies and interviews. Survey timing The survey was implemented from 15 February through 2 April, 2013. Midway through the survey, fieldwork was hampered by high political unrest. The SMC FGD could not be completed in Banshkahli. In Gaibandha, the selected school had to be dropped halfway through the survey and a replacement school was surveyed. However, once the unrest had subsided, the headmistress of the originally selected school requested the PPRC team to complete the survey. As a result, in this site, seven schools were surveyed instead of the originally planned six. .

9

3

PESP P ESP iin no operation: peration: A rreality eality ccheck heck

3.1 3 .1 S Success uccess in in coverage coverage a and nd geographic geographic ttargeting argeting In 2010, In 2010, P PESP's ESP's ttargeting argeting policy policy w was as cchanged hanged ffrom rom u uniform niform off 4 40 per geographic with poorer ccoverage overage o 0 p er ccent ent tto o g eographic ttargeting, argeting, w ith p oorer given proportionately greater up off 9 90 aareas reas g iven p roportionately g reater ccoverage overage u p tto o a llimit imit o 0 p per er ccent. ent. B Both oth the the 2 2013 013 ssurvey urvey o off 3 39 9 rrural ural sschools chools aand nd o other ther has rrelated elated ssurveys urveys indicate indicate tthat hat tthere here h as been been ssignificant ignificant expansion expansion iin n coverage coverage aand nd tthat hat the the p rinciple of of geographic geographic ttargeting argeting h as principle has worked Table 5)) worked well well iin n practice practice ((see see T able 5 Coverage on C overage o n aaverage verage iincreased ncreased ffrom rom aaround round 40 40 per per ccent ent tto o aaround round 60 60 p er cent. cent. T he p ositive aachievement chievement o eograp hic per The positive off g geographic ttargeting argeting iiss cclear: lear: h igh p overty u pazilas h ave a m uch h igher high poverty upazilas have much higher 78.6 per medium poverty upazilas ccoverage overage aatt 7 8.6 p er ccent ent ccompared ompared tto om edium p overty u pazilas aatt 5 0.9 p er ccent. ent. A rrelated elated W orld B ank rreport eport aalso lso sshows hows a rrise i se 50.9 per World Bank iin n sstipend tipend ccoverage overage ffrom rom 3 8.5 p er ccent ent iin nO ctober 2 009 tto o5 6.6 38.5 per October 2009 56.6 6 per October 2010. p er ccent ent iin nO ctober 2 010. Table T able 5 : P Primary rimary sstipend tipend ccoverage overage iin n 2011 2011 and and 2013, 2013, Bangladesh Bangladesh SSurvey urvey Data Data SSurvey urvey SSurvey urvey of of 502 502 rrural ural ((five fiive h oar u pazilas) hoar upazilas) h ouseholds, 2 011 households, 2011 SSurvey urvey of of 39 39 rural rural schools iin n eight eight schools districts, 2 013 districts, 2013

% of of stipend stipend ccoverage overage 45.8 4 5.8 68.9 68.9

A rea category category (Survey (Survey Area o 39 schools, schools, 2013) 2013) off 39

% of of stipend stipend ccoverage overage

High poverty H igh p overty upazilas u pazilas

Medium Medium poverty poverty upazilas upazilas

Source: S ource: P PPRC, PRC, 2011, 2011, Education Education Realities Realities in in Hoar Hoar Region; Region; PESP PESP Field Field Survey, Survey, Bangladesh 2013 2013 Bangladesh

6O Op.cit. p.cit. An An Assessment Assessment of of tthe he Revised Revised PESP PESP iin n Bangladesh Bangladesh , p.4 p.4

78.6 7 8.6 50.9 50.9


12

Inclusion error based on the eligibility criteria has been relatively minor. ...in some instances, inclusion errors may be a consequence of the compulsion of fulfilling the quota ...

...use of the banking channel for disbursing stipends ... has worked well.

Despite these positive developments, the FGDs carried out during the 2013 survey indicated that there was still some unmet demand particularly in medium poverty areas.

3.2 Selection: Low inclusion error The PESP utilizes several criteria to select beneficiaries, which have been designed to be self-evident rather than requiring detailed data-collection. Five basic types of criteria are stipulated to identify poor households: insolvent female-headed households; low income occupations such as day labourer, fishermen, artisans; landlessness; insolvent ethnic minorities; and students suffering from disabilities. Basic information is generated through home visits by schoolteachers to all families within the catchment area. From this information-base, selection is finalized in the monthly SMC meeting together with the teachers. The relevant class teacher plays the lead role in the process for his/her class. The criteria are not considered separately but rather in a composite manner to establish the insolvency of the household. Among the criteria, applying landownership presented many practical challenges because of such issues as infertile land and mortgage. In December 2010, the landownership criterion was officially dropped from the list of eligibility criteria. Inclusion error based on the eligibility criteria has been relatively minor. A reworking of the data in the World Bank draft report referred to earlier had an inclusion error of 6 per cent (the proportion of ineligible students in the total number of receiving students). The FGDs in all 39 schools also show a comparable level of inclusion errors to the World Bank report. The FGDs also indicated that, in some instances, inclusion errors may be a consequence of the compulsion of fulfilling the quota when eligible students are barred due to their failure to meet conditionalities on attendance and performance.

3.3 Disbursement: Low leakage but transaction burdens The use of the banking channel for disbursing stipends with strict adherence to the proviso for the mother of the beneficiary student as the authorized recipient has worked well. FGDs across all 39 schools in eight districts indicate virtually no leakage as such. The comparable World Bank assessment notes that about 8 per cent of beneficiaries pay on average BDT 10 to receive the stipend. But the significance of this information is

PESP in Operation: A Reality Check

13

rendered somewhat questionable by the simultaneous admission On average, of a lack of knowledge of why or to whom this payment is made.7 While leakage as such does not appear to be an issue, transaction burdens on both the implementer and recipient side appear to be an issue. Four types of transaction burdens were indicated by the FGDs and in-depth interviews: i) disbursement delay; ii) opportunity cost of one day's lost labour and/or travel/food costs for guardians, specially from schools other than the mother school, 8 since typically it takes a whole day for collection; iii) loss of teaching time on payment paperwork and booth assistance; iv) lapse of payment for mothers who miss collection on the appointed day.

delays of two weeks are typical except for the final installment in December, when the delay extends on average to two months.

Disbursement delays arise both due to delayed receipt of allocated money by the bank from the government and banks holding on to the fund for brief periods before actual disbursement. On average, delays of two weeks are typical except for the final installment in December, when the delay extends on average to two months. The FGDs indicated that the typical two-week delay is not considered a major problem by the recipients. However, the much longer delay in the final installment is a concern. This is particularly true for class 5 students who have left the primary school stage by the time the installment is received after the two to three month delay. Severe overcrowding is a regular phenomenon on the day of disbursement. A single bank branch on average has to disburse stipend money to upward of 150 schools within a time period of 15 days. Daily workloads for a booth are typically about 1,500 beneficiary students. The FGDs with guardians and teachers emphasized that though the transaction burdens were real, they did not have serious consequences. There were some positive aspects too, since it was felt that the collection days served as spontaneous forums to exchange views and spark motivation among the mothers for their children's school participation. Though the transaction burdens were not serious, some easy solutions were suggested. One issue that merits immediate attention is the lapse of payment for mothers who miss the collection day. Interviews with bank

7 Ibid, p.11 8 During stipend disbursement, schools are clustered into average groups of 5-6 with one designated as the mother school where the bank booth is established for the day.

...though the transaction burdens were real, they did not have serious consequences.

14

the obvious and easy solution is to carry over the lapsed payment to the next installment. This requires a policy decision.


officials indicated that the money not distributed on collection day does not revert to the government immediately but remains with the bank. So the obvious and easy solution is to carry over the lapsed payment to the next installment. This requires a policy decision and, if enacted, can be implemented immediately. This would remove an important source of inequity for around 5 per cent of mothers who on average miss collection day due to a multitude of personal reasons. The other suggestion to lessen the transaction burden is to make the payment through the school rather than through school clusters as is the current practice. Even though payment is made through bank booths in the designated mother school, teachers must spend time dealing with the paperwork and providing a degree of supervision on collection day for their respective students. A comparison can be made to the separate social transfers for students with disabilities, which are currently implemented through the individual school. This issue merits further review and perhaps can be piloted before any general policy change is decided upon. Regarding the transaction burden in terms of loss of teaching time, the FDGs suggested to either provide for compensation for the teachers who would arrange this work as a dedicated additional responsibility or provide for dedicated personnel in the form of a stipend assistant. This issue too requires further review before any general policy steps are undertaken.

3.4 Changes in the real value of the stipend

How has the real value of this benefit evolved over time given inflation and other price changes?

Since its introduction in 2002-2003, the monetary value of the stipend has been unchanged at BDT 100 per month. How has the real value of this benefit evolved over time given inflation and other price changes? Prior to PESP, this benefit was given in food-grains. Thus, one way to look at the changes in the value of the stipend is in terms of rice equivalents using prevailing retail price of coarse rice. The other approach is to discount the stipend value by the inflation rate. Table 6 looks at the changing value of the primary stipend, using both of the above approaches.


15

Table 6 : Changing value of primary stipend 2003-2012 Year

Rate of inflation (%)

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Inflation-adjusted stipend value (Tk)

Primary stipend in terms of rice equivalents vis-à-vis prevailing retail price of coarse rice (kg) 7.0 6.9 6.12 5.69 5.23 3.59 3.64 3.88 3.7 3.7

100 94.33 88.15 82.23 75.37 69.21 65.46 60.55 54.55 50.51

6.0 7.0 7.2 9.1 8.9 5.4 8.1 10.7 7.7

Source: Inflation figures from CIA World Fact Book on Bangladesh; Rice price data from Statistical Yearbook, 2010, WFP Bangladesh Food Security Monitoring Bulletin, April-June, 2012

Adjusting for inflation, the real value of the BDT 100 primary stipend stood at BDT 50.51 in 2012. In terms of rice equivalents, the real value of the stipend has declined from 7 kg of rice to 3.7 kg. By both measures, the value of the primary stipend has declined by half since it was introduced in 2003. The trend is also shown graphically in Figure 2 and 3. Figure 2 : Inflation adjusted primary stipend value, 2003-2012,

Bangladesh 100 100

94.33

88.15

82.23 75.37

Value (in T k)

80

69.21

65.46

60.55

60

54.55

50.51

40 20 0 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Year

Source : PPRC Calculation from BBS Data.

2009

2010

2011

2012

the value of the primary stipend has declined by half since it was introduced in 2003.

16


Figure 3 : Rice equivalent of primary education stipend value, 8

7.03

6.9

2003-2012, Bangladesh

6.12 Value (in Kg)

6

5.69

5.23

4

3.59

3.64

3.88

3.7

3.7

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2 0 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Year

Source : PPRC Calculation from BBS Data.

3.5 Stipend spent on student, not family An important FGD focus was to establish how the stipend money was being utilized. Table 7 provides a ranking of the items on which stipend money is usually spent as determined through the FGDs with guardians and students and further corroborated through the FGDs with teachers and SMC members. Table 7 : Items on which stipend is utilized, Bangladesh 2013

Area

Haluaghat, Mymensingh Shyamnagar, Satkhira Patherghata, Borguna Banshkhali, Chittagong Biswambarpur, Sunamganj Sundarganj, Gaibanda Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj Sadar, Bandarban

Source: PESP Field Survey, Bangladesh 2013

Overwhelmingly, stipend money is used for schooling-related purposes.

Stipend utilization ranking of items as per FGDs

Stationaries, Guidebook, Tutoring, Dress Tutoring, Stationaries, Guidebook Stationaries, Guidebook, Tutoring Stationaries, Dress, Tiffin Stationaries, Tiffin, Tutoring, Dress Stationaries, Tutoring, Child food Stationaries, Tiffin Stationaries, Tutoring, Family expenses

In only one area-Bandarban Sadar upazila-family expenses were mentioned as one of the items on which the stipend money was utilized. Overwhelmingly, stipend money is used for schooling-related purposes. Such a finding is corroborated by the World Bank quantitative assessment. 9 9 Op. cit. An Assessment of the Revised PESP in Bangladesh


17

The dominant use of the stipend money is for stationaries. All eight study sites across the country confirm this ranking. The second major expenditure item, which was reported by six of the eight surveyed sites, is private tuition. The comparable World Bank finding corroborates such a ranking. 10 Though less universal, other items on which stipend money is used include dress, tiffin and guidebooks. The last group of items is mainly used by students of classes 4 and 5. 3.6 Stipend, opportunity cost of schooling and drop-out dynamics For poor families, schooling has an opportunity cost in terms of lost earning opportunities. While this logic is more compelling for older children, particularly those at the secondary education level, opportunity costs can also be a concern for primary students of classes 3, 4 and 5. One of the objectives of the primary stipend was to offset such concerns and provide an incentive to poor families to prioritize schooling over opportunity costs. The qualitative assessment examined the ground realities of these dynamics.

One of the objectives of the primary stipend was to provide an incentive to poor families to prioritize Bangladeshi children have traditionally participated in family schooling over work both at home and in the field. Not all such work necessarily opportunity costs. clashes with schooling. The issue becomes a concern when i) participation in work renders participation in school irregular, leading to poor performance; ii) participation in work entails dropping school altogether. There are other relevant issues such as hazardous work, but for purposes of this paper, the analysis is limited to the dynamics of the relationship between work and schooling.

For families labouring under the pressures of poverty in rural Bangladesh, the opportunity costs of schooling for primary-aged children stem from possibilities of income supplementation in the following types of work: seasonal work in agriculture and fishing; work as helpers in tea stalls or small workshops; attached labourer in brick fields; helpers in bus and other transportation; domestic helpers in others' homes. However, these opportunities are relevant only for the upper grades within the primary cycle, mainly grades 4 and 5. Both the categories

10

Ibid. p.11 (Expenditure on stationaries is reported by 83 per cent of beneficiaries and on private tuition by 63 per cent)


18

of such child work and the levels of income typically available from such work as described in the FGDs in the eight field sites across the country are described in Table 8. Table 8 : Opportunity cost of schooling: Average child wages in typical rural occupations insights from FGDs, Bangladesh 2013 Area

Type of child work

Average remuneration

Haluaghat, Mymensingh

Seasonal agri labour Helper in tea stall, shops Girls doing stitching work

Daily wage of BDT 100 Daily wage of BDT 50 + 3 meals Monthly wage of BDT 500 -600

Shyamnagar, Satkhira

Seasonal agri labour Helper in hotel, workshops

Daily wage of BDT 90 Daily wage of BDT 50 + 1 meal

Patherghata, Borguna

Seasonal helper in fishing trawler (April -July) Collection of shrimp fries after school ( April -July)

Daily wage of BDT 100 and dress Daily wage of BDT 300 -350

Banshkhali, Chittagong

Seasonal fruit picking Helper in tea stalls

Family farms Daily wage of BDT 80-100

Biswambarpur, Sunamganj

Seasonal agri labour Stone/sand lifting

Daily wage of BDT 80-90 Daily wage of BDT 100

Sundarganj, Gaibandha

Seasonal agri labour

Daily wage of BDT 100 -150

Bus helper Hotel boy Agri labour

Daily wage of BDT 50 + 3 meals Monthly wage of BDT 1,000 -1,500 + food Daily wage of BDT 100 -150

Work in family farm Shop assistant

Daily wage of BDT 100

Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj

Bandarban


While opportunity costs of schooling for the higher grades within the primary cycle are real as seen above, actual incidence of child work varies considerably across regions. Typically, such incidence is relatively higher in high poverty upazilas compared to the medium poverty upazilas. There may also be additional contextual factors impinging upon such incidences. For example, tribal children in Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj and children in the Cyclone Sidr-affected coastal south face greater pressure to participate in paid work. The obvious indicator to assess the magnitude of child work visà-vis schooling is the drop-out rate; though it is worth bearing in


19

mind that there may be other determinants of drop-out, such as child-unfriendly teaching-learning methods, overcrowded classrooms and unattractive educational environments. As a phenomenon, drop-out is less self-evident than commonly assumed. At least four dimensions can be distinguished: i. Permanently leaving school: This is usually what is understood as drop-out. The FGDs indicate that this As a phenomenon, proportion may be smaller than commonly assumed. ii. Leaving school but going to another school or a madrasha: This is a regular and sizeable phenomenon, but surprisingly enough is not separately recorded and hence treated as dropout. The field teams examined the official forms on which such statistics are recorded and found no column to record the phenomenon of leaving for another school/madrasha. Arguably, leaving a school to join a madrasha is often poverty-driven since food and lodgings are generally free in these religious schools. Nevertheless, this phenomenon must be distinguished from the first, which is an immediate and permanent break with schooling. iii. Irregularity and temporary absence from school to join seasonal and other work opportunities: As indicated earlier, in several rural localities, seasonal work opportunities are an established phenomenon such as coastal fishing, fruit picking or crop-harvesting. Assisting on family farms is common, but for some poorer students it is a matter of full-time paid work albeit for the season. The FGDs revealed that it is mostly male children who are involved in such prolonged absences due to work. However, absences can also be intermittent but persistent. Typically, such irregularities result in poor performance and may lead to permanently dropping out. iv. Repeat Students: Students who fail to qualify in annual performance tests become repeat students. This proportion varies across areas and schools and is not an inconsiderable percentage. A segment of such repeat students can become more permanent drop-outs if their performances fail to improve. For stipend beneficiaries, performance failure also usually means getting dropped from the stipend list, although rejoining the list by bettering performance is possible. A typical consequence of repetition is that these children finish primary education at a much later age. Persistent repetition can also lead to permanently dropping out.

drop-out is less self- evident than commonly assumed. At least four dimensions can be distinguished:


20

Given the above dynamics, it is no surprise that estimates of drop-out rates can present considerable conceptual and methodological challenges, a fact acknowledged in the 2012 Primary Education Annual Sectoral Performance Report (ASPR, 2012).11 The field teams undertook 23 case studies on drop-out students who were identified through discussions with teachers from the surveyed schools. Of these, 16 were boys and 7 were girls. Maximum drop-out was in grade 4 (16 out of 23) while the rest dropped-out from grades 3 and 5. In addition to these case studies, the field teams also established cohort scenarios for a few of the schools. Table 9 describes two cohort scenarios that put the complexities of the drop-out process in sharp relief. Table 9 : Drop-out dynamics: Two case scenarios, Bangladesh 2013 Case scenario Songra Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymensingh

School in Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj

Class 1 cohort

Cycle completers (survived until class 5)

Repeaters

Moved to another school/madrasha

Permanently left school

64

15

26

18

5

59


39

5

10

5

By current practice, drop-out rate is calculated as a combination of those who have permanently left schooling and those who have moved to another school/madrasha. With this calculation, the drop-out rate in the two cases comes to 36 per cent in the it is no surprise Mymensingh school and 25 per cent in the Nachol school. The that estimates of ASPR 2011 reports a generally comparable overall drop-out rate 12 drop-out rates can of 29.7 per cent. present However, if only those who have permanently left schooling considerable within the primary cycle are considered, the drop-out rate is conceptual and almost similar in the two cases: 7.8 per cent and 8.5 per cent, methodological respectively. Since specific information on those who move to another school/madrasah is not maintained, the larger percentage challenges that combines both those who have abandoned school altogether and those who have moved to another institution is usually cited as the drop-out rate. It is noteworthy, however, that the MoPME

11 Government of Bangladesh Directorate of Primary Education, Bangladesh Primary Education Annual Sector Performance Report (ASPR, 2012), (May 2012), p 29. 12

Ibid


21

Mid-Term Evaluation of PESP2 assess drop-out rate in respondent schools to be 9.9 per cent in 2010, a figure that is quite close to the above estimate of drop-out rate exclusive of those who have moved to another educational institution. 13 Further insight into drop-out dynamics can be gleaned by reviewing the reasons stated by those who drop out permanently. The information from the two case scenarios described earlier shows that in the Mymensingh school, for instance, of the five students who dropped out permanently, two did so because of the onset of disability, two because they migrated to Dhaka with their parents for employment and one girl because of early marriage. In the other school at Nachol, of the five who permanently dropped out, four did so to work and one girl for marriage. Field teams also carried out a number of case studies on students who had dropped out. A selection of these case summaries are described in the Box 1. Box 1: Drop-out case studies, Bangladesh 2013 Case Study 1: Haluaghat, Mymensingh A poor vendor with three primary-aged children: The first child dropped out from Class 4. The second child, a stipend recipient, attended Class 2 irregularly to supplement family income by working in the field. This child had to repeat Class 2 for failing to pass exams. The irregularity became more pronounced in Class 3 as the pressure to work grew. Facing continuous scolding and punishment, the second child, like his elder brother, dropped out completely from Class 4. Now at age 13, he is a full-time helper in a tea shop for a daily wage of Taka 60. The third child has started schooling, but faces a similar prospect as his brothers. Case Study 2: Shyamnagar, Satkhira A family with one child: The father died when the child was very young, forcing the mother to become a labourer in a brick field. The mother admitted her son into a school and tried her best to keep him there. A stipend recipient, the boy had no option but to abandon school from Class 4 when his mother fell sick and was unable to work. Now age 11, the boy is a full-time labourer in a brick field, earning Taka 60 as daily wage. This is the only income of the family. Case Study 3: Banshkhali, Chittagong An ethnic minority family, the father works as a barber and the mother as domestic help: The girl, a stipend recipient, dropped out of school from Class 4 to mind her younger brother and attend to household chores because both parents were working during the day. (Box 1 Contd.) 13

Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Final Report on Mid-Term Evaluation/Assessment of PESP (Phase II), (Bangladesh, 2012), p. 33.

22

Bangladesh Primary Education Stipends : A Qualitative Assessment (Box 1 Contd.)

The drop-out factors are a combination of poverty ...social pressure ...and marginality ...FGDs also identified certain supply-side factors that play a role in exacerbating the drop-out process,...

Case Study 4: Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj An ethnic minority family in which both parents worked as agricultural day labourers: The parents were keen on their daughter's education and got her admitted to the local government primary school. A stipend recipient, she had to interrupt her studies when her mother gave birth to another girl and she had to replace her mother as a day labourer. Though she resumed her classes later, she had little choice but to drop out altogether from Class 4 because her mother resumed working and the girl had to be home to look after the baby and do household chores. On occasions, she also had to work part-time to supplement the family income. The headmaster of the school tried to persuade the parents to send her back to school, but their poverty made this impossible.

The drop-out factors are a combination of poverty (as in those who have joined the paid workforce to supplement family income or who had to perform household chores in the absence of their working parents), social pressure (as in girls who are married off at an early age) and marginality (as in the case of the disabled). In addition to these reasons, the FGDs also identified certain supply-side factors that play a role in exacerbating the drop-out process, notably child-unfriendly class environments, overcrowding and increased study loads in the higher grades of 3 to 5. Such supply-side drivers of the drop-out rate are emphasized in a number of other studies focusing on Bangladesh.14 Discussion with the PESP Directorate also underscored the supply-side drivers of the drop-out rate, particularly the sharply increased study load from grades 3.

14 Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Mrinmoy Samadder, Beyond Dropout: A Study on BRAC Primary School (Bangladesh: Research and Evaluation Division BRAC, 2010); A Mushtaque R. Chowdhury (ed.), Rasheda K. Chowdhury (ed.) and Samir R. Nath (ed.) Hope Not Complacency: State of Primary Education in Bangladesh (Bangladesh: Campaign for Popular Education,1999); Ricardo Sabates et al., School Dropout: Pattern, Causes, Changes and Policies, Background Paper for EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011 (UNESCO, 2010).

What What has has the the stipend stipend a achieved? chieved?

4

4.1 4 .1 A b branding randing ssuccess u cces s The b The broad road objective objective o off tthe he sstipend tipend p programme rogramme h has as b been een tto o enhance participation primary enhance aand nd sstrengthen trengthen aaccess ccess aand nd p articipation iin n p rimary eeducation ducation ffor or cchildren hildren ffrom rom p oor ffamilies. amilies. IIn n tthis, his, tthe he sstipend tipend poor p programme rogramme h has as n not ot b been een a sstand-alone tand-alone iintervention, ntervention, w working orking iin n The biscuit programme, programme iisolation. solation. T he b iscuit p rogramme, ffree ree ttextbook extbook p rogramme aand nd iinfrastructural nfrastructural iimprovement mprovement tthrough hrough aadditional dditional cclassrooms lassrooms aalso lso w ork ttowards owards a ssimilar imilar p urpose, tthough hough tthe he sstipend tipend p rogramme work purpose, programme h as the the distinction distinction o eing a targeted targeted aand nd cconditional onditional has off b being m echanism. Within Within this this ccrowded rowded intervention intervention m ilieu, tthe he ffirst ir s t mechanism. milieu, and foremost foremost impact impact o he sstipend tipend p rogramme h as b een iits ts and off tthe programme has been branding ssuccess. uccess. T he sstipend tipend p rogramme-in Bangla Bangla referred referred branding The programme-in tto o as as upobritti-has upobritti-has come come tto o eenjoy njoy great great name name rrecognition ecognition w within ithin g uardian ccircles ircles and and within within llocal ocal ccommunities ommunities aatt llarge. arge. W hile iitt guardian While iiss a programme programme targeted targeted tto o p oorer h ouseholds, iitt h as poorer households, has n nevertheless evertheless transcended transcended this this b boundary oundary aand nd tthe he n name ame recognition recognition has bee a m more general phenomenon. Furthermore, h as come come tto ob ore g eneral p henomenon. F urthermore, ssuch uch name has not been merely matter off iinformation n ame rrecognition ecognition h as n ot b een m erely a m atter o nformation aawareness, wareness, b but ut m more ore ssubstantively, ubstantively, k key ey cconstituencies onstituencies ssuch uch aass mothers, have m others, sstudents tudents aand nd tthe he llocal ocal ccommunity ommunity h ave ccome ome tto o ssee ee tthe he programme primary p rogramme aass aan n eessential ssential iintervention ntervention iin np rimary eeducation. ducation. There dimensions branding First T here aare re aatt lleast east ffive ive d imensions tto o tthis his b randing ssuccess. uccess. F irst aand nd fforemost, oremost, tthe he sstipend tipend p programme rogramme iiss sseen een aass aan no opportunity pportunity poorer participate primary Secondly, ffor or p oorer ffamilies amilies tto op articipate iin np rimary eeducation. ducation. S econdly, dimension makes up programme tthere here iiss tthe he incentive incentive d imension tthat hat m akes u p tthe he p rogramme both off tthe well ccontent, ontent, b oth iin n tterms erms o he ffinancial inancial ssupport upport aass w ell aass tthe he conditionalities performance. But beyond conditionalities to to eensure nsure p erformance. B ut b eyond tthese hese ttwo, wo, other dimensions define branding tthere here aare re ttwo wo o ther d imensions tthat hat aalso lso d efine tthe he b randing success success of of the the stipend stipend programme. programme.

tthe he ffirst irst a and nd fforemost oremost iimpact mpact o he sstipend tipend off tthe p rogramme h as programme has b een it ts b randing been its branding ssuccess. uccess.

tthe he stipend stipend p rogramme h as programme has a lso eengendered ngendered a also llarger arger iinterest nterest iin n eeducation ducation a mong among tthe he rrural ural p opulation population In has In a sociopsychological sociopsychological sense, sense, the the stipend stipend programme programme h as also also in ncluding a mong including among engendered engendered a larger larger interest interest in in education education among among the the rural rural tthe he p oorest poorest population population including including among among the the poorest poorest families. families. The The FGDs FGDs ffamilies. amiliiees. have have discovered discovered several several elements elements that that pique pique an an interest interest among among

24


families. Most poor parents are illiterate and perceive illiteracy as a major handicap in their economic and social life. Illiteracy and low social status are seen as strongly correlated. A powerful belief coming from the parent FGDs was that their children should escape this particular fate of their parents and acquire a minimum of schooling. Education is also seen as a vehicle of economic mobility. An additional consideration for girls concerns marriageability as well as specific employment ...success... in opportunities. In Sundarganj, Gaibanda, for example, girls have triggering employment opportunities in garment factories and in the enhanced social Village Defence Party (law enforcement).

status for two key Certainly the stipend programme has not been the only factor groups-mothers responsible for this increased interest in education. Better and children. communication and greater mobility within the rural society and an aspirational transformation in general have also underpinned this burgeoning family interest in the education of their children. Notwithstanding these larger trends, the stipend programme from its origin as the food-for-education programme has played a major role in strengthening family interest in education. It has also helped that from the outset, it had a national scale. Some confirmation of the rising interest in education can be seen from two data sources from two surveys: one on haor-area primary schools carried out in 2011 by PPRC and the other this current study. Table 10 describes parental aspirations for their children's education. Table 10 : Parental aspirations for children's education, Bangladesh 2013 Parental aspiration for the level their children will pursue education

Up to primary Up to secondary Up to higher secondary Up to graduate studies As per capacity and student interest

PPRC Haor Primary Schools Survey, 2011 (Surveyed families: 502) 1.1 26.9 13.9 27.3 30.2

Source: PPRC Study 2011 and PESP Field Survey Bangladesh, 2013

Current survey of 39 rural primary schools, 2013 (Total number of g participants: 437) 17.2

12.9 43.8 26.2

The fourth dimension to the branding success has been in triggering enhanced social status for two key groups-mothers and children. Making the mother the authorized recipient of the stipend has worked not merely as an administrative arrangement

What Has the Stipend Achieved?

25

but more significantly has galvanized this crucial constituency as a co-partner in pursuing the programme goals. Mothers are a visible presence and strongly identify with the programme. At a different level, the child too has undergone a noticeable status change within both the family context and the local community context because the child is now a regular attendee in school and continued enjoyment of the stipend is proof of performance. Within the family context, an additional factor contributing to enhanced status is the fact that he or she is the reason why a regular infusion of money to the family budget, howsoever small, is occurring. It should be added that alongside the stipend programme, the biscuit programme too has gained a visible brand identity for possibly related, but distinct reasons, including its snack-appeal to children. Though more limited in coverage, this programme too has created great interest particularly among the children and programme awareness has reached areas that are not currently covered. Although not the focus of this study, the FGDs highlighted significant demand for biscuit programme in all areas alongside the demand for the stipend programme. Some 60 per cent of the 577 students participating in the FGDs carried out in the 39 surveyed schools identified the biscuit programme as an important incentive that can contribute to reducing the dropout rate. Hence, further study is required to better understand the intricacies of this observation and the policy implications and to compare them with global knowledge on similar programmes. The fifth and final dimension of the branding success of the stipend programme lies in the fact that within the plethora of social safety net programmes, the primary stipend programme is strongly associated with a clean governance image with little report of leakage or political misuse. This is so because of three key factors: i) use of the banking channel; ii) simultaneous engagement of three mutually monitoring groups of stakeholders-parents, teachers and SMCs members; iii) procedural opportunities for leakage are very small.

4.2 Impact Triangular FGDs that cover parents, teachers and SMC members show a number of areas in which the stipend programme is perceived to have made an impact (see Table 11). The three different types of stakeholders articulate some common effects of the stipend programme.

the primary stipend programme is strongly associated with a clean governance image with little report of leakage or political misuse.


26

Table 11 : Perceptions on outcome impact of stipend program: Insights from triangular FGDs Perceived impacts

Area

Haluaghat, Mymensingh

Shyamnagar, Satkhira

Patherghata, Borguna

Banshkhali, Chittagong

Parent FGDs

Teacher FGDs

SMC FGDs

· Cost burden on stationaries reduced · Children now schooloriented · Female decisionmaking in children education increased

· Educational costs partly covered · Attendance increased · Drop-out slightly reduced · 30% more enrollment · Private tuition possible, most parents illiterate · Costs of stationaries and dress covered · Attendance increased

· Prevented drop-out up to 20-25% · Enrollment increased · Education materials now affordable · Immediate food shortfalls can be covered

· Parent’s interest in sending children to school has increased · Parents are more engaged in the education of their children · Some educational expenses have become affordable · Child labour and drop out rate slightly reduced

· Cost burden on stationaries reduced · Stipend has made private tuition possible and consequently school performance

· Children and mother both have increased interest in schools · Attendance increased– · Some educational expenses – guide book, stationaries can be covered

· Mother’s and student’s interest in education has increased · Attendance increased · Prevented drop-out · Some educational expenses can be covered

· Cost burden on stationaries reduced · Children now school oriented · Parents illiterate and cannot help on school work. Stipend has made private tuition possible · Attendance rate increased · Female decision making in children education increased · Reduced drop-out

· Cost burden on stationaries reduced · Children now schooloriented · Female decision making in children education increased

· Big role in covering costs of stationaries · Attendance increased · Drop-out reduced · Competitive spirit among children increased

· Stationaries cost can now be covered · Enrollment increased · Attendance increased · Mothers more engaged in children’s education · Drop-out reduced as also child labour · Students are now more competitive

(Table 11 Continued)


27

(Table 11 Continued)

Perceived impacts

Area Parent FGDs Biswambarpur, Sunamganj

Sundarganj, Gaibanda

Nachol, Chapai Nawabganj

Sadar, Bandarban

Teacher FGDs

SMC FGDs

· 25% extra enrollment · Attendance increased · Teacher attendance also increased.

· Enrollment increased · Attendance increased · Drop-out rate reduced

· Children now schooloriented · Cost burden on stationaries remove · Private tuition has become possible · Guardians more attentive to children school attendance · Reduced drop-out

· 30% increased enrollment · Educational expenses can be covered · Attendance increased

· Cost burden on stationaries reduced · Children now schooloriented · Private tuition now possible · Reduced drop-out

· Attendance increased · Quality of education increased

· Poorest families can now have courage to send their children to school · Students more attentive to lessons · Some educational expenses now affordable · Drop-out rate slowly decreasing

· Children now schooloriented · Mothers’ involvement in children education increased · Cost burden on stationaries reduced

· Attendance increased · Children now schooloriented · Cost burden on stationaries reduced

· Attendance increased · Children now school oriented · Costs of stationaries can be covered

Source: PESP Field Survey Bangladesh, 2013

Four major impacts of the stipend program can be highlighted:

Attitudinal changes have occurred among two core groups: i) children have become school-oriented; ii) parents are more interested in sending their children to school and are more engaged, especially mothers, in monitoring school participation. This has led to increased enrolment.

· Children now schooloriented · Attendance increased · Drop-out rate reduced · Parent awareness increased · Cost burden removed on some items · Enrollment increased · Some educational expenses now affordable · Attendance increased · Drop-out slightly reduced

28


stipend money has made the purchase of stationaries affordabl

School attendance increased: Parents, teachers, SMC members-all three types of stakeholders-strongly suggested that school attendance has significantly increased due to the stipend programme. The conditionality associated with the stipend programme has played the major role in this regard. The recent assessment by the World Bank provides quantitative evidence of such impact.15 For girls, attendance rates for stipend holders are shown to be 91 per cent compared to 69 per cent for non-stipend. For boys, attendance rates are 89 per cent for stipend and 65 per cent for non-stipend. Necessary education expenditures, in particular stationaries, have become affordable: All three types of stakeholders unanimously agreed that the stipend money has made the purchase of stationaries affordable and that coverage of this expenditure by stipend money is almost universal. Though a relatively small expenditure, stationaries are a regular requirement and uncertainty of this basic schooling-related supply has in the past led poorer students to attend irregularly and eventually drop out. The stipend money has made such regular expenditures affordable and has thus provided an important brake on the persistent problem of drop-out. Drop-out rate has been reduced: Drop-out rate remains a major problem in primary education though the rate has been declining, albeit slowly. The stipend programme has played an important role in the reduction of the drop-out rate. The FGDs with parents, students and teachers provide an indicative estimate of the extent to which the stipend contributes to drop-out reduction. The percentage of students who are likely to drop out if the stipend programme was to be stopped was assessed to be 10 per cent by students, 7 per cent by parents and 18 per cent by teachers. Field teams assessed that the estimate by students and parents was in all likelihood an underestimate since both these groups were eager to project an image of being greatly interested in education. The estimate provided by teachers was likely to be a more realistic indicator of the likely impact of the stipend on drop-out reduction.

The stipend programme has played an important role in the reduction of The factors through which the stipend impinges on drop-out the drop-out rate. reduction include: i) increased children's interest in schooling;

15

World Bank, An Assessment of the Revised PESP in Bangladesh (March 1, 2012 Draft).


29

ii) affordability of regular costs, such as stationaries, that serve to keep children in school; iii) the possibility of access to private tuition, serving to increase the confidence levels of the student; iv) closer monitoring by parents on school attendance of the child since non-attendance means loss of the stipend.

4.3 Spillover effects The stipend programme has produced some indirect changes or spillover effects that are as important as its direct impacts. Five are highlighted below. Empowerment of mothers The provision for making the mother the authorized recipient of the stipend on behalf of her child has brought about several spillover effects. Over the long term, these have the potential to transform the mother into a key stakeholder in primary education and include the following: i

There is a role transformation within the family with the mother emerging as having a primary responsibility for children's education.

ii

The need to transact at the bank has forced illiterate mothers to attain minimum literacy in terms of signing for the stipend, a process that has the potential to impact on adult The stipend literacy. programme has

iii The stipend collection day in which mothers from five to six schools congregate for the whole day in one designated school campus has effectively become an empowerment forum for the mothers. Such ma shomabesh (convention of mothers) allow mothers to exchange views with other mothers, teachers and SMC members, not just on stipend matters but overall school activities as it pertains to their children. iv Since non-attendance leads to a suspension of the stipend, the mother has become more engaged in monitoring her child's school attendance and performance. Strengthening child rights within the family The branding success of the stipend programme has worked not only at the community level but also within the family. There is considerable awareness among the children, particularly those in

produced some indirect changes or spillover effects that are as important as its direct impacts.

30


the higher grades of Classes 4 and 5, that the stipend is intended for them and that they can insist on the money being used for their needs. The information on stipend utilization indicates that this indeed is the case. The FGDs with parents confirm that their children are now more assertive about their needs. When the stipend money had been spent on some immediate family need, for instance, monies were later reimbursed out of the family income to pay for the children's schooling needs. Triggering proactiveness of key stakeholders in school activities

Management of the stipend programme has prompted greater interaction among the four key school constituenciesstudents, mothers, teachers and SMC members.

The stipend programme has sparked proactive engagement of key stakeholders in school activities. Management of the stipend programme has prompted greater interaction among the four key school constituencies-students, mothers, teachers and SMC members. The FGDs with all four stakeholder categories repeatedly underscored this point. Strengthening accountability within the school process An indirect consequence of the stipend programme, particularly the implementation of the conditionalities on attendance and performance, has strengthened accountability within the school process. Random absences now can carry concrete sanctions such as suspension of the stipend and both guardian and student are aware of such consequences. On the implementer side, teachers and SMC members may and do face questioning by mothers if stipend-related decisions are not seen as fair. The accountability pressure appears to be working even within the family because children cannot skip classes and not get caught as continuity of the stipend is affected. Students are more competitive Notwithstanding its pro-poor goals, guardians and students understand that the opportunity provided by the stipend is an incentive not an entitlement. This is true even for high poverty areas, where coverage is significantly larger but the conditionalities on attendance and performance are enforced equally. Consequently, the programme has succeeded in generating a competitive spirit among the children, which together with improved attendance, is producing more emphasis on performance. An additional suggestion emerging from the FGDs is that the stipend programme should also consider recognizing the emphasis on performance by including merit


31

students (top three in each grade) in the stipend list irrespective On paper, primary of their economic status. education is free.

4.4 Is the stipend adequate? At its core, the stipend is a financial incentive and the question of its adequacy is moot given the halving of its real value since the programme began and a space for rethinking becoming available through the transition to a new sector-wide programming phase-the PEDP3. However, a meaningful resolution of the question of adequacy requires a juxtaposition of the stipend size to the costs of education.

In reality, all households, even the poorest among them, bear several types of expenditures for their children's education.

The costs of primary education On paper, primary education is free. In reality, all households, even the poorest among them, bear several types of expenditures for their children's education. An earlier PPRC study had found that the burden of such educational expenditures was quite inelastic, meaning that the burden had to be borne whatever the income position of the household.16 This remains the case as seen in the findings from the current study (see Tables 12 and 13). Two sets of data are examined, one derived from student FGDs in which 680 students from grades 4-5 participated and the other from 39 case studies of student families with the latter including some additional cost items, notably tiffin. Both findings are generally comparable once excluded items are taken into account. Average annual costs of primary education of grades 4-5 stand at BDT 4,788 (excluding tiffin). For the high poverty areas, this is slightly lower, but not by much-BDT 3,617-while for urban areas, it is slightly higher-BDT 6,398 (see Table 12). Data from the case studies show that there is an increase in costs with grade progression; with grade 4 costs being more than three times the grade 1 costs (see Table 13). Such increases are due to specific costs items, notably expenditures on guidebooks and on. private tutoring. There are slightly higher expenditures on male students compared to their female counterparts, but the difference is not significant (6 per cent in the case of grade 4 students)

16

Hossain Zillur Rahman and K. Shakhawat Ali, Quality Improvement in Primary Education: Micro Insights for Macro Agenda, Power and Participation Research Centre Policy Paper (Dhaka: 2005), p. 13.

...there is an increase in costs with grade progression;


32

Table 12 : Average annual costs of primary education:

Findings from student FGDs, Bangladesh 2013 Cost item

High poverty areas

Guidebooks Dress Stationaries

Private tuition

Urban areas

All areas

Taka

%

Taka

%

Taka

%

Taka

%

371 473 1,057

10.3 13.1 29.2

399 471 1,229

9.2 10.8 28.2

468 602 1,533

7.3 9.4 24.0

413 515 1,273

8.6 10.8 26.6

1,716

Total

Medium poverty areas

47.4

3,617

100.0

2,254

51.8

4,353

100.0

3,795 6,398

59.3

100.0

2,588

54.1

4,788

100.0

Source: Student FGDs, Survey of 43 Schools, Bangladesh 2013

Table 13 : Rural average annual costs of primary education:

Findings from student case studies, Bangladesh 2013 Cost items

Grade 1 Boys

Grade 2

Girls

Boys

Grade 3

Girls

Boys

Grade 4

Girls

Boys

Girls

60

90

90

Average Annual Cost (BDT) Examination and other fees Pencil/pen/exercise book Guide/notebook Dress/bag/umbrella Tiffin Private tutoring Total

50

50

600 0 800 300 0

550

1,750

0 900 270 0

1,770

50

700

0 900 360 400

2,410

50

60

650

1,000

2,380

3,565

0 1,000 280 400

450 1,100 350 605

900

475 1,250 205 300 3,190

1,300

1,250

5,395

5,090

500 1,400 805 1,300

480 1,350 720 1,200

Source: 39 Household Case Studies of Primary Students, PESP Field Survey, Bangladesh 2013

How representative are these 2012 cost estimates from the DPE/MoPME-PPRC-UNICEF Study? A Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) study of 2009-2010 on primary education provides a useful comparison. The BRAC study was carried out in 76 schools (49 government primary schools) in a nationally representative sample of 62 villages 17. Estimates of private expenditure of grades 4 and 5 for the year 2008 for the government primary schools are shown to be Taka BDT 2569. This estimate excludes two cost items, namely tiffin and guidebooks. Another estimate from 2005 is provided by Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), which covered a

17Alia Ahmad and Iftekharul Haque Economic and Social Analysis of Primary Education in Bangladesh: A Study of BRAC Interventions and Mainstream Schools, Research Monograph Series No. 48, Research and Evaluation Division (Dhaka: BRAC, 2011).


33

larger number of schools. 18 Average private cost for primary education of grades 4 and 5 in the CAMPE Study stood at BDT 3,619. Table 14 compares the findings of the DPE/MoPME-PPRCUNICEF, BRAC and CAMPE studies on the average annual household cost on primary education (grades 4 and 5). The BRAC estimate and the DPE/MoPME-PPRC-UNICEF FGD estimates exclude an important cost item, namely tiffin, but the other two estimates are comparable and have the additional feature of representing the situation over a 10-year interval without adjusting for inflation. Table 14 : Average annual household costs of primary education (grades 4

& 5), Bangladesh 2013 Average private annual costs of primary education (grades 4 & 5) CAMPE Education Watch 2006 BRAC Study MoPME DPE-PPRC-UNICEF Study FGD findings Case Study Findings

2005 2008 2013 Data Year

BDT 3,619 BDT 2,569 (exclusive of tiffin)

BDT 4,788 (exclusive of tiffin) BDT 5,242

Perceptions on the adequacy of the stipend amount

An important emphasis of the FGDs with parents, teachers and SMC members was to assess the social perceptions on the adequacy of the stipend amount. Two factors impinge on this question of adequacy-the drop in the value of the stipend and increase in the costs associated with schooling. As has been noted in the previous sections, the real value of the stipend has dropped by half over the preceding decade. Over the same period, the private cost of primary schooling has also risen. The estimates in the CAMPE and DPE/MoPME-PPRC-UNICEF studies, separated by nearly a decade, can be used here for an approximation of increase in costs. This amounts to a 45 per cent rise in private costs of primary schooling. This estimate is applicable for the higher grades of 4 and 5. A decade ago (the CAMPE study), costs for the higher grades were on average 42 per cent higher than for the intermediate grades of 2 and 319. The

18 Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), Education Watch 2006: Financing of Primary and Secondary Education in Bangladesh. 19 Ibid, p. 43

Two factors impinge on this question of adequacy-the drop in the value of the stipend and increase in the costs associated with schooling.

34


On both grounds-drop in real value and increase in coststhere are reasons for rethinking the stipend amount

current study shows that the rise in cost in grade 4 compared to that for grades 2 and 3 is 75 per cent (see Table 13). Compared to grade 1, the rise in cost is around 300 per cent. On both grounds-drop in real value and increase in costs-there are clearly acceptable reasons for rethinking the stipend amount, particularly for the higher grades of 4 and 5. Such a need has been highlighted in the FGDs with all three groups of principal stakeholders-parents, teachers and SMC members. The FGD participants were also clear that the contribution of the stipend did not prevent the core drop-out rate, which was driven by extreme poverty. Rather, they saw the stipend as playing an important dual role-lessening the burden of private costs of schooling and triggering greater interest in schooling. Within such an understanding of the goals and contribution of the stipend, the FGDs provided five suggestions for rethinking the stipend amount: i

An increase in the stipend amount to reduce the increased cost burdens on essential items. The suggested increase was in the range of BDT 250-300.

ii Increased stipend amount can be implemented mainly for the higher grades of 4 and 5, where the cost of schooling is a much more serious burden. iii Introduction of additional in-kind support to cover two other cost items seen as increasingly necessary-bag and school dress. iv A change in the policy of the second child within the family getting only BDT 25 instead of the full stipend value of BDT 100. The proposal is to provide the stipend value equally to all children from a family enrolled in primary education. v To strengthen the role of the stipend as an incentive to emphasize performance, a provision for including merit students (top three in each grade) in the stipend list irrespective of their economic status should be included. Budgetary implications of rethinking stipend Policy re-thinking on the stipend program so far has prioritized coverage over increase in the stipend amount. In 2010, coverage was increased 62 per cent from 4.8 million to 7.8 million. However, the question of re-thinking is again being felt in policy circles. There are of course major budgetary implications on any


35

re-thinking in this regard that also have to be borne in mind. Currently, around 11.73 per cent of budgetary allocations are given to education as a whole and 5.36 per cent specifically to primary education (Budget 2013-14). PESP allocations constitute 8.1 per cent of MoPME budget (Budget 2013-14). Table 15 describes the options on rethinking the stipend amount and their budgetary implications. Table 15 : Options of adjusting primary stipend, Bangladesh 2013 Policy options Option 1 (As emerging from the discussion with PESP directorate)

Option 2 As emerging from the field FGDs

Extra budget required (Crore Taka) Increase monthly amount to Taka 200

1,000

Provision of soaps (7) (for 7.8 million) Total

117

Provision of umbrella (for 7.8 million)

Provision of winter clothing (for 7.8 million) Increase monthly amount to Taka 250

Total number of beneficiaries in 2012-13 was 7,869,000 and total amount of stipend paid was BDT 884 Crores. If monthly stipend is raised to BDT 200, extra budgetary requirement is BDT 1,000 Crores. If increased amount is BDT 250 per month, extra budgetary requirement is BDT 1,480 Crores. However, the recommendation is to increase the stipend only for grades 4 and 5. In that case, the extra budgetary requirement will come down substantially.

156 156

1,429 1,480

the recommendation is to increase the stipend only for grades 4 and 5. It is also In addition to increasing the monthly stipend, it is also recommended to recommended to add some annual in-kind items- umbrella, add some annual soap and winter clothing. Total budgetary requirement for these in-kind items in-kind items comes to BDT 429 Crores.

Conclusion C onclusion

5

PESP P ESP has has m made ade iimportant mportant aachievements chievements aand nd needs needs ttoo b bee sustained: P PESP ESP has has eenergized nergized ssocial ocial interest interest iin n primary primary sustained: sschooling chooling in in pparticular articular among among tthe he poor poor aand nd marginalized marginalized ggroups. roups. IIts ts iimpact mpact hhas as bbeen een multidimensional multidimensional with with nnoticeable oticeable improvement improvement iin n eenrolment, nrolment, aattendance ttendance aand nd ddrop-out. rop-out. IItt hhas as aalso lso triggered triggered iimportant mportant sspillover pillover effects effects tthat hat hhave ave sstrengthened trengthened accountability accountability pprocesses rocesses within within primary primary sschooling chooling and and made made stakeholders, SMCs, stakeholders, such such aass mothers, mothers, teachers teachers aand nd S MCs, more more matters. pproactive roactive iin n school school m atters. These These aachievements chievements have have llaid aid aan n iimportant mportant foundation foundation ffor or tthe he larger larger policy policy ggoal oal ooff inclusive inclusive and and PESP qquality uality education. education. P ESP rremains emains critical critical in in sustaining sustaining tthis his process. process. The ccost The ost b burden urden ooff schooling schooling remains remains a sserious erious b barrier arrier tto o meaningful p articipation by by poor poor students students aand nd rrethinking ethinking the the meaningful participation stipend p rogramme to to lessen lessen ssuch uch b urdens is is necessary: necessary: T Though hough stipend programme burdens tthe he interest interest iin n eeducation ducation has has ssignificantly ignificantly ggained ained ground, ground, pprivate rivate ccosts osts ooff sschooling chooling rremain emain aan n iimportant mportant ddeterrent eterrent tto om eaningful meaningful pparticipation articipation bby y poorer poorer sstudents. tudents. The The value value ooff the the sstipend tipend hhas as ddropped ropped bby y hhalf alf ssince ince its its introduction, introductiion, while while tthe he pprivate rivate ccost ost ooff sschooling chooling hhas as seen seen aann iincrease. ncrease. A ppragmatic ragmatic rrethinking ethinking on on adjusting adjusting tthe he sstipend, tipend, both both in in terms terms ooff m monetary onetary eenhancement nhancement and in-kind in-kind pprovision rovision of of iidentified dentified priority priority items, items, ssuch uch as as bag, bag, and dress, is is needed. needed. An An iincrease ncrease iin n tthe he stipend stipend amount amount may may bbee dress, moderated moderated bby y the the ffact act that that ssuch uch increases increases w would ould apply apply pprimarily rimarily to where to the the hhigher igher ggrades, rades, w here tthe he ccost ost ooff tthe he sschooling chooling burden burden is is higher. The higher. T he ppolicy olicy of of pproviding roviding only only ppartial artial stipend stipend tto o a ssecond econd child within child w ithin tthe he family family enrolled enrolled iin n pprimary rimary education education needs needs tto o be be rreconsidered econsidered aass tthe he ccost ost bburden urden aapplies pplies ffor or aall ll cchildren. hildren. Budgetary implications Budgetary implications ooff eenhanced nhanced stipend stipend are a re n not ot ooverwhelming, verwhelming, but but suitable suitable aadvocacy dvocacy eefforts fforts aare re necessary necessary to to ggenerate enerate b ro a d e r p olicy ssupport: upport: T The he extra extra budgetary bu d g e t a r y broader policy requirements requirements for for eenhancing nhancing tthe he stipend stipend through through tthe he two two ooptions ptions reviewed BDT reviewed eearlier arlier aare re iin n tthe he rrange ange ooff B DT 11,000 ,000 aand nd 11,480 ,480 ccrores rores

A ppragmatic ragmatiicc rrethinking ethinking oon n aadjusting djusting tthe he sstipend, tipend, bboth oth iin n tterms erms ooff m onetary monetary eenhancement nhancement and and iin-kind n-kind provision provission ooff identified iddentified ppriority riooritty it tems, items, ....is ..is n eeded. needed.

38


or USD 125 and 185 million. If as recommended, the enhanced amount is applied only for grades 4 and 5, the extra requirements will be substantially lower. In addition to the monetary enhancement, recommended in-kind items will require an extra BDT 429 Crores or USD 54 million. While these amounts are not large in an absolute sense, strong advocacy efforts will be required to convince the broader policy-making establishment to implement these recommendations.

strong advocacy efforts will be required to convince the broader policymaking establishment to implement these recommendations.

While PESP is a successful programme by many yardsticks, there are considerable opportunities to enhance outcomes through specific strengthening of the implementation process: The DPE/MOPME-PPRC-UNICEF Study has brought out a number of steps to improve the implementation process in the areas of disbursement and program management. These include i) timely budget allocations and release processes that eliminate the banking and disbursement delays particularly in the case of the final installment in the annual cycle where delays of up to two months are routine, ii) review the experience of mobile banking pilot for stipend disbursement and scale up operation if found useful, iii) include additional provision to ensure that mothers missing out on collection of stipend amount on stipulated day has the opportunity to collect during the succeeding cycle, and iv) address the issue of stipend-related paperwork burden on teachers either by reasonably enhancing compensation for teachers or arranging for administrative assistant in schools with large student population. Access to schooling for the urban poor is a growing issue and a policy review of how best to extend the stipend programme to urban areas is a priority: While the urban poor enjoy greater access to economic opportunities than their rural counterparts, national statistics 20 indicate that their access to social opportunities, such as schooling, is less secure. Extending the stipend programme may be an important policy step to redress this situation and merits urgent policy consideration. While further analysis is required, simultaneous expansion of the biscuit programme complements the stipend programme: The FGDs found a widespread demand for the biscuit programme as an important complement of the stipend programme. Providing biscuits can lessen the cost burden of tiffin and is seen as increasing food security and attendance. Further study is 20Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Household Income and Expenditure Survey, 2005 and 2010.

Conclusion

39

recommended to gain insight into the intricacies and policy Improving supplyimplications and to draw lessons from similar interventions side factors implemented elsewhere. To maximize the impact of the stipend programme, several supply-side factors need to be addressed: Improving supply-side factors such as teacher-student ratio, user-friendly text-books, infrastructural improvements and maintenance are as important as addressing demand-side interventions such as the stipend programme.

...are as important...

References

Baulch, Bob. 2010. The Medium-Term Impact of the Primary Education Stipend in Rural Bangladesh. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Bangladesh Institute of Developmental Studies and- UNICEF. 2013. Child Equity Atlas: Pockets of Social Deprivation in Bangladesh. Dhaka: UNICEF. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2010. Chapters 4 & 7. Dhaka: BBS. Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), Education Watch 2006: Financing of Primary and Secondary Education in Bangladesh. Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE). 1999. Hope Not Complacency: State of Primary Education in Bangladesh. Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, 2010, Final Report on Mid-Term Evaluation/Assessment of PESP (Phase II), Bangladesh. Directorate of Primary Education. Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Bangladesh Primary Education Annual Sector Performance Reports of 2011 and 2012 (Draft), Bangladesh. General Economics Division, Planning Commission, Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Sixth Five Year Plan of Bangladesh, 20112015, Chapter 7 (Part 2). Government of Bangladesh, Ministry of Education. 2010. National Education Policy. Khan, Ashrafuzzaman and M. Samadder. 2010. Beyond Dropout: A Study on BRAC Primary School. Dhaka: Research and Evaluation Division, BRAC. Mujeri, M. Mustapha and Shamsul Alam (ed), 2011, Background Papers to 6th Five Year Plan of Bangladesh, Volume 3, Chapter 2, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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Power and Participation Research Centre. 2011. Education Realities in Haor Region. Project Implementation Management Unit, Directorate of Primary Education, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Primary Education Stipend Project : Project Proforma (December 2002), Bangladesh. Project Implementation Management Unit, Directorate of Primary Education, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Primary Education Stipend Project : Policy Guideline (February 2003), Bangladesh. Rahman, Hossain Zillur, Liaquat Ali Choudhury and Khondoker Shakhawat Ali. 2011. Social Safety Nets in Bangladesh : Volume 1. Dhaka: Power and Participation Research Centre. Rahman, Hossain Zillur and Liaquat Ali Choudhury. 2012. Social Safety Nets in Bangladesh : Volume 2. Dhaka: Power and Participation Research Centre. Sabates, Ricardo, Kwame Akyeampong, Jo Westbrook and Frances Hunt. 2010. School Drop Out in Bangladesh: Patterns, Causes, Changes and Policies. Background paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report. Sussex, UK: Center for International Education School of Education and Social Work. Sabates, Ricardo, Altaf Hossain and Keith M. Lewin. 2010. School Drop Out in Banglades : New Insights from Longitudinal Evidence. Sussex, UK: Centre for International Education, School of Education and Social Work. Sharif, Iffath A. 2009. Building a Targeting System for Bangladesh based on Proxy Means Testing. Social Protection & Labor, The World Bank. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Tietjen, Karen, 2003, The Bangladesh Primary Education Stipend Project: A Descriptive Analysis, Partnership for Sustainable Strategies on Girls' Education (www.girlseducation.org), http: /siteresources.workdbank.org /EDUCATION/Resources/278200 World Bank, 2012, An Assessment of the Revised PESP in Bangladesh (Draft report), Dhaka, Bangladesh

Annex-1

School List Chittagong Division 1. East Baghmara Registered Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 2. Kockdondi Govt. Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 3. KalipurNaseraKhatun Govt. Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 4. Middle Katharia Govt. Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 5. West ChechuriaGhonapara Registered Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 6. Boilchhari Govt. Primary School, Banskhali, Chittagong. 7. Raichha Govt. Primary School, BandarbanSadar, Bandarban. 8. West Bakalia Govt. Primary School, Chittagong City Corporation

Dhaka Division 9. Saint Andress, Govt. Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 10. Kalapagla, Govt. Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 11. Baghitola, Govt. Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 12. Krisnonagar, Govt. Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 13. Sangdha, Registered Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 14. PurbaSaknite, Registered Primary School, Haluaghat, Mymenshing 15. NarayanganjAdarsha, Govt. Primary School, NarayanganjSadar, Narayanganj 16. Bazar Pathshala, Govt. Primary School, RajbariSadar, Rajbari

Rangpur Division 17. Mahisbandhi, Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 18. TalukBelka, Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 19. Paglarhat, Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 20. Sicha(2), Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 21. Zamadiar Char, Govt. Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 22. Char Khurda Registered Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 23. DaskhinKakoiKashdaha, Registered Primary School, Sundarganj, Gaibandha 24. Khorda, Saptana, Govt. Primary School, LalmoirhatSadar, Lalmonirhat

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Rajshahi Division 25. Hatbakail, Govt. Primary School, Nachole, Chapai Nawabganj

Khulna Division 26. Nawabeki, Govt. Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 27. BuriGoalini Govt. Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 28. Kolbari, Govt. Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 29. Munshiganj, Govt. Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 30. Munshiganj, Uttar Kadamtala, Registered Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira 31. Zurzuria Registered Primary School, Shyamnagar, Satkhira

Sylhet Division 32. Bhatipara, Govt. Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 33. Durgahpur, Govt. Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 34. Muktikhola, Govt. Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 35. Dhonpur, Govt. Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 36. Kachirgati, Registered Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj 37. Islampur, Registered Primary School, Bishwambarpur, Sunamganj

Barisal Division 38. Charduani, Govt. Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna 39. Ruhita, Govt. Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna 40. Padma, Govt. Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna 41. Kathaltoli, Govt. Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna 42. TalukerCharduani, MuktijoddhaAdarsha, Registered Primary School

Patharghata, Borguna 43. Hoglapasha Adarsha, Registered Primary School, Patharghata, Borguna