education and sector-wide approaches (swap) in...

Education and sector-wide approaches(SWAp) in Namibia

Robert C. West

Paris 2004UNESCO: International Institute for Educational Planning

International Institute for Educational Planning http://www.unesco.org/iiep

http://www.unesco.org/iiep

Education and sector-wide approaches (SWAp) in Namibia

IIEP/WD/137670/R1

The views and opinions expressed in this booklet are those of the author anddo not necessarily represent the views of UNESCO or of the IIEP. Thedesignations employed and the presentation of material throughout this re-view do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part ofUNESCO or IIEP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city orarea or its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries.

The publication costs of this study have been covered through a grant-in-aid offered by UNESCO and by voluntary contributions made by severalMember States of UNESCO, the list of which will be found at the end of thevolume.

This volume has been printed in IIEP’s printshop

Cover design: Corinne HayworthCover photo: World Bank/Eric MillerTypesetting: Linéale Production

International Institute for Educational Planning7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix, 75116 Paris

Working document© UNESCO 2004



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Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to those persons who made time available to engage indiscussion on the topic, and to Kaviraj Appadu, Senior Programme Specialist,Resident Fellow at IIEP-UNESCO, Paris, for his guidance and criticalcomments while the study was being prepared. Françoise Caillods, DeputyDirector of IIEP, also provided useful comments and advice. I am particularlygrateful to the following persons who responded to my questions and providedvaluable information: Michele Cervone d’Urso, Ulla Kann, Ron Kukler, AgnetaLind, Sonja Poller, Paul Randall, Robin Sherbourne, and Ewa Nunes Sorenson.

Sandra Van Zyl assisted in tracking down some elusive documents andSean Nicholson provided helpful advice on formatting the document. JohanLoubser and Werner Hillebrecht respectively of the National Library andNational Archives of Namibia provided information which improved theorganization of the bibliography.

Finally, Miriam Jones of IIEP assisted in ensuring consistency throughoutthe document.



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Foreword to the series

A large number of developing countries are dependent on developmentassistance to expand their education system and provide quality educationfor all. Some of them are heavily dependent on international aid; others areless dependent, yet need educational assistance to finance their capitalexpenditures and to implement the necessary reforms. During the DakarWorld Education Forum in 2000 the international community resolved tosupport countries that are seriously committed to fulfilling the objective ofEducation for All, so that no country which has developed a sound educationalplan will fail to reach its goals for lack of financial resources.

Traditional approaches of development assistance have, however, beenvery critically assessed in the past decades. Amongst the most commoncriticisms are the fact that international assistance was too often based onbig, unco-ordinated projects entirely led by agencies, with no strong supportat the national level. Thus projects often failed to be sustained once donorsupport was withdrawn. Findings of several studies have also shown thatproject support is sometimes incompatible with national institution-building.Run by parallel administrative systems within the ministry of education, itwas noted that projects undermined rather than strengthened national capacitiesto plan and implement policies. There is a strong perception also that projectsupport often contributed to institutional fragmentation and incoherence inpolicy execution. The projects suffered from a lack of ownership, not only atnational government level, but more importantly at the local level where theyare to be implemented. Worse still, education projects, like projects in othersectors, failed to reach their basic objective to support national developmentand reduce poverty.

In the past years a number of new approaches have emerged ininternational assistance, with important consequences for educational policy




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and planning. One of these focuses on poverty reduction strategies, anotherpromotes sector-wide approaches (SWAps).

Poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) originate from the idea thatif poverty is to be reduced it is necessary to co-ordinate all efforts in allsectors around one major policy framework. As a result, financial flows ofaid, whether linked to the reduction of debts, grants or concessional loans,have been linked to the adoption by recipient countries of a comprehensivepoverty reduction strategy. Learning from past failures, the PRSP approachis based on certain principles. For example the strategy should be: results-oriented, with targets that can be easily monitored, and comprehensive; itshould integrate macroeconomic, structural, and social policy elements; andit should be country-driven, participatory and based on partnership betweenthe governments and other actors. Education is one major element of PRSPs.

PRSPs will eventually be central to the whole process of developmentassistance to the least developed countries in the sense that grants andconcessional loans will increasingly be allocated as budget support andmanaged at national level, with a central role being given to the ministry offinance. Having an approved PRSP is already one of the conditions forobtaining funds within the Fast Track Initiative.

In the same spirit of ensuring government-led development andownership, an increasing number of agencies are promoting SWAps, ineducation as in other sectors, whereby project support is being discouragedand replaced by modalities of programme support. The education sector isone of the sectors where such SWAps are increasingly applied and whereprocesses are in evolution. The SWAp is directed holistically at the sector,taking the full strategic plan of the sector as its focus. Generally it also involveschannelling most, if not all, of the funding through the recipient government’sown revenue fund.



Foreword to the series

9

Some of the questions that naturally arise concern the extent to whichsuch approaches in development assistance are driven by the developmentpartners or by the recipient government, the extent to which they start agenuine process involving all stakeholders and therefore have a better chanceof being implemented, and the extent to which they improve the efficiency ofgovernment action in education. Another question, which is directly relevantfor the IIEP, is what sort of capacities have to be created and strengthenedso that the ministries of education are really in a position to define and negotiatetheir educational policy with the various stakeholders, amongst which are theaid agencies and the ministry of finance, and to implement it, mobilizing thesupport of all? One of the interesting consequences of such developments ininternational co-operation is the increased importance that has been attachedto plans in recent years – long-term strategic plans, medium-term plans,operational plans – that ministries have to develop, implement and monitor.Preparing such plans and implementing them requires extensive technicaland political skills, to develop, on the one hand, very complex policy andfinancial documents and, on the other hand, to listen to and mobilize a varietyof actors around a widely accepted national project.

The studies in this series analyze the principles that guide such newinternational approaches in development co-operation, the way they havebeen applied in practice to education, and the consequences for capacity-building in the education sector.

The present study analyzes the implementation of SWAp in Namibia.Some of the questions that naturally arise concern the extent to which SWApis driven by the development partners or by the recipient government, thedegree to which the transaction costs are reduced or increased, theappropriateness of government procedures, and the range of conditionsimposed upon or accepted by the recipient government.

Since the context varies from country to country, it is unlikely that theSWAp processes will be identical everywhere, even if the underpinning




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philosophy is the same. What, for example, does the sector encompass?How many development partners are involved? What proportion of the sectorfunding is contributed by the development partners and what proportion bygovernment? What is the stage of development of the sector’s strategic plan?What proportion of school-age children are enrolled? What developmentalchallenges are competing with the education sector for available governmentand donor funding? What political commitments has the government made?The list is endless.

This case study on Namibia serves several purposes. First, it providesan opportunity for the country to review its own processes and draw lessonsfor the future. Second, it provides material for the development partnersplaying a role in the country, both those committed to the sector-wide approachand those wedded to a project approach, to reflect upon as they plot theirown way forward. Third, it provides a basis to enable Namibia to exchangeits experiences with others countries.

Whereas some countries were implementing a SWAp when the theorywas still in the early stages of development, Namibia had the benefit of havinga somewhat refined theory as the background to its introduction of a SWAp.Although Namibia’s experience of the approach is comparatively short, theimplications have been systematically explored through the mechanisms ofregular meetings between government representatives of the sector anddevelopment partners, appraisals and joint review meetings. While there isno doubt that the approach in Namibia will continue to be modified in the lightof growing experience, the process to date provides a wealth of materialfrom which lessons may be learned, and which may contribute to anincreasingly effective partnership and dialogue among partners in theeducation sector.

Françoise Caillods,Deputy Director, IIEP



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Contents

Acknowledgements 5

Foreword to the series 7

List of abbreviations 15

List of tables 20

List of figures 21

Executive summary 23

Chapter 1. Introduction 311.1 Introduction of a sector-wide approach

in the education sector 311.2 Methodology of the study 321.3 The broad national context 331.4 Conclusion 43

Chapter 2. The educational context 452.1 Introduction 452.2 Overall management framework 452.3 The reform process 462.4 Availability and use of data 562.5 Characteristics of the education system 582.6 The Presidential Commission on Education,

Culture and Training 632.7 Strategic planning 652.8 The education budget 752.9 Major international donors and aid modalities 802.10 Staffing and capacity development 822.11 Conclusion 85



Contents

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Chapter 3. Sector-wide approaches in the education sector 873.1 Introduction 873.2 Definitions of SWAPs 873.3 Justification for a SWAp 933.4 Progress towards a SWAp: overview 953.5 Education sub-sector support 983.6 Strategic Planning Advisory Group 1073.7 Education sector support 1093.8 National programme for human capital

and knowledge development for economicgrowth with equity 146

3.9 Partnerships and co-ordination 1483.10 Links with the national budget cycle

and medium-term expenditure framework 1513.11 Information needs and flows 1513.12 Indicators 1603.13 Capacity development 1633.14 Transaction costs 1693.15 Conclusion 173

Chapter 4. Lessons learned 1754.1 Introduction 1754.2 Leadership and responsibility in the SWAp process 1754.3 Partnership and co-operation 1774.4 Implementation and utilization of funds 1834.5 Information needs 1874.6 Poverty reduction 1894.7 Capacity development 1904.8 Transaction costs 1924.9 Conclusion 193

Chapter 5. Conclusions and recommendations 1955.1 Conclusions 195



Contents

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5.2 Recommendations 198

References 201

Appendices 211I. Statement of Intent following the first education

sector review, June 2002 212II. Memorandum of Understanding for the education

sector programme in Namibia 215III. Education sector strategic plans 222IV. Performance and Effectiveness Management

Programme (PEMP) 226



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List of abbreviations

AEC Annual Education Census

BETD Basic Education Teachers Diploma

CBS Central Bureau of Statistics

CIET Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology

COSDEC Community skills development centre

DANCED Danish Cooperation for Environment and Development

DFID Department for International Development (UK)

DRFN Desert Research Foundation of Namibia

DP Development partner

EC European Commission

ECD Early childhood development

ECU Efficiency and Charter Unit

EDF9 Ninth European Development Fund

EDS Educator Development and Support

EFA Education for All

ELTDP English Language Teacher Development Project

EMIS Education Management Information System

EMT Executive Management Team (of the Ministry of BasicEducation)




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EPI Educational Programme Implementation (Directorate in theMBESC)

EPP Educational Project Planning (unit in PAD)

ESM Education sector ministry

ESP Education Sector Programme

ESPAG Education Sector Planning Advisory Group

ESPS Education sector programme support (actually, sub-sectorsupport)

ESPTF Education Sector Programme Task Force

FIN Finance Division of the Ministry

FP Funding proposal

GDP Gross domestic product

GER Gross enrolment ratio

GRN Government of the Republic of Namibia

GtZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit

HEC Higher Education Council

HIGCSE Higher International General Certificate of SecondaryEducation

HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune DeficiencySyndrome

HRD Human resource development

IBIS Membership-based and independent Danish developmentorganization

IFMS Integrated Financial Management System




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IIEP International Institute for Educational Planning

IGCSE International General Certificate of Secondary Education

IMF International Monetary Fund

IPPR Institute for Public Policy Research

ISCBF Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building Facility

JAR Joint Annual Review (of the education sector)

MBEC Ministry of Basic Education and Culture (1995-2001)

MBESC Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture (2001-present)

MC Management Committee (of the MHETEC)

MEC Ministry of Education and Culture (1991-1995)

MECYS Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (1990-1991)

MHETEC Ministry of Higher Education, Training and EmploymentCreation (2001 to present)

MHEVTST Ministry of Higher Education, Vocational Training, Science andTechnology (1995-2001)

MIB Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

MOF Ministry of Finance

MoU Memorandum of Understanding

MPCC Management and Policy Co-ordinating Committee

MRLGH Ministry of Regional, and Local Government and Housing

MTEF Medium term expenditure framework

MTP Medium-term plan

MWACW Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Welfare




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MYS Ministry of Youth and Sport (1991-2001)

NAD Namibia Dollar

NAMAS Namibia Association of Norway

NAMCOL Namibian College of Open Learning

NATCOM Namibian National Commission for UNESCO

NDP National Development Plan (e.g. NDP1, NDP2)

NER Net enrolment ratio

NGO Non-governmental organization

NHRDP Namibia Human Resource Development Programme

NIED National Institute for Educational Development (Directorateof MBESC)

NPC(S) National Planning Commission (Secretariat)

NPRAP National Poverty Reduction Action Programme

NQA Namibian Qualifications Authority

NSFAF Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund

NTA Namibian Training Authority

O/M/A Office, ministry or agency

OAG Office of the Auditor General

OPM Office of the Prime Minister

PAD Directorate of Planning and Development (of MBESC)

PEMP Performance and Effectiveness Management Programme

PETS Public expenditure tracking system

PIU Project (Programme) Implementation Unit




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PSC Public Service Commission

SEK Swedish crown (currency)

Sida Swedish International Development Agency

SIP School Improvement Plan

SoI Statement of intent

SPAG Strategic Planning Advisory Group (of MBESC)

SRF State Revenue Fund

SWAp Sector-wide approach

SWAPO South West African People’s Organization

TA Technical assistance/assistant

TF Task force

UIS UNESCO Institute of Statistics

UNAM University of Namibia

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNIN United Nations Institute for Namibia

VTC Vocational training centre



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List of tables

Table 1.1 Selected populations census indicators, 1991 and 2001

Table 1.2 Namibia real GDP growth and projections,2000/2001-2005/2006

Table 2.1 Education indicators from the National Population Census

Table 2.2 School-going population by region

Table 2.3 Net and gross enrolment ratios (2001)

Table 2.4 Regional disparities in the school system

Table 2.5 Projected education spending from the State Revenue Fund

Table 2.6 International donor support to the MBESC

Table 3.1 Tasks in preparation for a joint GRN and DP consultativemeeting

Table 3.2 Seven priority objectives for improving efficiency andeffectiveness

Table 3.3 Proposed process indicators for ESP monitoring



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List of figures

Figure 3.1 Management of the ESPS

Figure 3.2 Management of the ESP

Figure 3.3 The budget cycle



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Executive summary

It is widely recognized that the modalities of external aid should be reviewedand reformed with a view to enhancing its effectiveness. Experience of thepast decades has shown that developing countries that are recipients of aidhave often been driven by donors’ agendas and priorities. Evidence also showsthat many externally funded projects have been designed and implemented inways that have undermined national ownership and national institution building.The project mode has been the dominant mode, characterized by the existenceof several unco-ordinated projects within a specific sector. The negativeeffects of such an approach are well documented. As an alternative, newapproaches have been advocated. The sector-wide approach (SWAp) hasbeen proposed as one of the strategies for enhancing aid effectiveness, donorco-ordination and coherent sector development under the nationalgovernment’s leadership and ownership. During recent years Namibia hasembarked on a SWAp process within the education sector. The process isstill in its early stages and in constant evolution. This study, divided into fivechapters, attempts to analyze and describe that process. It highlights some ofits dynamics and draws some general conclusions.

National characteristics

Namibia freed itself from colonial rule in 1990. The country is politicallystable, with a multi-party democracy. The country is divided into13 administrative regions, each with an elected regional council. A number ofcentral functions, including education, are in the process of being transferredto the regional councils.




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The country lies on the arid west coast of southern Africa, coveringover 800,000 square kilometres. It has a population of 1.83 million, which hasgrown on average by 2.6 per cent per annum over the past decade. Thereare 396,000 children attending primary school and a further 133,000 attendingsecondary school. The net enrolment ratio for children of primary school agewas slightly less than 90 per cent in 2001. The well-being of the population isseriously threatened by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The economy is largely dependent upon mining and the export of rawproducts. Efforts have been made to add value to materials before export.The country also has a healthy tourism industry. The gross domestic productin 2002/03 amounted to 32 billion Namibian dollars (NAD), showing realgrowth of 3.1 per cent, with an inflation rate of 11 per cent. Governmentintroduced a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) approach tobudgeting in 2001, and as of 2004 all ministries are required to producemedium-term plans in alignment with the MTEF. Namibia has a five-yearnational development plan extending to 2006, and has a national povertyreduction action plan. One of the major objectives of national planning is toreduce the severe disparities in disposable income and to provide moreequitably for the northern regions of the country, which were the mostneglected under colonial rule.

Education sector

At independence the country was served by one ministry of education.At present there are two ministries, one for basic and the other for highereducation. There are several overlaps between the two ministries’ mandatesand activities, which calls for closer collaboration and co-ordination withinthe education sector. The development of a joint sector plan would constitutea strong base for stronger co-operation and integrated planning for the wholesector.



Executive summary

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In 1999, the Presidential Commission on Education, Culture and Trainingmade a wide range of recommendations for improving the efficiency andeffectiveness of education at all levels. Many of the recommendations wereincluded in the strategic plans which the two ministries developedindependently of each other: the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture(MBESC) over the period 1999 to 2001, and the Ministry of Higher Education,Training and Employment Creation (MHETEC) during 2001. Only the HIV/AIDS component of the plan was developed jointly. The plans, particularly ofthe MBESC, have been criticized as being over-ambitious and not takingadequate account of available financial and human resources for theirimplementation. The total education budget in 2002/03 amounted to NAD2.7 billion, or 8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The contributionof development partners has accounted for less than 5 per cent of the budget.Projected growth in the budget over the coming years indicates that theMHETEC will attract an increasing share of the budget at the expense of theMBESC. This situation calls for a more co-operative approach to planningand prioritizing within the sector.

Sector-wide approach (SWAp)

The education ministries have accepted a definition of SWAp as amechanism where all significant funding supports a single sector plan undergovernment leadership. If it is not possible to use solely government proceduresfor disbursing and accounting for funds in the short run, there ought to besteady progress towards complete reliance on and use of governmentprocedures and structures.

The MBESC entered into a sub-sector funding arrangement with theSwedish International Development Agency (Sida), the Netherlands and theDepartment for International Development (UK) (DFID) in 2000, pendingthe elaboration of a more comprehensive and budgeted strategic plan. Inimplementing the ‘education sector programme support’ government




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procedures were followed, except for DFID funds. One of the features ofthe programme was that a common reporting mechanism would be used forall three development partners. The Ministry proved unable to absorb theavailable funds at the rate it had predicted. Problems were also experiencedwith the quality and timeliness of reports.

A strategic planning advisory group was established as a forum fordiscussion between the Ministry and development partners and representativesof the central ministries. The MHETEC also participated in the discussions.

The European Commission (EC) has been supporting the education sectorthrough a project mode whereby funds were channelled outside the staterevenue fund. With the completion of the project and in preparation for newsupport, the EC expressed an interest in associating with Sida for a sector-wide venture from the start of the 2003 financial year. A scoping study wasundertaken in 2001 and an appraisal of the sector, followed by a joint sectorreview, in 2002. The 2002 review agreed on the broad principles of a Statementof Intent (SoI), with a view to developing a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) between the government and those development partners willing tosupport the SWAp. The strategic planning advisory group was expanded intoan education sector planning advisory group, with the MBESC and MHETECas equal partners.

An Education Sector Programme Task Force (ESPTF) wasestablished to prepare a funding proposal to the EC and Sida, which wouldtake into account the conditions of the development partners for sector funding.Financing agreements were signed in September 2003 following the secondannual review of the sector. As the process evolved, the education ministriesundertook to work gradually towards harmonizing their strategic plans. Atentative agreement was reached on the role of indicators in monitoringimplementation, and a small number of indicators were selected for thispurpose. It was agreed that there should be one set of indicators for measuring



Executive summary

27

progress in the sector, and that the different sets of indicators currently beingused to satisfy central ministries and development partners should berationalized.

Although the bulk of the funds from Sida and the EC were to go into thestate revenue fund as un-earmarked support to the sector, some funding wasreserved for an institutional strengthening and capacity-building facility toenable technical assistance to be hired without going through cumbersomegovernment procedures. This arrangement is contrary to the spirit of a SWAp.

While the SWAp was being explored by the two education ministries,the MHETEC was also working with a team from the World Bank ondetermining what changes would need to be made to the education system ifNamibia is to become a knowledge-based economy. In October 2003, theCabinet agreed that the World Bank could be approached for a loan and forfurther assistance in developing an education and culture sector improvementprogramme.

Lessons learned

The initiative for the SWAp came from development partners, and muchof the detailed work that was done in the process of planning and implementingthe SWAp was the result of donor prompting. However, the impetus given bythe Presidential Commission and the National Planning Commission (NPC)towards achieving greater coherence in the plans of the ministries and thedevelopment of plans which was already taking place meant that the ministriesmore readily perceived the advantages of a SWAp and were prepared tolearn from the wider experience of the development partners.

The promise that a SWAp would bring about a reduction in transactioncosts and reduce the workload of ministry staff has thus far proved unfounded.Transaction costs have, if anything, been higher than they would have been if




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donors had continued to work in a project mode. However, there have beenadvantages for the ministries which they might otherwise have foregone inachieving stronger co-operation between themselves and in engaging moreeffectively with the central ministries.

Drawing up medium-term plans as required by the Ministry of Finance(MOF) proved to be a difficult exercise. Four factors contributed to this:(a) the MOF provided insufficient training in medium-term planning;(b) ministry staff had on the whole not attempted to engage realistically withthe financial dimension of their planning; (c) there was uncertainty as to howthe civil service pay increase would influence the MTEF ceilings; and (d)there was uncertainty as to when development partner funds would beavailable and what they would be worth with the unpredictable exchangerate.

The working relationship between ministry staff and developmentpartners was on the whole open, and effective communication took place.The ministries derived less benefit than they might have from the exchangesin meetings such as the Strategic Planning Advisory Group (SPAG), theEducation Sector Planning Advisory Group (ESPAG) and ESPTF owing toerratic attendance by too small a contingent of members. To some extent thiswas inevitable because of other demands being made on the time of staffmembers. The development partners looked for much greater participationby the senior management of the two ministries. This level of participationcould be justified to the extent that managing the sector programme wouldcoincide with the normal business of the Ministry.

The Institutional Strengthening and Capacity-Building Facility (ISCBF)is an instance where one of the development partners had apparently decidedin advance that there would be money kept outside the state revenue fund,even though this is contrary to the principles of a SWAp. Since the ministriesreadily accepted the proposal, and indeed several ministry representatives



Executive summary

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had formerly complained about the delays experienced in using governmentprocedures to recruit consultants, it cannot be said that the ministries werecoerced. Development partners were at pains to point out that capacity-building should not focus narrowly on training individuals, but should strengthenthe institution.

Whether the ministries have the capacity to absorb the funds that arebeing provided remains to be seen. The experience with the education sectorprogramme support (ESPS) suggests that there is still much to be learntabout realistic planning which takes into account the human resources requiredfor implementation. The question of whether the funds are genuinely additionalto what government would have given or whether some substitution has takenplace remains an important issue. It is evident that senior staff need to havea greater understanding of macro-budgeting principles.

In the light of the unsatisfactory experience to date of the MBESC intrying to establish a system of regular reporting by all directorates on strategicplan implementation, commitments made by the ministries on reporting onplan implementation will require strong management if they are to come tofruition.

There is the danger that the programme development with the WorldBank will become a parallel activity to the sector-wide planning of the twoministries, even if the same staff members are involved in both sets of activities.There will need to be strong guidance at the highest level if such a situation isto be avoided. If this does not happen, much of the work done in the sectorprogramme will become redundant as a higher profile is likely to be given tothe work with the World Bank.



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Conclusions

Engagement in a SWAp has been beneficial to the working relationshipbetween the two ministries. Working relationships with the central ministries– especially the MOF – need further strengthening.

Because the move to a SWAp has coincided with other governmentand ministry initiatives, including the development of strategic plans andmedium-term expenditure plans, it is not possible to determine precisely whichlessons the ministries have learnt from the SWAp and which they have learntfrom the other initiatives. Similarly, it is not possible to isolate all transactioncosts. In general, it is safe to argue that the ministries’ own strategic planningconstituted a good starting-point for a new type of relationship and dialogueamong all stakeholders.

Even if one of the underlying principles of a SWAp is to place thegovernment ‘in the driver’s seat’, development partners’ conditions, such asthose on the timing of audits, cannot be rejected by government. Ownershipis necessarily shared as long as there is a partnership.

The education and culture sector improvement programme, in whichthe World Bank will be involved, may be seen either as a threat to the educationsector programme within the SWAp or as an opportunity, depending on howit is managed and on the extent to which the government will be able genuinelyto exercise its leadership.



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Chapter 1Introduction

1.1 Introduction of a sector-wide approach in the education sector

The introduction of a sector-wide approach (SWAp) in relation to externalaid is an attempt to reduce the disadvantages associated with the projectparadigm, formerly the dominant model for donor assistance. The negativeeffects of the latter approach are well documented (Pavignani, 2001: 2; Schmidt,2001: 6). Projects have often been driven by donors’ agendas and priorities,and have frequently been implemented in such a way that they have underminednational ownership and national institution building. Sustainability has seldombeen addressed in project design. More recently the sector-wide approach(SWAp) has been advocated as a strategy for enhancing aid effectiveness,coherent sector development and donor co-ordination. The Namibianeducation sector has, over the past five years, been moving steadily in thedirection of a SWAp, involving both of the education ministries. Whilerecognizing that the process is still in a state of evolution, this study attemptsto describe and analyze that process and highlight some of its dynamics.

In 2000 a programme of support for the basic education sub-sector viathe State Revenue Fund (SRF) was introduced. Sida and the Netherlandschannelled their funding through the SRF, while DFID decided to keep theircontribution outside the SRF. As the sub-sector did not have a coherent strategicplan, project documents were prepared especially for the programme. In 2001the European Commission (EC) took steps towards joining in a SWAp withSida. From this point on both education ministries were affected. This processculminated in the signing of finance agreements in September 2003.




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At the time that this study was undertaken, Namibia was in the earlystages of experimenting with a SWAp. It is important to note that sinceindependence in 1990, the education system has been undergoing a continuousand systematic reform process. The country has not been subjected to structuraladjustment, nor was it a highly indebted country. Donor support formed asmall proportion (less than 5 per cent) of the national budget.

1.2 Methodology of the study

The author of the study served as Director of Planning and Developmentin the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture (MBESC) from late1996 to late 2003, where he was privileged to be an active participant in theplanning and implementation of the sub-sector programme and in the planningof the SWAp. The perspective of the study is that of an insider. Whereverpossible, recollection has been checked against relevant documents orconfirmation sought from others who were involved in the process. The studyalso used information from the wealth of materials and studies which havebeen done by a number of consultants, researchers and agencies. However,it is important to recognize that the planning and implementation of the SWApin Namibia is an ongoing process and new lessons are being drawn as theprocess moves forward.

It has been considered necessary to give a rather detailed description ofthe sector’s movement along the path of a SWAp. Without the detail, it couldbe understood that progress has been steady, if somewhat slow, when in factthere have been many detours and distractions. Problems not resolved whenthey first emerged have led to delays. Lack of continuity from one meeting tothe next has retarded progress. And a lack of understanding of ‘sector-wide’in the process has led both to unrealistic expectations and a failure to makerapid advances. These generalizations will be discussed in detail, particularlyin Chapters 3 and 4. The description of the national and educational contextprovides an essential backdrop.



Introduction

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1.3 The broad national context

Since educational policy and practice are determined to a large extentby the environment in which they are designed, it is necessary beforedescribing the characteristics of the educational system to outline some ofthe significant features of the broad national context.

The historical context

Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990.Prior to this, and despite Resolution 435 of the United Nations Security Council,Namibia had been administered as a fifth province of South Africa, subject tothe same apartheid legislation, until the late 1970s, when some concessionswere made in an apparent attempt to present an alternative to the policies ofthe South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO) in exile. Followingfree and fair elections, the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia was draftedby a multi-party committee (41 SWAPO members; 31 from other parties).

The geographic context

The country, covering roughly 823,680 square kilometres, lies on thewest coast of southern Africa, between the seventeenth and twenty-ninthparallels of latitude. The enclave of Walvis Bay was transferred from SouthAfrica to Namibia in 1994. Namibia’s neighbours are South Africa to thesouth, Botswana to the east, and Angola and Zambia to the north. The boundaryof Zimbabwe meets those of Namibia, Zambia and Botswana at the easternmostpoint of the Caprivi Region of Namibia. In 2002 approximately 43 per cent ofthe land was freehold, 39 per cent communal land, and 18 per cent belongedto the State. Nature reserves and national parks accounted for around 14.1 percent of the land and declared conservancies for a further 9.6 per cent. Onlysome 3,000 km2 of the land was under cultivation, the balance of farmlandbeing devoted to stock or game farming (Mendelsohn, Jarvis, Roberts and




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Robertson, 2002: 9, 11). Despite the aridity of the country, 87 per cent ofhouseholds had access to safe water (NPC, 2003: 4).

Demographic trends

National population and housing censuses were conducted in 1991 and2001. The reported population of 1.83 million in 2001 showed an averageannual increase of 2.6 per cent on the 1991 population of 1.4 million. In2001, 51 per cent of the population was female. Life expectancy at birth forfemales had declined from 63 years in 1991 to 50 years in 2001, and formales from 59 years to 48 years, largely on account of the HIV/AIDSpandemic. Deaths increased by 80 per cent between 1999 and 2001. In thelatter year 12.2 per cent of children under the age of 15 years had beenorphaned by one parent and 1.3 per cent by both parents (NPC, 2003: 4, 18,21, 69, 75).

In 2001, 27 per cent of the population was urban, but of every fivepersons usually residing in urban areas, two had not been born there (NPC,2003: 77), indicating a significant trend of migration from rural areas. “Morethan two-thirds of migrants move into urban areas in search of employment”.The unemployment rate was 31 per cent for those 15 years of age or older(NPC, n.d.: 114).

A selection of population indicators is presented in Table 1.1.



Introduction

35

Table 1.1 Selected population census indicators, 1991 and 2001

Indicators 1991 2001

Population sizeTotal 1,409,920 1,830,330Female 723,593 942,572Male 686,327 887,721

Growth rate 3.1 % 2.6 %

Percentage recorded in urban areas 28 % 33 %

Sex ratio: males per 100 females 95 94

Population density: persons per square kilometre 1.7 2.1

Fertility: average number of children per woman 6.1 4.1

MortalityInfant deaths per 1,000 live births

Females 49Males 55

Life expectancy at birth, yearsFemales 63 50Males 59 48

Source: NPC, 2003: 4.

The political and administrative context

In 2003, Namibia was a multi-party democracy with an executivePresident and a bicameral legislative structure. Members of the NationalAssembly were elected on a party list system. Each of the 13 administrativeregions of the country had an elected Regional Council, one representativebeing elected in each constituency of the region. The councillors of eachregion elected two of their number to serve in the National Council. Provisionwas also made for local authorities (MIB, 1990: Articles 32, 45, 46, 69, 106,111), and under the Second National Development Plan (NDP2) one of theobjectives was to proclaim additional towns and villages (NPC, n.d.: 515).




36

As provided for in Article 108 of the Constitution, and to promotedemocracy and development (MRLGH, 1997: 1), Parliament passed legislation(in 2000) allowing central government to decentralize selected functions toregional and local administrations (GRN, 2000a). It was believed thatdemocratic participation would lead to ownership and sustainability and wouldin the long run be cost effective (MRLGH, 1997: 1-2). The approach wasintended initially to allow delegation of certain functions, with the line ministryproviding the budget, seconding personnel, and accepting final responsibility.As competence was built in the regional or local administration, the relevantfunctions would be devolved to the regional or local authority, with the transferof the staff who had been seconded. Although the MRLGH provided a list offunctions to be decentralized (MRLGH, 1997: 36-41), the final determinationof functions was to be left to line ministries according to a set of criteria:(a) scale; (b) proximity to community; (c) sensitivity to community input;(d) directness of the relationship between revenue and services;(e) dependence of function on community involvement; and (f) amenabilityto community management (MRLGH, 1997: 29-31).

Line ministries were expected to draft decentralization plans for thefunctions they intended to decentralize. Cross-ministerial task forces were setup in December 2001 under the guidance of the MRLGH to prepare uniformguidelines on financial transfers, personnel, training, accommodation anddevelopment budgeting, and to identify legislation which would need to beamended. Much of the work of the task forces was completed by the end of2003. Since some of the detail of ministerial decentralization plans wasdependent upon information from the cross-ministerial task forces, all of theplans originally submitted were likely to require some modification beforeimplementation was possible (NPC, n.d.: 728). In the course of 2003 theposition of Chief Executive Officer in the regional administrations, which hadbeen filled at deputy director level, was upgraded to the level of under-secretary. The model regional structure provided for four directorates, oneeach for education, health, general services, and planning and development.



Introduction

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Recognizing that the colonial legacy had left several regions, particularlythe more populous ones in the north of the country, with little infrastructure,provision was made for a trust fund which would provide additionaldevelopmental financing and capacity-building to those regions and localauthorities most in need (GRN, 2000c). As indicated in the title of the act, itwould be used to minimize the inequities among regions. The regulationswhich would make this act operable were drafted during 2002 and 2003.

The array of functions proposed for decentralization to local authorities,though greater in number, was more restricted in scope. Whereas all regionaladministrations were at much the same level of development since all hadbeen established at the same time, some of the local authorities had built upyears of sound administrative experience and operated budgets larger thanthose of many line ministries, while others had little experience.

The economic context

The Namibian economy is largely dependent on natural resources,particularly mining, fishing and agriculture. Most of the minerals mined –diamonds, uranium, gold, zinc and copper – are exported without any additionof value, with the exception of diamonds since the establishment of a cuttingfactory in Namibia. Fishing stocks show seasonal variations and there havebeen incidents of poaching in Namibia’s territorial waters. Value is added tocatches in local processing and canning factories. Agriculture, with meat,maize, millet and sorghum being the main products, has frequently beenaffected by unpredictable rainfall and droughts. Only small areas of farmlandare near dependable cheap sources of water, for example along the northernborder where water can be drawn from the Kavango and Zambezi rivers, orthe southern border, where water is drawn from the Orange River. Sincemuch of the population living in the communal areas is dependent onsubsistence farming, droughts have necessitated costly governmentinterventions. Meat, which was formerly exported live to abattoirs inneighbouring countries, has increasingly been slaughtered and processed in




38

Namibia. The ostrich meat industry has been steadily expanding (MOF, 2003a:para. 23). Among the agricultural sector objectives under the Second NationalDevelopment Plan (NDP2) is the enhancement of production at national andhousehold levels in order to decrease the volume and value of agriculturalimports (NPC, n.d.: 199). It is expected that primary industries, and principallymining, would show strong growth over the medium term (MOF, 2003a:para. 20).

Construction, apart from a slump in 1999 (NPC, n.d.: 66), has been amajor contributor to the secondary industry sector. Manufacturing of textiles,food and beverages is expected to increase, as well as smelting of base metals(MOF, 2003a: para. 26).

In the tertiary sector main contributors have been the tourism industry,transport and communication, and government services, a trend which isexpected to continue (MOF, 2003a: para. 32, 33).

The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)

The MTEF is intended to be a tool that will enable government to matchbudgetary allocations to policy priorities. Given that there is never sufficientfunding to meet all demands, the approach takes a top-down look at all availableresources (the ‘resource envelope’), a bottom-up look at current and medium-term costs of existing policy, and through a process of dialogue attempts tomatch the two (Le Houerou and Taliercio, 2002: 2). The process is intendedto force the players to prioritize the activities that are most essential to theimplementation of policy and to look at increasing internal efficiency whereverpossible before requesting budgetary increases. A supposed advantage to theline ministry of the approach is that the size of the resource envelope isknown well in advance of the new fiscal year, allowing adequate time withinthe ministry for negotiation of how the funds will be allocated. Where theresource envelope is inadequate, the ministry is compelled to review itspriorities and options for increasing efficiency.



Introduction

39

In Namibia the MTEF approach was introduced for the 2001/02 fiscalyear. The approach was modified the following year. The third MTEF, thatfor 2003/04, was the first to use “cash (nominal) expenditure ceilings set inthe previous year’s Budget” (MOF, 2003c: Foreword). The 2003/04 to 2005/06 MTEF is structured around the following sections: (a) introduction;(b) economic outlook; (c) fiscal developments; (d) policies underpinning thebudget; (e) fiscal policy outlook; and (f) achieving the government’s objectives.

In the section on economic outlook, information is provided on growth inthe gross domestic product (GDP), as reflected in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2 Namibia real GDP growth and projections,2000/2001-2005/2006

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06

GDP NAD million 24,806 28,158 32,116 36,688 41,702 46,831(current prices)

Real inflation 9.3% 9.8% 11.0% 10.0% 9.1% 8.1%

GDP growth 2.1% 2.5% 3.1% 4.2% 4.6% 4.3%

Source: MOF, 2003c: 6, where it is noted that the information is drawn from National Accountsfor 2001 and Bank of Namibia forecasts.

Operational and capital budget details are given in the section on fiscalpolicy outlook. One table sets out the operational budget by vote, indicatingon a separate line an amount set aside for a civil service pay increase. Thetable setting out the development budget is organized by sector, not by vote,and includes some donor contributions as well as government funds. Fromthese tables it was thus not possible for a ministry to be sure of its finalallocation for the current year, or for the subsequent years of the three-yearperiod. The corresponding table in the estimates of revenue and expenditurefor the current year gives the share of the development budget per ministry,but still without indicating how the amount budgeted for the salary increase isto be shared among ministries (MOF, 2003b: 23).




40

The allocation to social services represented 35 per cent of the 2003/04budget (MOF, 2003a: 28).

Appended to the MTEF are the ‘PEMP frameworks’. These arematrices, per main division of the budget (i.e. by line ministry), setting out theoutcomes and performance measures of the Performance and EffectivenessManagement Programme (PEMP). The main set of measures in each tableis related to the Second National Development Plan (NDP2), listing insuccessive columns the objectives, the NDP targets, and ‘other’ targets.1

For each of the measures the line ministry was required to submit baselinefigures and where possible, ‘forecasts’ for subsequent years. These figureswere not included in the matrices,2 but were intended to form the basis formuch of the discussion during the annual budget hearings. The budget hearingfor the 2003/04 budget was the first occasion on which PEMP measureswere included in the discussion, but since only baseline data has been requiredat that stage, it had no influence on budgetary allocations. The intention wasthat from the budget hearing for the 2004/05 budget, ministries would berequired to interpret the extent to which the most recent data availablerepresented progress towards achieving the objectives, or, in other words,the extent to which the funds allocated had been efficiently and effectivelyutilized by the line ministry (MOF, 2003a: para. 44). The initial developmentof the PEMP concept was undertaken by the Efficiency and Charter Unit(ECU) in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

As a further elaboration of the MTEF, each ministry or operating agencywas required from the 2003/04 financial year to develop a medium-term plan

1. The PEMP matrices for the two education ministries will be presented in Appendix IV.

2. The document setting out the measures has an awkward format. Since the MTEF matrixis already two-dimensional, logically the figures for each year would have to be layered ina three-dimensional matrix. The solution has been to establish a second matrix with eachcell (or sub-cell) of the main matrix being listed in the first column, the second columnbeing used for base-line data, and subsequent columns for subsequent years.



Introduction

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(MTP), setting out in some detail the way in which the ceiling amount in theMTEF would be allocated to the various programmes of the ministry, anddistributed among personnel expenses, other current expenses, anddevelopment expenses (MOF, 2003c: para. 6.4, 6.5).

Apart from the main budget, tabled in Parliament around the start of thefinancial year (which in Namibia runs from 1 April to 31 March of the followingyear), an ‘additional’ budget was tabled each year to correct inaccurateforecasts of revenue and expenditure. This was an opportunity for ministriesto submit requests for unforeseen expenditure. Unless the anticipated additionalexpenditure was the result of factors genuinely outside the control of theministry,3 the request was generally turned down. The additional budget wasalso the occasion when donor funding via the SRF and expenditure related tothis additional funding was tabled for approval, generally because the donor’sfinancial year did not match that of Namibia, and funding agreements wereconsequently signed too late for the main budget. In the additional budget forthe 2003/04 fiscal year, the MOF noted “a gross reduction of N$1.2 billion onthe 2003/04 revised tax revenue estimate compared to the Main Budgetestimate” (MOF, 2003e: para. 2.24). The main reason cited for the over-estimation of revenue was the strengthening of the Namibian dollar4 againstmajor currencies such as the United States dollar, which had as a consequencea reduction in tax from diamond mining and other exported commodities. Theoverall consequence was that ministries were asked to identify possible savingsto partly cover the shortfall. To the extent that savings could not be identified,the budget deficit was increased.

3. For example, a contract with a catering company for supplying food to school hostelsmight make provisions for an increase in the event of an increase in the fuel price. Sincethe amount of such an increase would not be known at the time that the contract wasdrawn up, provision for the increase could not be made in the main budget.

4. The Namibian dollar is linked at parity to the South African rand.




42

The 2003/04 additional budget was also used to redistribute the allocationof NAD 303.2 million which had been listed in the main budget as provisionfor the improvement of the remuneration structure of civil servants (MOF,2003c: Table 12).

National development planning

The National Planning Commission (NPC) steered the preparation ofthree national development plans. The first was an ‘intermediate’ plan. Thefirst National Development Plan (NDP1) covered the period April 1995 toMarch 2000, and the second the period April 2001 to March 2006. Draftbackground chapters, after preparation by the NPC, were discussed inworkshops with those who would be required to draft the sectoral and cross-cutting chapters. Draft chapters submitted by ministries and other agencieswere revised after a further round of workshops, and the final product wasedited by the NPC before being submitted to Cabinet. Cross-cutting issuesinclude, for example, poverty reduction, sustainable resource management,and decentralization.

Theoretically, any ministry’s own plans would be an elaboration of theapproved objectives and targets in the national development plan. In the caseof NDP2, however, the process was so delayed that the almost completestrategic plan of the MBESC was used to generate the input to the nationalplan. For continuity with NDP1, NDP2 should have covered the period 2000to 2005, but because of the delay in preparation, the time-frame was amendedto 2001 to 2006, with the period April 2000 to March 2001 falling betweenNDP1 and NDP2.

Poverty reduction

In 1998 the Cabinet approved a Poverty reduction strategy forNamibia (NPC, 1998). Referring to 1993 and 1994 data the document notedthat “the richest 7,000 Namibians were estimated to spend as much as the



Introduction

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poorest 800,000 combined”; that “47 per cent of Namibia’s 1994 population(i.e. over 650,000 people) were poor”;5 and that “over two-thirds of the poorlive in the Northern parts of the country” (NPC, 1998: 3). Thus, apart fromthe highly inequitable distribution of wealth among individuals, there was astrong regional imbalance.

Three areas were identified as the focus for poverty reduction:(a) delivering public services more equitably and efficiently; (b) acceleratingequitable agricultural expansion; (c) expanding non-agricultural economicempowerment, with an emphasis on the informal sector (NPC, 1998: 2).

The National Poverty Reduction Action Programme (NPRAP), developedon the basis of the strategy paper, was published in December 2002 (NPC,2002). It discusses, inter alia, education and capacity-building, incomegeneration, safety net grants, making best use of public resources, andmonitoring and reviewing progress and proposes 63 specific actions groupedunder 14 headings (NPC, 2002: 9-15). The eight actions which fall within theeducation sector will be elaborated below in Section 2.7.5.

1.4 Conclusion

Strongly influenced by the social injustices of the past, the drafters ofthe Namibian Constitution produced a document that stressed the rights ofindividuals, one of these being the right to education. Since independence in1990, the government has made concerted efforts to eliminate the inequitiesof the past. However, with slow economic growth and widespreadunemployment, the productive sector has not been able fully to support theambitious programme for development as reflected in the five-year nationaldevelopment plans and the poverty reduction action programme. Against thisbackground the following chapter describes the education sector.

5. Using the definition that a household is ‘poor’ if over 60 per cent of its expenditure is onfood.



45

Chapter 2The educational context

2.1 Introduction

This chapter describes the education system and the reforms that wereintroduced in the years following independence. In 1999 a presidentialcommission reviewed the first decade of education in an independent Namibiaand provided important recommendations for the next ten years, includingthe need for better co-ordination in the sector. Influenced by the commission’sreport, as well as the national planning context, the education ministriesdeveloped their strategic plans. The financial constraints faced by the sectorare described, as well as efforts of capacity development.

2.2 Overall management framework

In the 13 years following independence there were several reallocationsof the areas of responsibility of the education ministries. At independence asingle education ministry was created: the Ministry of Education, Culture,Youth and Sport (MECYS). In 1991 the Ministry was split in two: the Ministryof Education and Culture (MEC), and the Ministry of Youth and Sport (MYS).In 1995 the MEC was split into the Ministry of Basic Education and Culture(MBEC) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Vocational Training, Scienceand Technology (MHEVTST). In 2001 the MYS was dismantled, the ‘Youth’section going to ‘Higher Education’ and the ‘Sport’ section to ‘BasicEducation’. The resulting ministries were renamed Ministry of BasicEducation, Sport and Culture (MBESC), and Ministry of Higher Education,Training and Employment Creation (MHETEC). Most of these changesresulted in some loss of momentum, as staff members had to adapt to the




46

management style of a new team, as new staff members were recruited fornew responsibilities, and as some institutional memory was lost. Despite thechanges, there was a large measure of stability in political leadership,6 ensuringconsistency in the broad policy direction.

Responsibility for early childhood development (ECD) was initiallyassigned to the Ministry of Regional, Local Government and Housing(MRLGH), and subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Women Affairsand Child Welfare (MWACW). From the outset the education ministry(MECYS, MEC, MBEC, MBESC) was responsible for curriculumdevelopment for ECD and for assistance with the training of teachers.

2.3 The reform process

The reform process started before independence. SWAPO members inexile working at the United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) had, asearly as 1981, developed a language policy for an independent Namibia (UNIN,1981). In 1989, by which time it was apparent that free elections would beheld in Namibia, SWAPO organized a conference in Lusaka, Zambia, onteacher education in an independent Namibia (UNIN, 1989). In 1990, asSWAPO of Namibia’s Secretary for Education and Culture, a document waspublished (Angula7, 1990), briefly covering the broad goals of education, thestructure, organization and administration of the educationsystem, thecurriculum, and the reform process. The document was prefaced with aquotation from the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and went onto quote from the Constitution in its discussion of the national educational

6. The Minister, Deputy Minister and Permanent Secretary responsible for the originalMECYS, and who went with the newly created MHEVTST in 1995, were still leadingthat ministry in 2003; the team of Minister, Deputy Minister and Permanent Secretary,assigned to the MBEC in 1995, remained with the MBESC.

7. Minister of Education after independence, successively responsible for the MECYS,MEC, MHEVTST, and MHETEC.



The educational context

47

goals (Angula, 1990: 4-6). Principles underlying the reform process were tobe:

1. The democratization of society and its education system.2. The provision of a balanced education content which would prepare

learners to face up to the demands of the future society, technology andenvironment.

3. The articulation of methodologies which would enhance participatorylearning and functional application of concepts, understandings and skills.

4. Establishment of a professional back-up system to support thedevelopment of education and the media of instruction.

5. Evolution of an administrative and delivery system which wouldcontinuously interact with the society and local community (Angula,1990: 22).

Even before the Jomtien Conference on Education for All, compulsoryprimary education was envisaged as a goal for Namibia (Angula, 1990: 5).8

The 1980 colonial education act (South West Africa, 1980), with a numberof sections repealed, was initially to provide the legislative foundation foreducation, but experimentation within the parameters set by the Constitutionwas encouraged. A new education act was envisaged as a ‘long-term’ measure(Angula, 1990: 22-23); it was only at the end of 2001 that new legislation forbasic education was passed (GRN, 2001). A further year elapsed beforeregulations under the Act were gazetted (GRN, 2002).

The reform process is described further under the next two headings,‘Structures’ and ‘Policy and curriculum’. Article 20 of the Constitution isgiven in Box 1.

8. Following Article 20(2) of the Constitution.




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Structures

Prior to independence there had been ten ethnic administrations, eachexercising control over education, and one ‘national’ education department.Several of the ethnic administrations operated exclusively or almost exclusivelyin geographical areas defined by the ‘Bantu homeland’ system. The ‘national’

Box 1. Article 20 of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia

1. All persons shall have the right to education.2. Primary education shall be compulsory and the State shall provide reasonable

facilities to render effective this right for every resident within Namibia, byestablishing and maintaining State schools at which primary education willbe provided free of charge.

3. Children shall not be allowed to leave school until they have completedtheir primary education or have attained the age of sixteen (16) years,whichever is the sooner, save in so far as this may be authorised by Act ofParliament on grounds of health or other considerations pertaining to thepublic interest.

4. All persons shall have the right, at their own expense, to establish and tomaintain private schools, or colleges or other institutions of tertiaryeducation provided that:a) Such schools, colleges or institutions of tertiary education are

registered with a government department in accordance with any lawauthorising and regulating such registration;

b) The standards maintained by such schools, colleges or institutionsof tertiary education are not inferior to the standards maintained incomparable schools, colleges or institutions of tertiary educationfunded by the State;

c) No restrictions of whatever nature are imposed with respect to theadmission of pupils based on race, colour or creed;

d) No restrictions of whatever nature are imposed with respect to therecruitment of staff based on race or colour.




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department, apart from directly administering Black schools in some urbanareas, schools for San children, and registering and subsidizing private schools,administered a large subject advisory service, which was available to any ofthe ethnic administrations. All administrations, with the exception of theAdministration for Whites, received such assistance at one time or another.

From the date of independence all 11 education units were merged,operating for an interim period of some months as ‘regions’ of the singleministry while a new structure for the ministry was being developed. Thenew structure was based on six genuinely geographical regions, the boundariesof each region agreeing with the boundaries of a single or a cluster of up tofour of the 13 administrative regions of the country. The most populous ofthe education regions (covering four administrative regions) was subsequentlydivided, each of the new regions covering two administrative regions. In theterminology later used in the government’s decentralization policy, this was a‘decongested’ system, since none of the education regions had autonomy;any decisions taken by regional directors could be reversed by the centraladministration of the ministry. Each regional office was responsible forimplementing formal school and adult education programmes, and culturaland sporting activities within the region, along with professional andadministrative support services.

The central office initially had a senior staff structure of a permanentsecretary, two deputy permanent secretaries, six under secretaries (each headinga department) and 18 directors (MECYS, 1990a: Appendix I). A leanerstructure was adopted in 1993, with only two departments and 11 directorates(MEC, 1995). The most recent changes resulted in an MBESC withpermanent secretary, deputy permanent secretary, two under secretaries(respectively for formal education, and culture and life-long learning), and10 directorates (MBESC, 2003a). Under the permanent secretary theMHETEC’s structure comprised four directorates, the Namibia QualificationsAuthority (NQA), the Namibia National Commission for UNESCO, and ageneral services unit (MHETEC, 2003). The senior management committee




50

of the Ministry of Higher Education, which met monthly, was termed the‘Management Committee’ (MC), and that of the Ministry of Basic Education,meeting fortnightly, the ‘Executive Management Team’ (EMT). In additionthe Ministry of Basic Education had a ‘Management and Policy Co-ordinatingCommittee’ (MPCC) meeting three times a year, on which the regions werealso represented.

As part of the government’s call for decentralization, the MRLGHproposed that primary education be transferred to the regional administrations(MRLGH, 1997: 36). However, the decentralization plan, developed by theMBEC during workshops in November 1997 and June 1999, provided for thetransfer to the regions of the full range of functions then handled by theregional education offices (MBEC, 1999: 12-14). The structure then proposedfor the regional education components would have increased the personnelbudget for regional office staff by more than 30 per cent. While there werethose who believed that the structures were bloated, others felt that at leastsome of the costs could have been offset by trimming the head office structure.The costed plan was submitted to the MRLGH, although it was acceptedthat a number of issues, such as arrangements for financial and personneltransfers, and the enactment of new education legislation, would influencethe final plan.9 The Ministry of Higher Education was not much affected bythe decentralization drive: only after the Directorate of Youth had beentransferred to the Ministry did it become an issue.

In March 2003 the number of regional offices was increased from sevento 13, one for each of the 13 administrative regions of the country, with thefilling of an additional six positions of regional director. This had been madepossible by the MRLGH, which had budgeted for the additional posts andtransferred the funds to the budget of the MBESC. To some extent thismove was premature, since a new structure for the regional education

9. Author’s diary entry on a meeting of the Minister of Basic Education and Culture withthe Minister of Regional, Local Government and Housing, 2 February 2000.




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directorates had not been finalized, nor was adequate office accommodationavailable in all of the regional centres. The result was that staff in a particularregional office might be serving, or partly serving, the needs of another regionaloffice located up to 700 kilometres away. Where one of the former educationregions might have had sufficient filled posts to share between the two newregions, another education region might have had only one staff memberdealing with a particular portfolio in up to three administrative regions. Inthree regions, on account of the lack of office and residential accommodationin the regions’ administrative centres, the entire education office was operatingout of different regions. This still represented a ‘decongestion’ model, notleast because little of the overall regional administrative structure – of whichthe education directorate should form a component – was in place, but alsobecause neither the under-secretary positions nor the other three directors’positions (health, general services, and planning and development) in eachregion had at that time been filled. Another unanswered question at thatstage was whether regional or head office staff could be compelled to moveto a new duty station, and if not whether they would be accommodatedelsewhere in the structure or be retrenched.

In parallel with the development of a decentralized structure for theMBEC and MBESC, a system of clustering schools was piloted in oneeducation region, and subsequently extended to all other regions. Regions hadalready, following the pre-independence model, been divided into ‘inspectioncircuits’ of around 20 to 50 schools each. In some regions the circuits werestrictly geographical; in others primary and secondary schools were indifferent circuits. In some regions inspectors of education were based at officesin their circuits; in others they were located at the regional office, even if noneof the schools in their circuit was located in the town where the regionaloffice was situated. As the process of clustering progressed, circuit boundarieswere redefined, each circuit consisting of five to seven clusters, and eachcluster containing around six schools (Dittmar, Mendelsohn and Ward, 2002: 5).Additional circuit offices were constructed. Once the system was fully




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implemented, every inspector would work from an office within his or hercircuit.

The clustering was intended to enhance mutual co-operation among theschools of the cluster in all matters of curriculum, school management, andco-curricular activities, both through formal gatherings and informal contacts(Dittmar et al., 2002: 11-18; Mendelsohn and Ward, 2001: 8-9). Clustersgenerally worked most successfully where schools were relatively close toeach other. The costs of regular contact with other schools in the clustermight be considerable, or even prohibitive, where the distances are great.This was generally the case in the southern part of the country, but therewere also areas in the north where small schools were located at substantialdistances from one another. The organization of the subject advisory servicesin a way that would capitalize on the cluster system was under discussion in2003.

The Namibian College of Open Learning, formerly a directorate of theMBEC but a parastatal body since 1998 (MBEC, 1998a: 2), offering secondarylevel instruction both distance and face-to-face, also operated from regionaloffices to make its services more accessible to adults and out-of-school youth.

Policy and curriculum

Immediately after independence, reform was initiated in a number ofareas, including curriculum, language policy, teacher education, and adulteducation. Six ‘broad goals’ were listed in a July 1990 policy document:

1. Improved access to schooling.2. Improved learning outcome and learning with understanding.3. Improved curricula and examination systems.4. Equitable distribution of educational resources and services.5. Reform of secondary education.6. Broadening of adult and non-formal education (MECYS, 1990b: 2).




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By 1993 the areas of reform had been consolidated under four ‘broad’goals in Toward education for all: access, equity, quality and democracy(MEC, 1993: 32). A separate heading covered “Using resources well andmonitoring their use” (MEC, 1993: 42); in effect, a fifth ‘broad’ goal, that ofefficiency. This ‘statement of vision’ (MEC, 1993: iii) continued to be aguiding document which was regularly quoted as policy was developed andimplemented.

The new language policy allowed the mother tongue to be used whereverpracticable in the lower primary phase,10 with a transition to English as themedium of instruction during the fourth school year (NIED, 1996: 26). Manypractical difficulties arose. A number of urban schools opted to use Englishfrom the first grade rather than the mother tongue, on the grounds that thechildren in the school spoke different languages and it would be impossible toaccommodate all, or that it was not possible to recruit teachers competent toteach in a particular language. Teachers whose own native tongue was notEnglish were compelled to teach their classes in English, often leading topoor interaction between teachers and learners.11

The implementation of the language policy was to be co-ordinated withthe introduction of a new curriculum which would be learner-centred, relevantto the Namibian situation, and have a compulsory pre-vocational component,to replace the South African curriculum. Already in 1990 the new juniorsecondary curriculum was drafted and was implemented in grade 8 thefollowing year and in grades 9 and 10 in successive years (MEC, 1991b: 25).The new national Junior Secondary Certificate examination was first written

10. Ten African languages, including Afrikaans, and two European languages (English andGerman) were accepted as mother tongues for educational purposes. A San language,Ju’hoan, was later added.

11. ELTDP (2000: 3) reported that “Over 60 per cent of all principals and teachers considerthey are ‘good’ speakers, readers and writers of English, a figure which is at odds withthe written tests and band scale results”.




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at the end of 1993. For the senior secondary course the CambridgeInternational General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) wasadapted by the addition of certain subjects and by the development of a moreadvanced level, the Higher IGCSE (HIGCSE) which would allow school-leavers to proceed to a South African university. For admission to tertiaryinstitutions in Namibia the IGCSE would suffice.

While the reformed secondary curriculum was being implemented, workwas in progress on a new primary curriculum, and a new teacher educationcurriculum to be taught in the colleges of education. The Basic EducationTeaching Diploma (BETD) was also offered by distance course, to give themany unqualified and under-qualified teachers a chance to improve theirqualifications. Within the BETD, specialization was possible at lower primary,upper primary, or junior secondary level. It was expected that senior secondaryteachers would be trained by the university. The primary school curriculumwas structured around the mastery of basic competences, with assessment,particularly in the lower primary grades, undertaken continuously (NIED,1996: 9 ff., 23 ff., 29 ff.).

As the new curriculum was phased in, textbooks were developed locally,either by commercial publishers or through donor-supported projects, andmade available to the schools in sufficient quantities for every learner to havea textbook. Only for the IGCSE and HIGCSE courses were textbooksimported from overseas.

After the first round of curriculum development, the revision of thecurriculum was undertaken by the National Institute for EducationalDevelopment (NIED)12 and was ongoing, to correct problems, incorporatenew and relevant material, and improve articulation between the phases.

12. A directorate of the Ministry of Basic Education.




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With the abolition of corporal punishment in schools, many teacherscomplained of being unable to discipline learners. The racial de-segregation ofschools at independence was resisted at some schools (MEC, 1991a: 3).Some learners and teachers failed to understand that rights could not beenjoyed if individuals ignored their responsibilities. In December 1990 theMECYS published a pamphlet describing the ‘rights and responsibilities’ ofstudents, teachers, and school principals, and setting out the role of schoolboards (MECYS, 1990c). Although technically the provisions of Act 30 of1980 on school committees were still legally binding, the Ministry encouragedexperimentation with a more democratically representative form of schoolboard.

Vocational training was regulated by the National Vocational TrainingAct, No. 18 of 1994. As part of the training scheme, curricula were developedand approved by the Training Advisory Council and the Vocational TrainingBoard in 1996 (MHEVTST, 1997: 34). In February 2000 a major conferencewas held on vocational education and training. Preparations were also underway for the establishment of a national Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurshipand Technology (CIET) (MHETEC, 2001: 1). As an initiative to provideshort training courses within communities, competency based skills trainingprogrammes were mounted in community skills development centres(COSDECs) from 1998 (MHEVTST, 1999: 3, 4).

The regulation and development of higher education was guided by thework of a Presidential Commission on Higher Education which, in 1991, madealmost 200 recommendations (GRN, 1991). In 1998 the Ministry of HigherEducation developed a white paper entitled Investing in people, developinga country (MHEVTST, 1998: 1). Of ongoing concern was the developmentof an acceptable funding formula for institutions of higher education(MHETEC, 2002a: 1). Draft legislation on higher education, which wouldprovide inter alia for a National Advisory Council on Higher Education, wastabled in Parliament in 2003 (MHETEC, 2003: 21; The Namibian, 2003).




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Part of the funding of the cost of higher education was, even beforeindependence, provided via a government bursary scheme. Legislation toconvert this to a student loan scheme (GRN, 2000b) was passed in 2000 and2002 (MHEVTST, 1997: 1; MHETEC, 2003: 2, 25).

In an effort to regulate training standards the Namibia QualificationsAuthority was established in 1996 and its council inaugurated in 1998. Theauthority functioned as a division within the Ministry of Higher Education,although the intention was that it should in time become an autonomous body(GRN, 1996; MHEVTST, 1999: 4, 18).

2.4 Availability and use of data

Pre-independence attempts by the former Department of NationalEducation to compile comprehensive data on the educational situation inNamibia had been only partly successful. The MEC expressed determinationto have an education information management system (EMIS) which would“enhance the Ministry’s and Regional Education Offices’ capacity to respondto educational needs and establish priorities for resources allocation” (MEC,1991a: 11). From 1996 the EMIS unit produced annual statistical bulletinsbased on an annual education census (AEC) in August. Data which had beencollected from 1992 was used to generate the bulletins. Tables and interpretationwere provided on general characteristics of the school system, enrolments,the flow of learners, teachers and their qualifications, and school facilities(e.g. MBEC, 1996). From 1997 a section was added on lifelong learning,including some data on the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL)and the University of Namibia (UNAM) (MBEC, 1998b: 117 ff). However,since 1999 data on these two institutions, and on vocational training, wasexcluded, as the Ministry of Basic Education had no control over the collectionof data. NAMCOL and UNAM included their statistics in their ownpublications.




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An unforeseen delay of nine weeks in collecting the 1999 annualeducation census (AEC) data and the need to upgrade hardware and softwareled to a series of delays in the entry and publication of data for 1999, 2000and 2001. Staff turnover delayed the analysis of the 2002 data as well as theentry of the 2003 data.

In 2003 staff members of the MBESC participated in training offeredby the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) to develop a more comprehensiverange of data on adult education.

In addition to the AEC, the EMIS unit undertakes an annual ‘fifteenthschool day’ census, with a focus on the changes in staff and in enrolmentevident at the beginning of a school year.

The range of information on personnel in the EMIS database is limited,since it should be complemented by a computerized human resourcesmanagement system. For example, while the EMIS can analyze teacherqualifications by the number of years of training, it has no information on theactual courses studied by teachers. However, to date the MBESC is not linkedto the computerized personnel database of the Office of the Prime Minister,nor does it have its own computerized personnel management system.

Another deficiency is that the EMIS neither captures financial data noris it linked to a computerized financial management system. The MOF iscurrently developing an integrated financial management system (IFMS) towhich all ministries will be linked.

A first step was taken in 2003 by developing a database of physicalfacilities which would include site plans for all schools and an assessment ofthe condition of the buildings. This will supplement the school data routinelycollected in the AEC on the number and types of rooms and services provided,such as water and electricity.




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All EMIS data on learners and teachers are disaggregated byadministrative region and, where relevant, by gender.

The Ministry of Basic Education’s Directorate of National Examinationsand Assessment analyzes data on the performance of candidates, full-timeand part-time, in national examinations.

The Ministry of Higher Education publishes statistics on the colleges ofeducation, on bursaries awarded, and on training institutions in its annualreports (e.g. MHETEC, 2002a: 36-44; MHETEC, 2003: 52-62).

2.5 Characteristics of the education system

The education system provides seven years of primary and five yearsof secondary schooling. Children may leave the system after completingprimary school or attaining the age of 16 years. National examinations aretaken at the end of grade 10 and the end of grade 12. There are limitedopportunities for learners to enter vocational training after grade 10. Admissionto grade 11 is based on grade 10 (Junior Secondary Certificate) examinationresults. Admission to the University of Namibia or the Polytechnic of Namibia,or to one of the colleges of education, is based on performance in the grade 12IGCSE or HIGCSE examination.

The 2001 population census recorded that 63,804 children, or 32 percent of the 3- to 6-year-old population, were participating in an early childhooddevelopment programme of some sort (NPC, 2003: 30). According to thesame source, 312,776 children under the age of 14 were enrolled in school in2001 (NPC, 2003: xxv). Of the population aged 15 and above, 19 per centwere illiterate and 15 per cent had never attended school. Comparisons aremade, where possible, with the 1991 population census figures in Table 2.1.13

13. The data in the 2001 column for ‘Education, 15+ years’ is correctly quoted. Aspokesperson for the NPC(S) explained that the missing 6 per cent is accounted for bypersons who did not respond to the question during the census.




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Table 2.1 Education indicators from the National PopulationCensus

1991 2001

Population aged 3-6 years attending ECD programmeTotal 31.9 %Female 33.0 %Male 30.8 %

Literacy rate, 15+ yearsTotal 76 % 81.3 %Female 81.2 %Male 81.4 %

Education, 15+ yearsNever attended 26 % 15 %Currently at school 19 % 34 %Left school 55 % 45 %

Source: NPC, 2003: 4, 30, 35.

Total school enrolment broken down by administrative region is given inTable 2.2, together with an indication of the number of children in primarygrades and the gender ratios. The figures given for ‘head office’ relate to theenrolment in schools for children with special needs, which do not fall underthe regional education offices but are administered directly by the head office.




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Table 2.2 School-going population by region

Enrolments

Region Total % F Primary % F

Total 528,958 50.8 396,252 50.0

Caprivi 23,277 48.8 15,601 48.9Kavango 62,441 48.7 51,072 49.6Ohangwena 80,302 52.3 65,688 51.5Oshikoto 50,675 50.7 38,548 49.3Omusati 88,901 51.5 66,504 49.5Oshana 53,041 51.2 37,307 49.8Kunene 14,934 49.7 11,623 49.9Erongo 21,574 51.5 14,789 50.3Otjozondjupa 30,911 49.8 24,249 49.3Omaheke 14,256 48.8 10,698 48.6Khomas 52,135 51.7 35,002 51.1Hardap 19,731 50.7 14,210 49.7Karas 15,545 50.6 11,615 50.1Head Office 1,235 42.9 346 41.6

Source: MBESC, 2002: Table 7.

The MBESC’s calculations of net and gross enrolment ratios for 2001are given in Table 2.3. The EMIS calculations used a denominator projectedfrom the 1991 population census, since the 2001 population data was notavailable at the time.




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Table 2.3 Net and gross enrolment ratios (2001)

Age group (grades)

M/F 7-13 7-6 7-8 14-18(1-7) (1-10) (1-12) (8-12)

NER Total 89.1% 90.8% 87.9% 48.3%Female 91.2% 93.4% 90.2% 53.9%Male 87.0% 88.1% 85.7% 42.7%

GER Total 114.9% 108.6% 97.8% 67.3%Female 114.9% 110.0% 99.1% 71.1%Male 114.9% 107.1% 96.5% 63.4%

Source: MBESC, 2002: Table 28.

School education in 2001 was provided in 1,453 government and92 private schools by a teaching force of 18,117 teachers (60.9 per cent female)(MBESC, 2002: Tables 1, 2). Of these teachers, 16,135 (62.1 per cent female)had received some formal teacher training, although only 9,214 (59.6 percent female) had received more than two years’ tertiary education (MBESC,2002: Table 40). The Namibian requirement is that a teacher, to be consideredqualified, should have at least three years’ training, including teacher training,at tertiary level.

Some indications of the regional inequities in the distribution of resourcesare given in Table 2.4, with comparative figures for 1996. The last twocolumns of the table give the range across the 13 regions.14 The schoolsdirectly under the control of head office have not been considered in thiscomparison, although they are included in the totals from which the ‘national’figures have been computed (MBESC, 2002: Table 50).

14. In the case of the learner to teacher ratio, the ‘best’ region (at 21.9) is one that counts asdisadvantaged on all other indicators. The next ‘best’ region in this regard, one that alsoshows well on the other measures, is at a learner to teacher ratio of 25.5.




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Table 2.4 Regional disparities in the school system

2001

1996 2001 Best WorstNational National region region

Learner to teacher ratio 29.5 30.2 21.9 36.6Traditional classrooms (%) ~20.8 12.7 0 30.2Schools with water supply (%) 57.6 67.1 100 38.7Schools with toilets for learners (%) 55.8 70.9 100 39.9Schools with electricity (%) 30.7 42.2 93 15.6Schools with telephone (%) 29.3 36.8 100 8.6

Source: MBESC, 2002: Tables 50, 51 (computed), 54, 55 (computed).

The number of students in nine vocational training institutions, bothgovernment and private, in 2002, was 2,157, of whom 694 were women(MHETEC, 2003: 57). There were 595 male and 576 female students enrolledin seven community owned development centres and an outreach programme(MHETEC, 2003: 62).

At the four colleges of education, staffed by 168 teacher educators(43.5 per cent female), 1,992 students were enrolled, of whom 1,008 werefemale. In 2002 there were 93 graduates with a lower primary specialization,251 with upper primary, and 316 with junior secondary. Of the total of660 graduates, females accounted for 46.5 per cent (MHETEC, 2003:52-54). At the University of Namibia the 2001 enrolment was 6,035 students,while at the Polytechnic of Namibia the enrolment was 3,963, which increasedto 5,275 in 2002 MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 8).




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2.6 The Presidential Commission on Education, Culture andTraining

At the end of 1998, H.E. President Sam Nujoma appointed a Commissionon Education, Culture and Training to review progress made in the sector inthe ten years since independence, and to make recommendations on the wayforward for the next decade. The commission collected oral and writtenevidence, held hearings in all regions of the country, and commissioned anumber of studies. In August 1999 a conference was held at which the draftreport was presented for discussion, after which the report was finalized andhanded to the President in October 1999. The report (GRN, 1999) was releasedto the ministries concerned and to the public a year later.

The Commission reviewed every aspect of the functioning of the sectorministries and made over 300 recommendations, ranging from those of apolitical nature (which included a recommendation that the MHEVTST, theMBEC and the MYS be recombined as a single ministry, the Ministry ofEducation and Lifelong Learning) (GRN, 1999: 22) to those of a purelytechnical nature (such as the recommendation that newly qualified teachersbe stationed at the discretion of the Ministry) (GRN, 1999: 179). A number ofthe studies undertaken on behalf of the Commission were published in twosupplementary volumes to the main report.

While the Commission did not use the term ‘SWAp’, it had been appointed“to look into the whole sector” (GRN, 1999: 14). The recommendation thatthe three ministries be combined into a single ministry was motivated byevidence that “this would improve financial management and the interlockingof different parts of the system” (GRN, 1999: 37). The Commission observedthat “there are a number of issues which cannot easily be resolved whereresponsibility for the educational system is divided between a number ofministries” (GRN, 1999: 37). A single ministry would also be more cost-efficient: “There seemed to be no doubt that a unified ministry would be




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cheaper to maintain and that further economies could be gained by a unifiedplanning system” (GRN, 1999: 38, 41). As noted above, ‘Youth and Sport’ asa separate cabinet portfolio was abolished in 2000, but the President did notaccept the advice that the two ministries of education should be merged.

Poor liaison between the central ministries on the one hand and lineministries on the other drew the attention of the Commission: “The Commissionhas been somewhat taken aback by the lack of dialogue about practicalimplementation of policies between the MOF, the National PlanningCommission, the Prime Minister’s Office and individual Ministries” (GRN,1999: 23). In elaborating on the “lack of regular consultation” between theMinistry of Finance and the ministries of education, the Commission statedthat:

“They [i.e. the Commissioners] expected that the member of the MOFwho had primary responsibility for the financial affairs of the ministriesof education would be in constant contact with the financial and planningofficers of those ministries in order to offer advice and assistance whennew programmes were being planned. They thought that this consultationwould be particularly intensive when planning the annual budgetary roundand when new medium-term plans were under consideration or review”(GRN, 1999: 41).

After the release of the report, the two ministries of education set up ajoint committee to review the recommendations of the Commission and toadvise on their implementation, but by the end of 2003 the Committee had notyet made a submission. However, the MBEC, working from the draft August1999 report of the commission, incorporated a number of the recommendationsinto its strategic plan. The MHEVTST also acted on some of therecommendations of relevance to its portfolio.




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2.7 Strategic planning

Strategic planning is evident from the first policy documents of theMECYS after independence. Priorities were set and detailed policies andpractices were developed in line with the broad policy statements. Thecontribution of the MEC to NDP1 showed evidence of strategic planningand of setting targets. However, what the Ministry lacked at that stage wasa comprehensive and logically structured strategic plan for activities aimedat achieving clearly defined objectives and related to a known resourceenvelope. Although the two ministries of education subsequently progressedin fleshing out strategic plans, at the time of the joint annual review of thesector in 2003 they still fell far short of being an ideal document.

Development of strategic plans for the education sector ministries

At the end of 1998 the MBEC, in anticipation of NDP2, requesteddirectorates to propose activities for a strategic plan which would cover theperiod from April 2000 to March 2005. Proposals were prepared bydirectorates and submitted by July 1999. In August 1999, planners from theregions came to Windhoek for a workshop, during which the contributionswere reviewed. A further workshop was held in September 1999, after whicha document was circulated to senior staff for comments. A morerepresentative workshop with external facilitation was held during October1999; it was also on this occasion that the concept of the PEMP was introducedto representatives of all directorates. In February 2000, a meeting was heldwith representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister on a possible formatfor presentation of the strategic plan.

In the meantime the Presidential Commission had completed its work,and although the final report had not been released, the August 1999 conferenceversion of the report was available. Since comments during the conferencehad been largely in agreement with the Commission’s proposals, it was not




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anticipated that the final recommendations would be much different fromthose in the conference report. While the MBEC’s own process of drafting astrategic plan had involved consultation with representatives of all head officedirectorates and regional offices, the Commission had held public hearings inall regions as well as receiving written evidence. It was deemed essential thatthe document developed on the basis of technical input from ministry staff becompared with the recommendations of the Commission. A team within theDirectorate of Planning and Development, assisted by expatriate technicalsupport, extracted from the draft report of the Commission all therecommendations of a technical nature which appeared relevant to the functionsof the Ministry. The Ministry’s EMT approved a grouping of therecommendations, namely: (a) equitable access; (b) education quality;(c) teacher education and support; (d) physical facilities; (e) efficiency andeffectiveness; (f) HIV/AIDS; (g) lifelong learning; and (h) sport, arts andcultural heritage. Each of these groupings was referred to as a ‘nationalpriority area’.

Both ‘teacher education and support’ and ‘physical facilities’ could havebeen included under the first two national priority areas. Teacher educationand support, which would contribute mainly to improving the quality ofeducation, was kept separate to give it special emphasis in line with a five-year in-service training programme which had been initiated soon afterindependence, and a ten-year plan which had been formulated in 1999 (MBEC,2000: v). Additional physical facilities were required to increase equitableaccess and quality of education; since this provision was also related to thedevelopment budget (whereas all other activities would relate mainly to theMinistry’s recurrent budget) it was kept separate.

The impact of HIV and AIDS on the education sector was being felt,but solid data for assessing the impact was lacking. Since this was an aspectcutting across all of the other national priority areas, except physical facilities,




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it was dealt with separately. The chapter was subsequently revised jointlywith the Ministry of Higher Education to give more of a sectoral perspective.

Of the major goals from Toward education for all,15 only ‘democracy’did not feature in one of the national priority headings. In grouping therecommendations of the Commission, it was understood that attention todemocratic processes would enhance efficiency, and ‘democracy’ wasaccordingly subsumed under the heading ‘efficiency and effectiveness’.

Once the grouping of recommendations and ‘education system goals’for each of the eight national priority areas had been approved by the EMT,eight working groups were set up to draft the objectives and strategies whichwould allow the recommendations to be implemented. Each group was to beco-ordinated by a senior staff member having experience in the area, and atleast one member of the Directorate of Planning and Development wasattached to each group, both to assist with the work of the group from aplanning perspective and to record the results of the group’s work. It was notconsidered feasible to draw regional staff into these meetings.

A matrix format, referred to as ‘the logical framework’, together withexplanations of terminology,16 was provided for the use of the working groups.The groups were to decide for themselves whether individual recommendationsof the Commission falling under their heading had the status of objective,target, or strategy, and rewording where necessary was acceptable. Theworking groups were also expected to identify relevant indicators and costelements, to provide estimated costs, and to indicate the responsible lead unitfor implementation of the target or strategy.

15. See Section 2.3 above.

16. See Appendix III.




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Most working group meetings were held during the latter part of Mayand the month of June 2000, although some of the work spilled over intoJuly.17 Attendance at the sessions was not constant, and at times a particularsection had to be held over because representatives from certain directorateswere not available. Some of the smaller directorates were obliged to nominatethe same representative to more than one working group, which increasedthe need for careful co-ordination in the scheduling of meetings, since allgroups were under pressure to complete their work as soon as possible.

As the work progressed, groups were found to be filling in all the columnsexcept that for ‘estimated costs’, which would be calculated on the basis ofthe identified ‘cost elements’ at a later stage.18 This was a mistake, since thedeadline for completion was reached with the costing not yet attempted. Earlyin the process a workshop should have been organized for all members of theworking groups, with clear guidelines on how to calculate applicable costs aseach target was elaborated. For many of the items a list of standard costsshould have been compiled by financial planning and financial administrationstaff and made available to the groups before they started work.

The next phase of the exercise was to introduce the concept of thebusiness plan to directorates. The business plan was to be directorate specific,to have the same format as the strategic plan, and to take on board all relevantobjectives, targets and strategies from the strategic plan, as well as all ‘routinebusiness’ from the plans which had been drafted the previous year. It was tocover the same five-year period, namely April 2000 to March 2005. Teams

17. The group on ‘equitable access’, for example, held four sessions totalling 19 hours. Afurther two sessions were held in late September and early October 2000 after theregional workshops (author’s diary).

18. The exception was the group working on ‘physical facilities’, which was readily able todraw EMIS data on shortages of facilities and to apply the standard construction costswhich they used on a daily basis.




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of head office planners visited all of the regions in August 2000 to guidesenior regional staff in drafting their business plans, and similar meetingswere held with head office directorates. The opportunity was also used forregional representatives, who had been excluded from the national priorityarea working groups, to raise questions about targets and strategies includedin the strategic plan. From the completed business plan, each directorate wasto extract its first ‘annual work plan’. At this stage the Ministry was stillunder the impression that NDP2 would run from 2000 to 2005; it was only inOctober 2000 that it learnt that the time-frame for NDP2 had been moved onto 2001 to 2006, allowing the MBESC also to adjust its time-frame, and openingthe prospect of actually having the plans in place before the commencementof the period to which they referred.

On 11 October 2000 the logical framework was presented to the Ministerof Basic Education, Sport and Culture, who suggested some modificationsbut was generally satisfied with the work that had been done. The updatedversion of the document was distributed to the heads of all directorates duringa Management and Policy Co-ordinating Committee meeting on 2 November2000.

Work then commenced on drafting the introductory narrative section tothe strategic plan, which would give the vision and explain the overall coherenceof the plan. The plan, still not costed, was launched by the Minister on27 March 2001. There were delays in printing the logical framework, whichwas distributed only a fortnight later.

Since attention was being devoted to the finalization and checking ofbusiness plans, and to a mechanism for monitoring implementation of thestrategic plan, little progress was being made in costing the plan. By October2001 it was accepted that the planning directorate did not have the capacity tocost the plan without help, and attempts were made to recruit externalassistance. Costing the plan commenced in earnest only towards the end of




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January 2002. The results of this exercise were submitted to the MBESC inmid-April 2002, in time for a major workshop (at the Cresta Lodge inOndangwa) which was to address priorities in the plan, since it had becomeobvious, even before the costings had been received, that the funding gapwas too large to be covered.

By this time it had been accepted that future work would be done morefrom a sector perspective, and certainly that the MBESC and MHETECwould be working more closely together. One staff member from theMHETEC was assigned to assist with the preparations of, and attend, theApril 2002 workshop. A facilitator was engaged who would also, followingthe MBESC workshop, facilitate a workshop for the MHETEC on puttingtogether a strategic plan from the planning documents which were alreadyavailable in that Ministry. A third workshop was held on 3 May 2002, attendedby representatives of both ministries, during which the facilitator assisted inmapping the way forward.

The MHETEC’s strategic plan was structured around its functionalunits (MHETEC, 2002b): (a) Namibia Qualifications Authority; (b) Directorateof Higher Education and Human Resource Development and Planning;(c) Directorate of Vocational Education and Training; (d) Directorate ofYouth Development; (e) Directorate of Research, Science and Technology;(f) General Services; and (g) Namibia National Commission for UNESCO(NATCOM).

Each of the seven sections was introduced with a list of prioritized strategicobjectives, a statement of vision and a statement of mission, followed by amatrix in which each of the strategic objectives was elaborated. The headingsof the matrix columns differed from those in the MBESC’s strategic plan.With the development of this plan the costing of activities was also left to beattended to later.




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The sector appraisal team, which assisted with preparations for theJune 2002 review of the sector, criticized the MBESC’s strategic plan forfocusing too much on additional activities and for being unaffordable, evenafter the trimming that had taken place during the April ‘Cresta Lodge’workshop. The MHETEC plan at this stage had not yet been costed. Theministries were further advised that they should develop one single sector-wide strategic plan. The ministries’ response was that this would not be doneimmediately, but that an agreement would be reached on a format for futureplanning, which would then be used as plans were updated. It was alsorecommended by the appraisal team that for greater flexibility the strategicplan should be a rolling three-year plan linked to the MTEF, rather than beinga five-year plan linked to national development plans.

Monitoring of plan implementation

Monitoring the implementation of the plan proved problematic. Themonitoring procedure for the MBESC, tabled for discussion at the July 2001Management and Policy Co-ordinating Committee (MPCC)19 meeting, wasdeferred to the next meeting owing to an over-booked agenda. At the October2001 meeting, although there was again insufficient time for adequatediscussion, the proposed approach was endorsed for testing. However, theDirectorate of Planning and Development was the only directorate to table areport at the March 2002 MPCC meeting. At the July 2002 MPCC meetinga consolidated report was presented on behalf of four head office directorates.A further attempt was made at the July 2003 meeting to have reports presentedby all directorates. Although several directorates had brought reports to themeeting, there was insufficient time to present them. It was agreed thatcopies of all reports would go to the Directorate of Planning and Development,in electronic form where possible, for compilation into a single report, which

19. MPCC meetings are routinely held in March, July and October.




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would also be available in preparation for the sector review meeting, and thatthereafter the reporting cycle would be strictly observed.

Education for All plan

In March 2002 the MBESC decided to draft a separate strategic planfor EFA. It was felt that if additional resources were to be mobilized forEFA, a separate plan would be required. The plan was to be aligned to theDakar goals set for the 2001 to 2015 period. Launched in the middle of 2003,the plan (MBESC, 2003b) provided a brief review of earlier planningdocuments, including a list of the objectives of the MBESC strategic plan.Although costings were included in the published plan, it was felt that thesehad not been sufficiently accurately calculated, and the ‘costs of inputs’ columnwas to be revised. The detail of the EFA plan was not always consistent withthe MBESC’s strategic plan. It is arguable that it would have been moreefficient to elaborate the existing plans than to develop a parallel document.

Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme

In a recent development, on 28 October 2003, the Cabinet, in responseto proposals submitted by the MHETEC for World Bank assistance, directed“the Education and Training Sector and the Ministry of Women Affairs andChild Welfare to constitute a High Level Technical Team that would workwith the World Bank team to design an Education and Training SectorImprovement Programme” (MIB, 2003). This followed a mission by a WorldBank team during 2002 and 2003, which included several studies by Namibianand international consultants and a series of workshops at which the findingswere presented. The implication is that a new strategic plan for the sector willhave to be developed, since it is inevitable that the activities specificallyidentified for attention by the technical team will be inextricably linked withactivities already included in the strategic plans of the sector.




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The National Poverty Reduction Action Programme (NPRAP),2001-2005

Reference is made to this national programme in Section 1.3.8.Development partners consistently look for links between the programmesthey are asked to fund and the elimination of poverty. The EuropeanCommunity gave as the overall objective of its intervention, “to contribute tosustained poverty reduction ...” (European Commission, 2003a: Annex II: 1),while Sida, in the preamble to its agreement, indicated that it was desirous ofassisting the GRN “with the implementation of the Education SectorProgramme designed to contribute to the achievement of the Vision 2030,National Development Plan 2 and the Poverty Reduction Plan” (Sweden,2003: 1). This dimension was mentioned again under Article 1 – Scope andObjectives of the Agreement, and again in Article 3 – Utilisation of theContribution of Sweden (Sweden, 2003: 2, 4).

The proposals directed at the education sector in the Poverty ReductionAction Plan address: (a) reduction in inter-regional disparities in expenditure(Action 5); (b) educational quality and outcomes (Actions 6, 7 and 8);(c) school attainment – promotion and assessment (Actions 9, 10 and 11);and (d) education governance programmes (Action 12).

One action (No. 8) is directed at the Ministry of Higher Education; theothers at the Ministry of Basic Education. While their intention is not atvariance with the education sector ministries’ planning, their detail is not wellaligned with the ESMs’ strategic plans or with the education and trainingsector chapter of NDP2. The development partners should be satisfied thatthe ESMs will, by implementing their own strategic plans, contribute to meetingthe targets of the Poverty Reduction Action Plan, even if the detail of thelatter plan is ignored.




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Environment and sustainable resource management

As one of the conditions for its support through the education sectorprogramme, Sida stipulated that “Namibia undertakes to make an Environmentalimpact assessment of the ESP programme in line with the stipulated Namibianlegislation. The recommendations of the assessment will be implemented andfollowed up in the agreed monitoring and evaluation of and within ESP”(Sweden, 2003: Article 7.1).

During the NDP1 period, discussion on and drafting of a newenvironmental management bill and of a pollution control bill took place, butthe bills were not tabled during the plan period (NPC, no date: 600-601).Sida’s stipulation would require the education sector ministries to study theseacts once promulgated to ensure that the provisions were being adhered to.

The MBESC allowed, but did not encourage, the construction ofclassrooms by communities using traditional materials. It has been the policyof the Ministry, as far as possible, to replace traditional classrooms and obviatethe need for such structures by the provision of conventional classroomswhich are constructed of brick under corrugated iron, with steel roof joists.Wooden doors are imported or made of imported timber. The DeutscheGesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GtZ)-funded basic educationproject provided metal frames for classrooms and teacher housing indisadvantaged rural areas as an interim measure, allowing the community tocomplete the structure with traditional materials, generally thatch – arenewable resource – and mud.

Many of the schools participating in the school feeding scheme woulduse wood as fuel for cooking the meals for the children.

The Ministry was, in 2003, trying to establish a system of unit costs forwater and electricity supplied to schools, which it was hoped would go someway towards discouraging the waste of these commodities. Pit latrines were




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a potential source of pollution to underground water supplies; no firm guidelineswere available on criteria to be met in selecting sites for the toilets, the mostgenerally applied criterion being prevailing wind direction.

Gender

The EC, in Annex B to its financing agreement (European Commission,2003a), drew attention to gender aspects, commenting on the fact that accessand completion rates for girls were satisfactory in basic education, but not invocational training. It noted that the individual programmes would highlightgender issues. Presumably this reference was drafted at the stage when theEC was contemplating earmarked support to a number of programmes; ifnot, it is not clear to which programmes reference is intended.

The MBESC has consistently noted that while the national figures showlittle gender disparity in enrolment, there are disparities at regional level, andpossibly even more severe disparities at local level in some areas of the country.UNICEF was assisting the Kavango Region, where there was a noticeabledrop in the enrolment of girls at secondary level, with a project to improve theattendance of girls at school.

2.8 The education budget

The two ministries of education were part of an experimental exercise inmedium-term planning during the 2003/04 financial year. For 2004/05 allministries are expected to develop MTPs, in line with the government’s MTEF.Unfortunately the late announcement of a civil service pay increase and theuncertainty as to when the funds from the European Commission and Sidawould be available meant that neither of the education ministries had reliablefigures to work with for the 2003/04 financial year. Monthly reporting onexpenditure was, in the case of salaries, against an unknown resourceenvelope.




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The projected spending on education from the State Revenue Fund, asrecorded in the report of the 2003 joint annual review, is given in Table 2.5.The figures are not accurate, but represent an honest attempt to quantify thevarious elements which had not been recorded per ministry in the MTEF, aswell as incorporating development partner commitments which had been madein euros or Swedish crowns but would be converted to Namibia dollars onthe date of disbursement. It appears that the adjustment for the civil servicepay increase, incorporated into the ‘remuneration’ line of the table, wasoverestimated for 2003/04, which would have had a knock-on effect in thesubsequent years. And it was likely, with the South African rand strengtheningagainst the US dollar, that the amount actually received from developmentpartners, in Namibia dollars, would be lower than estimated. The reportcommented that:

“The projections highlight the potentially serious funding situation in basiceducation where non-wage operational expenditure is projected to growby less than 3.5 per cent annually between 2003/04 and 2006/07,representing a decline in resources in real terms over the period. With70 per cent of non-wage expenditures earmarked for ‘compulsorycommitments’ on subventions, utility costs, investment and hostelexpenditures for which spending will need to increase broadly in linewith inflation, the squeeze on resources available for textbooks and otheroperational costs of educational institutions will be much greater”(MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 15).

– an observation that remains pertinent despite the reservations notedabout the figures in the table.

An economist commented on the education votes in the 2003/04 budgetthat:

“The total allocation to Vote 10 [Basic education, sport and culture]increases by a mere 2.2 per cent ... The allocations to primary




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education ... and secondary education ... rise by 3 per cent and 0 percent respectively. Hostels ... receive 8 per cent more (N$220 million),precisely half of the entire allocation to secondary education ... there isa strong suspicion that the availability of donor funds has allowedgovernment to allocate less to primary and secondary education than itotherwise would have. Since no one yet believes we have succeeded inproviding quality primary (let alone secondary) education to the entirepopulation, this is of serious concern” (Sherbourne, 2003: 6-7).

Table 2.5 Projected education spending from the State RevenueFund

N$ million

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07Actual Projected Projected Projected Projected

Operational budget 2,506.8 2,792.4 3,014.8 3,242.5 3,534.4MBESC 2,137.7 2,288.3 2,462.3 2,646.8 2,885.0

Remuneration 1,741.1 1,872.2 2,020.0 2,177.6 2,257.4Other recurrent 396.6 533.2 567.4 583.3 589.7

MHETEC 369.1 504.1 552.5 595.7 649.4Remuneration 72.4 91.9 99.4 107.5 116.3Other recurrent 296.7 412.2 453.1 488.2 533.1

Development budget 173.5 147.1 173.9 186.9 198.6

Total expenditure 2,680.3 2,939.5 3,188.7 3,429.4 3,733.0

% of GDP 8.3 8.0 7.6 7.3 7.1

Of which: budget support 30.0 80.8 76.5 59.5

Source: MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 15.




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On the vote of the Ministry of Higher Education, Training andEmployment Creation he commented:

“The Ministry of Higher Education is one of the big winners from thisbudget, increasing its allocation by N$74 million or almost 15 per cent.Subsidies to the University of Namibia and the Polytechnic of Namibiarise from N$123 million to N$154 million (25 per cent) and N$68 millionto N$79 million (16 per cent) respectively. This compares to the 3 percent and 0 per cent increases for primary and secondary educationrespectively ...” (Sherbourne, 2003: 8).

He questioned whether “good performers are being rewarded and poorperformers reformed” and noted that the “analysis of the budget shows thatthe poor come off particularly badly in the services they require most – policing,primary and secondary education, primary health care, and social pensions.Indeed, in so many ways the budget appears to be skewed in favour of thosewho already have ...” (Sherbourne, 2003: 9).

In the revised budget, N$14.72 million was suspended from the basiceducation vote and N$203.06 million added, of which N$154.093 million wasfor remuneration. The balance represented funding that was expected tocome from development partners in the education sector programme. Therewas no suspension from the Higher education vote, while N$36.784 millionwas added, of which N$31.064 million was for salary increases at UNAMand N$5.57 million was the share of the education sector programme forvocational training. It appeared that the salary increases for ministry staffcould be met from the allocation to the Ministry in the main budget (MOF,2003e: 9, 11; MOF, 2003d: 73-82, 159-160, 172). The increase in thesubvention to UNAM represented an increase of 20 per cent on its allocationin the main budget.




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The 2003 JAR also looked at the unit costs for education in the differentregions of the country, drawing on an analysis of data by the Institute forPublic Policy Research (IPPR), but noting that “these figures should be treatedwith some caution as they may reflect inaccuracies in the apportionment ofspending between primary and secondary education in combined schools”(MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 17). The data was analyzed according to theformer seven education regions, not the 13 administrative regions of thecountry, and showed, for the 2003/04 allocation (prior to the additional budget),that the Keetmanshoop region (Karas and Hardap together) spent 1.7 timesas much as the Rundu (Kavango) region per primary learner; and that theKatima Mulilo (Caprivi) region spent 4.8 times as much as the OndangwaEast region (Ohangwena and Oshikoto)20 per secondary learner. Since themain determinants of the differential in unit costs are the combination ofteacher qualifications (the better qualified, the better paid) and learner toteacher ratios, it is clear that it will still take a number of years before near-equality can be achieved, unless there were a decisive change in policy, suchas compulsory transfer of well-qualified teachers to remote rural areas.However, the analysis also showed strange anomalies within regions.Secondary school teachers were generally better qualified than primary schoolteachers. In the Khorixas region (Erongo and Kunene), as one might expect,the unit cost for secondary level learners was 2.3 times that for primaryschool learners. But in the Ondangwa west region (Omusati and Oshana),the expenditure per primary learner was 1.6 times that for a secondary learner,the Ondangwa east region showing a similar trend. It is not clear whetherthis phenomenon is fully explained by the way in which costs for combinedschools were allocated at the time of budgeting.

20. Caprivi, Ohangwena and Oshikoto are all regarded as disadvantaged regions in the northof the country.




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2.9 Major international donors and aid modalities

In 2000, DFID, Sida and the Netherlands entered into agreements tofinance ESPS to the MBESC. All other support from development partnerswas bilateral and generally through projects, although both the Netherlandsand Sida had previously channelled earmarked funds through the State RevenueFund. In some cases there was a project implementation unit (PIU) or asingle expatriate officer responsible for the project, while in other casesimplementation was by staff of the Ministry. In the years immediately followingindependence, assistance from USAID was un-earmarked budget supportbut dependent upon a long list of conditionalities. Subsequent support fromUSAID was largely provided through an organization under contract toUSAID. For each of the large projects a steering committee, representingthe development partner and the Ministry, was established.

A summary of the areas in which assistance was provided by othercountries is given in Table 2.6.




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Table 2.6 International donor support to the MBESC

Strategic Equitable Education Teacher Physical Efficiency HIV and Lifelong Sport,planning access quality development facilities & AIDS learning arts &

effectiveness culture

‘ESPS’ × × × × × × × ×(DFID, Sida, Dutch)

Africa Groups ×of Sweden

Book Aid ×International

DANCED ×

DRFN

European × × × × × × ×Commission

Finland × ×

France × ×

Germany: GtZ × × ×

Germany: Kfw ×

Goethe Zentrum ×

IBIS × ×

Ireland ×

Luxembourg ×

Netherlands ×

Norway: NAMAS × ×

Raleigh International ×

Sweden: Sida ×

UNESCO ×

UNICEF × × ×

United Kingdom:DFID

USA ×

USA: USAID × × × ×

USA: USIS ×

World Bank ×

Source: Derived from MBESC, 2003a: 37-39.




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2.10 Staffing and capacity development

The staffing establishment of the head office and regional offices of theMEC was approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the OPMin 1993. A new structure was approved for the MHEVTST when that Ministrywas established. Subsequent changes have been approved on an ad hocbasis. Since the filling of approved posts is still subject to availability of funds,a number of posts in the MBESC, notably those ofadvisory teachers at theregional offices, were never filled. For the MBESC, the move fromseven regional offices to 13, brought with it the challenge of how to staff theoffices adequately. The former education regions had each covered betweenone and three administrative regions, and there might have been a singlestaff member attending to a particular function in all three regions. This impliedeither an increase in staff or a reorganization of responsibilities. The plansubmitted to the MRLGH had been based on a predicated increase in staff.The 2001 scoping study report, the 2002 sector appraisal, the 2003 efficiencystudy and the 2003 joint review all drew attention to an economic climate inwhich rationalization of the organizational structure would be inevitable. ThePresidential Commission saw the unification of the three ministries (MBEC,MHEVTST, MYS) as an opportunity to “simplify the internal structures ofthe Ministry and to reduce its total staff numbers” (GRN, 1999: 41).

The establishment of personnel of schools and school hostels is basedon staffing norms approved by the PSC and OPM. New school staffingnorms were approved in 2001, after the signing of a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with the teachers’ union on 24 January 2001. Theintention was to phase in the new norms over three years in conjunction withefforts to bring the understaffed and overstaffed regions to the norm. Thenorm was based on a learner to teacher ratio of 35 for primary school learnersand 30 for secondary school learners, with additional teaching staff allocatedto compensate for lesson-free periods of school management and tocompensate large schools for a presumed additional burden. Since the




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remuneration bill for teaching staff was determined also by the level ofqualification of teachers, and since teachers were steadily improving theirqualifications, often by taking courses that were unrelated to their area ofwork, it was calculated that full implementation of the norm was unaffordable.Growth in the teaching force each year, whatever staffing norm was applied,was also necessitated by population growth and by the need to get out-of-school children into school.

Capacity development for staff of the head and regional offices tendedto target individuals and quite often depended on the initiative of the individualrather than on a comprehensive training plan. With development partnersupport and in co-operation with tertiary institutions abroad, a number ofstaff members of both ministries were able to do advanced degree courses,in most cases through a combination of face-to-face sessions, either in Namibiaor abroad, and distance education. In a few instances the staff member wasrelieved of his/her duties to study full time. Other staff members attendedcourses ranging from a couple of weeks’ to nine months’ duration, such ascourses at the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in Parisor the Harvard Graduate School of Education (or formerly the Harvard Institutefor International Development) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2003 theMBESC had made progress towards establishing a database of training needsfor head office and regional office staff, which would make possible thedevelopment of a comprehensive training plan for institutional growth as wellas for individual capacity-building.

During the 2003 course, nine of the 13 regional directorates and threehead office directorates of the MBESC either had new directors appointedor had an acting director after the retirement of a long-serving director,illustrating the importance of taking steps to safeguard institutional memory.

For teaching staff there had been a five-year in-service trainingprogramme and a 10-year plan for teacher development and support. The




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five-year plan, which relied on a cascade model for delivering training, didnot take adequate account of the dilution which often occurs with the movedown to each lower level in the cascade. There were times when regionaloffices did not have the resources to attend to the levels of training for whichthey were responsible. The 10-year plan suggested that the first phase oftraining should target all teachers who were as yet un- or under-qualified,while the second phase should focus on improving the competence of qualifiedteachers. For un- and under-qualified teachers the BETD was offered througha distance course, but the annual intake was unable to satisfy the demand forplaces. Many teachers enrolled for courses that the Ministry refused torecognize, since they were not aligned to the philosophy of the reformedNamibian curriculum.

The competence of practising teachers was to be improved by shortcourses, offered as far as possible during school holidays, and by visits to theschool by advisory teachers. It was soon realized that the regional teams ofadvisory teachers were too small to visit all the schools in the regionssufficiently often to provide the intermittent support necessary to reinforceand monitor the training that had been received. During 2003 a new modelfor the delivery of advisory services, which would take account of thepossibilities offered by the school cluster system, was being designed.

None of the training institutions in the country prepared teachers orinstructors to teach technical subjects at school or in vocational training centres(VTCs), until a programme was mounted at the Polytechnic of Namibia aspart of the Namibia Human Resource Development Programme (NHRDP),specifically for technical instructors.




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2.11 Conclusion

This chapter has described the Namibian education sector. It hassketched broad issues relating to policy development and to the managementof the education system and has highlighted some of the major financial andinstitutional problems and obstacles. It has shown the interaction betweenthe government’s policy and financial planning for the country as a wholeand planning within the education sector. Against this background, the followingchapter will give a detailed and analytical account of the introduction of aSWAp in the Namibian education sector.



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Chapter 3Sector-wide approaches in the education sector

3.1 Introduction

This chapter describes how the education ministries moved to a SWAp.After considering what is meant by such an approach, and the justificationfor embarking on it, a description is given of the Basic Education Ministry’sexperience of a sub-sector approach, on which progress to a full SWAp withthe Higher Education Ministry was built. As part of this process, and at theinsistence of development partners, a scoping study and an appraisal of thesector were conducted. Liaison mechanisms and their strengths andweaknesses are reviewed, as well as financial arrangements and the rolethat indicators play. The first two joint reviews of the sector are described,together with arrangements for reporting on implementation of the sectorplans. Finally, the transaction costs entailed by a SWAp are examined.

3.2 Definitions of SWAps

There are a number of definitions of a SWAp and most of their elementsare similar (Riddell, 2001: 41-44). That used in the Scoping study of 2002(Todd, Dom, Ainger and Powell, 2001: 30) was drawn from a document byFoster, Brown, Norton and Naschold and others:

“...the defining characteristics of a SWAp are that all significant fundingfor the sector supports a single sector policy and expenditure programme,under Government leadership, adopting common approaches across thesector, and progressing towards relying on Government procedures todisburse and account for all funds” (Foster et al., 2000: 6).




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Foster et al. (2000: 6) stressed that a SWAp is “an approach rather thana blueprint”, noting that during implementation, coverage of the sector tendsto become more comprehensive.

The following sub-sections examine the extent to which the Namibiansituation fits the definition.

The sector

Theoretically it should be straightforward to define the ‘education sector’.In practice the actual responsibilities of the concerned ministries have to betaken into account. The education ministries in Namibia are involved in aseries of activities which one might consider to be at or beyond the peripheryof the education system. The MBESC is responsible for the national archives,the national museums, and sport, and the MHETEC for aspects of youthdevelopment that do not clearly fall within the definition of ‘education’. Thenational development plans include the MBESC’s library services in the‘information and broadcasting’ sector and define ‘youth and sportsdevelopment’ as a sector on its own. On the other hand, the support of theMWACW for early child development (ECD) falls within the education sectorin the national development plans. The 2002 appraisal mission team statedthat “The education sector does not necessarily include all areas covered byMBESC and MHETEC and may include areas covered by other ministriessuch as training in health, agriculture and local government. An agreeddefinition of the sector appears to be needed” (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 35).

The Presidential Commission on Education, Culture and Training coveredall the activities of the education ministries and of the MYS, and also coveredECD.21 Yet some of the directorates in the MBESC have regularly complainedthat they have been sidelined, especially where donor support is concerned.

21. See also the composition of the technical team to be set up in terms of a Cabinet decisionof October 2003, Section 2.7 above.



Sector-wide approaches in the education sector

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Donors have also suggested, on occasion, that not all of the areas ofresponsibility of the MBESC fall within the sector which they are supporting.The EFA plans (MBESC, 2003b: 44-48) include early childhood developmentas their first goal. Donors might support a ‘sector’, but the funding, if it is tobe channelled through the SRF, will have to be allocated to a ministry.Consequently the definition of the ‘sector’ would to some extent depend onthe context in which it was being discussed. For the 2003 education sectorreview the definition of the sector was “the extent of education planningand delivery under the aegis of the two ESMs” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a:5) (emphasis added), which allowed the unspecified ‘non-education’ activitiesto be ignored. When the sector indicators as agreed with the developmentpartners are reviewed, it will be clear that a narrower rather than broaderdefinition of education was contemplated.

With so much focus on the roles of ministries, the 2002 appraisal missionteam cautioned against overlooking the role of civil society and private sectorstakeholders (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 35), since education is not only providedfor the benefit of the community at large but also in partnership with thewider community.

Single sector policy programme

When the SWAp was introduced, neither of the education sectorministries had a single coherent policy programme, nor was there a singlecoherent sector policy programme. The development brief, Toward educationfor all, was accepted as a common policy statement, but it did not containdetails of any programme of either ministry. By the end of 2003 the strategicplans of the two ministries plus the EFA national plan of action togetherconstituted, to some extent, the sector policy and programme, but the scopeof activities exceeded the available funding. Several targets were not achievedby the given date because policies underpinning them were either not finalized




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or under revision or still awaiting development.22 The requirement that therebe a single sector policy programme is thus idealistic. It should be understoodrather as a requirement that when there are significant gaps or inconsistenciesin policy, these should be addressed as part of the process. The Namibiancase confirms the nature of a SWAp as a process rather than a blueprint ormechanistic exercise. It also suggests that policy and plan development aredynamic.

Single sector expenditure programme

Ideally in a SWAp the comprehensive costed programme should beavailable, and that it should be known to what extent expenses were beingborne by both government and donors. Any donor-funded project should relateclearly to an activity or set of activities in the sector plan. But project orprogramme support by donors often means that the detail of expenditure isnot available to the beneficiary ministry. The total value of the donor projectover a number of years might be known to the Ministry, but it might well bematched to fiscal years that not coincide with those of the recipientgovernment, which means that even if a certain amount of detail were knownon an annual basis, it might be impossible, or at best difficult, to link it tospending from government funds on related activities.

However, for government and donor funding which passes through theSRF, the overall picture should be clear. The Medium-Term ExpenditureFramework (MTEF)23 is intended to contribute to this understanding. Butthis requires the size of resource envelopes to be known sufficiently far inadvance for the appropriate links to be made with the activities in the sectorprogramme. The fact that the programme is to be implemented by more thanone ministry need not detract from this.

22. For example, advisory teachers were not providing the type of support envisaged in thestrategic plan because structures for the advisory service were still being negotiated in2003.

23. Described in Section 1.3 above.




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By the end of 2003 the education sector had a medium-term expenditureprogramme reflecting income from the government and from the EC andSida. Information on the value of other donor-funded activities was not clearin all respects. The strategic plans were not yet adequately aligned to whatwas known of the medium-term resource envelope.

Government leadership

It would seem from the literature that no African country that introduceda SWAp, or an MTEF, had done so without the prompting of either the WorldBank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), or donors. While this need notnecessarily mean that government cannot play the leading role in takingdecisions or initiating processes or keeping them moving, the Namibianexperience was that donors or development partners (DPs) had on manyoccasions done a great deal of nudging. In some instances governmentresisted; in others government acquiesced. In the 2002 sector appraisal andreview, for example, the appraisal team was submitting to the DPs draftdocuments that it would not share with the ministries. The ministries made aformal protest and refused to consider for inclusion in the 2003 review processany consultant who had been part of the 2002 appraisal, although representativesof the DPs argued strongly for continuity from one year’s review to the nextby employing the same consultants. The refusal to employ the same consultantswas not because their competence was doubted, but because it was felt that ifthey returned they would expect, again, to be working for the DPs and not tothe ministries.

Common approaches across the sector

Where donors support or manage projects within the sector, it is unlikelythat common approaches would be followed to any great extent, and theseapproaches would likely vary from normal government procedures. Whereprojects are managed directly by donors, the donors’ rules for procurement




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of goods and services generally apply. The project manager normally hasreasonable discretion in deciding whether a particular proposed activity is inline with the funding agreement, which may become strikingly apparent whenthere is a change of project manager. Steering committees might play a realrole in setting priorities or identifying beneficiaries, or they might serve onlyto rubber-stamp decisions taken by project managers or others. Keys to theeffectiveness of a steering committee might lie in the level of seniority of itsmembers in the hierarchy of the ministry, or in consistency of attendance atmeetings. Reporting procedures vary from project to project: the informationrequired in a report varies from one donor to another; some reports are compiledby ministry staff and others by the project manager him/herself. Reportingperiods may be related to the fiscal year of the donor. In Namibia attemptswere being made to have all projects represented in and reporting during thethree-yearly ESPAG meetings. The difficulties experienced in getting MBESCdirectorates to report consistently on strategic plan implementation have beendescribed above; if compliance is so difficult to achieve within the Ministry, itis not likely to be any easier to co-ordinate the reporting of projects. However,it is a goal worthy of pursuit.

Progress towards relying on government procedures

Funds channelled through the state revenue fund (SRF) are automaticallysubject to government procedures. For the sub-sector programme support tothe MBESC24 two donors were willing to put their contribution into the SRFwhile the third donor wanted a separate government account to be opened.Since this was unacceptable to the Ministry, mainly because it would haveentailed additional work in keeping records in the Finance Division, the donortook care of the funds, making payments on submission of invoices forapproved activities by the Ministry. Almost without exception, donor fundspaid into the SRF were not available at the time that the main budget was

24. See Section 3.5 below.




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presented to Parliament, and their forming part of the additional budgetregularly led to delayed spending. Although government procedures weretechnically followed in such cases, the intention that all revenue and expenditurebe included in the main budget was thwarted.

Even with the most recent attempt at a SWAp in the education sectorprogramme (ESP), supported by the European Community and Sida, fundingallocated to the Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building Facility(ISCBF) was deliberately kept outside the SRF (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003b:13) in order to avoid delays, for example in recruiting consultants, whichwould be likely if government procedures were followed. Where proceduresfor the procurement of goods and services were set out there were deliberatedeviations from standard Tender Board procedures for goods and suppliescosting less than N$250,000 (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003b: 9). Although theESP accepted that no separate audit was required for donor funds passingthrough the SRF, provision was made for farming out the audit of the educationsector ministries’ accounts by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) ifthat office were unable to produce the audit report within 12 months of theend of the fiscal year. The funds for such an audit could be drawn from theISCBF (Sweden, 2003: clauses 9.3, 9.5; MBESC/MHETEC, 2003b: 3). Therewas thus provision for government procedures to be bypassed under certaincircumstances, both DPs and the ESMs accepting this as the better option.The ESP funding proposal provides for compliance with EC procedures wheretechnical assistance is concerned (MBESC/MHETEC, 2002a: 45). This showshow easy it is to regard donor procedures as the norm.

3.3 Justification for a SWAp

Even if Namibia had not been introduced to the SWAp concept, theeducation ministries stood to benefit from a holistic policy, programme andfunding approach to the sector which involved the active participation of all




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stakeholders. The formal commitment to a SWAp has strengthened andbrought greater coherence to a process which was already taking place.

Immediately after independence there was only one education ministry,and several of the approaches and policies at the time were built on linksbetween sub-sectors. For the improvement of primary and junior secondaryeducation, a clear need to revise the approach to teacher education was felt.The two sets of curricula, for schools and for colleges of education, wereconsequently developed in relation to each other. Even after the EducationMinistry was split in 1995, the NIED, as a directorate within the MBEC(later MBESC), continued to be responsible for reviewing and revising thecurriculum of the BETD, and for delivery of the BETD through a distancecourse to serving teachers, even though the colleges were the responsibilityof the MHETEC. Through NIED, with donor assistance, many of the collegelecturers were able to upgrade their qualifications. When the impact of HIVand AIDS was being felt, a committee bridging the two ministries of educationwas set up, so that a consistent approach to the prevention of infection andthe mitigation of consequences could be developed. When consultants werecalled in to assess the impact of HIV and AIDS, there was no question oftheir working with only one of the ministries. These aspects were amongthose being treated from the perspective of a single sector, even if practicalproblems were sometimes encountered because the two ministries wereseparate from each other.

The Presidential Commission, as noted above, recommended that thethree main ministries in the sector, MBEC, MHEVTST and MYS, be merged.

After the EC had joined Sida in expressing interest in a SWAp, thescoping study and appraisal report required by the development partnershighlighted the benefits in terms of efficiency and sustainability which couldbe achieved if a SWAp were taken:




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“If the Government intends to continue to expand the basic andsecondary education sub-sectors as well as put in place measures toimprove system quality then it will be important to examine the budgets[of both sector ministries] to discover if savings can be made for thisand to consider different allocation and/or share of resources both withinand across sub-sectors [basic and higher education]” (Todd et al.,2001: 26).

A Swedish-commissioned study saw a SWAp as opening the possibilityfor discussion of the broader context of public sector reform and for theintroduction of rules for planning, budgeting and monitoring which could“enhance effectiveness and efficiency in the utilization of public resources”(Sjölander, 2003: Section 5).

From the perspective of the ESMs, the main justification for a SWAp isthat it would allow the necessary linkages across the two education ministriesto be optimized and allow limited funding to be aligned to priorities across thesector as a whole in the interests of efficiency and sustainability. Onlysecondarily should it be seen as a way of using donor assistance in a betterco-ordinated fashion, leading ultimately to a reduction in transaction costs.From the perspective of development partners, a SWAp would allow discussionof a wide range of factors contributing to or inhibiting efficiency in the sector.

3.4 Progress towards a SWAp: overview25

Two staff members from the Ministry of Basic Education and one fromthe Ministry of Higher Education were invited by Sida to attend a workshopin Harare in December 1998 on the SWAp in the education sector. Theworkshop was attended by participants from Mozambique, Namibia, theUnited Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and representativesfrom DFID, the Netherlands, Sida, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank.




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This was Namibia’s introduction to the SWAp concept. Justification for aSWAp was at that stage seen mainly in reaction to “the weaknesses inherentin the traditional project-based approach to development”, even if referencewas also made to the wider macro-economic perspective and the need forcommitment to the approach by the MOF (Rylander and Schmidt, 1998: 1).

Early in 1999 Sida indicated that they were interested in moving towardsa SWAp with the MBEC. They were joined towards the end of 1999 by theNetherlands Embassy and DFID in proposing support to a sub-sectorprogramme from 2000. Sida commissioned a study at the beginning of 2000which, while noting that several of the prerequisites for a sector programmewere absent, encouraged further assistance to the MOF and “sector supportto administrative systems in the education sector” (Sjölander, 2000: iii-iv).The programme, intended to start in April 2000, commenced only in November2000 with the signing of the agreements, ran to March 2002,26 and wasextended to March 2003. It was further extended until the end of 2003. Theprogramme was termed ‘Education Sector Programme Support’ (ESPS).

In support of the SWAp and the ministry’s strategic plan development, astrategic planning advisory group (SPAG) was formed in 1999. The PermanentSecretary was chairperson of the group, which represented both governmentand development partners. Attempts to involve the umbrella organization fornon-governmental organizations were unsuccessful because of othercommitments of those assigned to attend meetings and changes in the office-bearers of the association. Most of the meetings were chaired by the DeputyChairperson, the Ministry’s Director of Planning and Development.

25. The points outlined in this section will be elaborated in the sections which follow.

26. “The short duration of the agreement was caused by the intent of the three agencies tomove towards a SWAp and the need to get into a joint cycle of implementation” (Kann,2001: 3).




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Shortly after the release of the first tranche of funds for the ESPS inJanuary 2001, the EC expressed interest in joining a SWAp. As part of theEC’s preparation for such engagement, a scoping study was commissioned,taking place in September and October 2001. As recommended by the scopingstudy team, a review of the education sector was conducted in June 2002,preceded by an appraisal of the sector.

In August 2002 the SPAG was converted to the ESPAG, to serve theinterests of both ministries of education. A sector task force was alsoestablished in August 2002 to finalize the funding proposal to the EC andSida.

The funding proposal was submitted to the NPC and was forwarded tothe EC and Sida at the end of September 2002. Some modifications weresubsequently made to the proposal.

In November 2002 a Statement of Intent (SoI) was signed by thePermanent Secretary of the NPCS on behalf of the Namibian Government,and by 13 development partners (see Appendix I).

In March 2003 a seminar was held on public finance management andSWAp in education. Sida again commissioned a report, which advised that“The introduction of Swedish sector budget support to the education sectorin Namibia should not be postponed further. There are favourable conditionsfor this kind of support in Namibia, very favourable in comparison to othercountries where Sweden provides this kind of support” (Sjölander, 2003:Section 6.4).

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the permanentsecretaries of the NPC, the MOF, the MBESC, the MHETEC, the DeputyAuditor General, and three development partners in July 2003. The MoU setsout the obligations and contributions of the Ministry as well as the developmentpartners (see Appendix II).




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The second joint annual review (JAR) of the education sector tookplace in September 2003. A report was prepared for the review, and anAide-mémoire drawn up at the conclusion of the meeting.

The funding agreements between the Namibian Government and Sidaand the EC respectively were signed in September 2003, the funding periodcovering the Namibian financial years 2003/04 to 2006/07. However,consensus was still being sought as to the mechanisms for operationalizing theinstitutional strengthening and capacity-building facility (ISCBF).

The most important of these aspects of the sector’s progress towards aSWAp are elaborated in the sections which follow.

3.5 Education sub-sector support

As early as May 1999 the Swedish Embassy indicated that they werelooking at a funding mechanism for 2000 and beyond which would movefrom project support to something more akin to sector support.27 Sida had,over the preceding years, used the State Revenue Fund (SRF) for channellingfunds for a number of targeted activities, and also deposited funds in anaccount administered by an NGO for capacity-building according to the needsof the Ministry. The Netherlands had similarly used the SRF for targetedbudget support. In both cases there had been a requirement that the donorfunds in the SRF be separately accounted for and audited. Despite delays inthe provision of audit reports, the donors were satisfied that the funds werebeing used as intended.

In November 1999 a meeting was held with representatives of Sida, theNetherlands and DFID on support for the following year.28 All three donorswere willing to support a programme aligned with the emerging strategic planof the MBEC, with the funding going through the SRF.

27. Author’s diary. Phone call from the Swedish Embassy on 7 May 1999.

28. Author’s diary. Meeting on 8 November 1999.




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Development and approval of ESPS proposal

The development of the Education Sector Programme Support (ESPS)proposal was done in collaboration with all the relevant directorates of theMBEC, and activities already supported by the three development partnerswere integrated. The donors indicated during meetings in February that theywanted a coherently structured request that would set the individual requestsin context, rather than just a collection of submissions from directorates witha covering letter. The new version was submitted to the donors in April 2000but was still not satisfactory. The donors explained that in the absence of astrategic plan it would be necessary to elaborate the background, todemonstrate the relevance of the planned activities to the broad goals of theministry, and to outline the range of the Ministry’s budget, as well as providingsome detail of the activities to be funded. Also required were a matrixsummarizing the activities and a schedule of costs. The new version wassubmitted at the end of May 2000. While the development partners werebeing prescriptive, the Ministry was satisfied that in the absence of a strategicplan for the Ministry, the request was reasonable.

There were three groupings of activities to be supported in the proposal.The first grouping was ‘strategic planning activities’. The strategic plan forApril 2000 to March 200529 was already being developed, but a great dealremained to be done. Human resource development was required, especiallyto support strategic planning, to cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS and tocope with a changing environment, particularly with the challenges ofdecentralization. In order for management decisions to be based on all relevantinformation, it was envisaged that the Education Management InformationSystem (EMIS) would be linked to computerized human resource data andfinancial data, and that donor assistance would be captured in a database.The second group of activities involved research into areas such as education

29. When the NPC changed the time-frame of the NDP2 to 2001 to 2006, the timeframe forthe MBESC’s strategic plan was changed accordingly.




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for marginalized children, reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS, enhancingcommunity participation in the schools, improving the quality of learning, anddeveloping a new vision for adult basic education. Thirdly, the Ministry’sbudget was to be supplemented with funds for building school facilities, forproducing materials for adult basic education, for training literacy promoters,for supporting the education of San children, for the training of advisoryteachers and teacher educators, and for improving the administration ofexaminations.

The expectation of the implementing directorates had been that fundswould be available in April 2000, at the start of the financial year. However,after the request had been submitted in an acceptable format at the end ofMay 2000, the donors had to consult with their head offices and with oneanother. There had also been a request from them that the MOF be asked togive a written guarantee that any donor funds passing through the SRF wouldbe additional to GRN funds. This letter, signed by the Permanent Secretaryof the MBESC, was submitted to the MOF in August, but received no reply.By September the donors had approved the funding and were wanting theMinistry’s funding request document modified to serve as an annex to thefinancing agreements. This revision was completed in October. The donorssubmitted draft agreements to the MBESC; these were signed in November2000.

Funds contributed by the Netherlands and by Sida would be depositedin the SRF following the approval of the additional budget in Parliament. Thefunds from DFID were to be kept outside the SRF. Since the MBESC wasunwilling to open a separate account, disbursements would be made by theDFID office on submission of appropriate payment vouchers. Whereas Sidaand the Netherlands had already had experience of channelling funds throughthe SRF, DFID had not had this experience. It is surmised that this was thereason for their caution, despite their having declared themselves in favourof a SWAp and budget support.




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The process of developing the request, from the time that individualactivities were proposed by directorates to the signing of the agreements, hadtaken just short of 12 months. Implementing directorates were annoyed thatthey had had to delay activities and that the time remaining to the end of thefinancial year would be insufficient for them to implement the intended activitiesor to absorb the funds budgeted for the year 2000-2001. Even though theunspent funds were rolled over, many of the activities were negatively affectedby the delay. The Ministry’s experience at this point was that entering intopartnership with donors in a SWAp took at least as much time and energy aspreparing for project implementation. There was an expectation that transactioncosts would reduce as the process continued.

Implementation of ESPS

In January 2001 the Directorate of Planning and Development (PAD)called a meeting to explain to implementing directorates the disbursement andreporting procedures. For the funds provided by Sida and the Netherlands,normal GRN procedures would be followed, with the addition of a controlform for the PAD. Requests for disbursement by DFID would be via thePAD. All requisitions would come via the PAD, but undertakings were giventhat this would not delay the process. The intention was that the PAD wouldmonitor spending to gain a clear sense of the rate of disbursement of funds.

The funding proposal stipulated that:

“The Directorate of Planning and Development (PAD), which isresponsible for the overall planning and management of the programme,will report the progress of the programme to the Management and PolicyCoordinating Committee (MPCC) three times a year. It is theresponsibility of PAD to collect and compile a narrative report from eachproject manager and a financial report from the Finance Division. Thisreport shall be submitted to members of the MPCC and the donors twoweeks prior to the MPCC meeting” (MBESC, 2000b: 21).




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As anticipated, the drawing down of funds was slow, with the resultthat unspent funds had to be transferred to the 2001/02 financial year.Implementing directorates in some cases confirmed their budgets, simplyincreasing anticipated expenditure for 2001/02 by the amount under-spent inthe previous year, while in other cases the budget was revised upwards ordownwards.

There had been meetings with the donors on implementation in January,March and April of 2001.30 It had originally been planned that a review meetingwould be held in June, but this was scaled down to a mini-review, with thereview meeting postponed to September. For the June meeting a narrativereport was prepared, which did not meet the DPs’ expectations. Followingthe meeting, the PAD was required to finalize minutes of the meeting, reportclearly on deviations from the budget, and submit a revised budget, by theend of July.

The review meeting was held in September 2001. Apart from consideringprogress reports, donors were presented with funding requests and a budgetfor the 2002/03 financial year. There had also been some requests formodifying activities already in the plan, some of which could not be consideredsimply because they were submitted at the last minute. Those submitted ingood time were considered on their merits by the donors: since the funds hadbeen targeted at specific activities, deviations could not be approved by theministry alone. Some modification of documents submitted to the review hadto be undertaken in the weeks following the meeting. The PAD had difficultyin reconciling some of the figures for expenditure through the SRF with thefigures provided by the Finance Division, and it was November before thedonors were satisfied.31

30. Author’s diary.

31. Author’s diary.




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The meetings with donors in August and December 2001 were alsoattended by a representative of the European Commission, in view of theirinterest in participating in a SWAp.

In February 2002 Sida indicated that 30 million Swedish crowns (SEK)could be made available for the 2002/03 financial year, less whatever amountremained unspent at the end of March 2002. There were no new funds availablefrom either the Netherlands or DFID, but unspent funds could be rolledforward. However, it was a requirement that adequate reporting on theactivities and expenditure of the 2001/02 financial year be submitted. Sincethe staffing of the Education Project Planning (EPP) unit in PAD had beenreduced to one staff member, the donors suggested that they hire technicalassistance to help put the report together. The offer was accepted. Theconsultant developed a format in Excel which was distributed to implementingdirectorates, but there were also personal visits to directorates by the consultantand the EPP staff members to try to ensure that all information was completeand correct. Despite the care taken in compiling the document, there werediscrepancies between the figures submitted by the Finance Division andthose in the report submitted at the beginning of May 2002, which were laterreconciled. The extension agreement from Sida for the 2002/03 financialyear was received at the beginning of July 2002.

The PAD tried to simplify the disbursement procedures by cutting outthe additional recording which EPP had been doing. This meant that theGRN procurement procedures were strictly followed for the Sida funds andthe rolled-over Netherlands funds, but that disbursements by DFID still hadto be channelled through the EPP unit. Despite the procedures being explainedin a meeting, there were a number of misunderstandings. These may in partbe accounted for by the fact that each year the funds coming through theadditional budget had been allocated to the PAD main division of the budget,because the details of the distribution had not been available by the due datefor additional budget submissions to the MOF. The intention was that thefunds would be redistributed to the main budget divisions of implementing




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directorates afterwards. But the consequence was that in the officialdocuments the implementing directorates were not always satisfied withknowing what funds were available.

The donors had hoped that all funds would be spent by the end of 2002,but as it became clear that this would not be the case, another round ofreports with indications of unspent and re-allocated balances was required bythe end of the year.

Even by the end of the 2002/03 financial year there was a balance offunds and, in view of the delayed start-up of the ESP covering both of theESMs, the unspent funds were again rolled over.

Management of the ESPS

The management of the ESPS is depicted in Figure 3.1. The Directorateof Planning and Development provided the main link between the implementingdirectorates on the one hand, and the development partners on the other.

Funding proposals were initially submitted by directorates to the PAD,which compiled the funding request on behalf of the Ministry. Requests formodifications to funded activities were also received by the PAD and clearedwith the development partners. When necessary, the PAD checkeddirectorates’ requests with the EMT, and reported to the MPCC, at which alldirectorates were represented. The comprehensive implementation reportsthat were to be tabled at MPCC meetings preceding meetings withdevelopment partners were never ready in time for MPCC meetings. Selectivereporting did, however, take place at some meetings.

Initially, the PAD provided the link between directorates and the FinanceDivision of the Ministry (FIN), for disbursements from the SRF. Subsequently,directorates liaised directly with the Finance Division. For disbursements byDFID, the PAD always acted as the intermediary.




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The PAD was the chief representative of the Ministry during SPAGmeetings, which were attended by the development partners. Representationby the Ministry of Higher Education, the NPC(S), MOF, and OPM on theSPAG is not depicted on the diagram.

For the annual review meeting, directorates submitted theirimplementation reports and requests for revision of their budgets to PAD forthe compilation of a combined report. Implementing directorates were invitedto the review meeting, but generally attended only during the discussion oftheir own report.

Figure 3.1 Management of the ESPS

* ‘NETH’ denotes the Netherlands.

EMT

FIN

MPCC

PAD

SPAG Sida

NETH*

DFID

IMPLE-MENTING

DIREC-TORATES

REVIEW




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Problems

It would appear that there was widespread misunderstanding about theuse of donors’ funds. Many believed that the funding was available to meetany unforeseen contingency, irrespective of what had been put into the originalrequest or what was in the agreement between the Ministry and donors. Thiswas probably symptomatic of inadequate communication on a number ofaspects of the programme. Procedures were sometimes disregarded, or whenGRN procedures were cumbersome (as the tendering process often was),the PAD was expected to find a solution. It was not always the representativeof a directorate who had attended meetings who actually implemented theprogramme; in some cases poor communication within the directorate ratherthan a lack of information from the PAD might have been the problem.

Where DFID’s procedures had to be followed, the supportingdocumentation was sometimes lacking, causing delays, or requests fordisbursement were submitted after the expenditure had already been incurred.Within the PAD there was a reluctance to return incomplete disbursementrequests to the initiating directorate and they were passed on to DFID, creatingthe impression that PAD staff were also unaware of the correct procedures.

Reports from directorates were received late by the PAD, andsometimes only after repeated follow-up. Partly because of this, and partlybecause of understaffing in PAD, composite reports were not available aheadof the relevant meeting, as required. The importance of the report to thedonor was not adequately grasped. Minutes of meetings often were notdistributed until the next meeting was to take place, making follow-up ofmatters difficult.

A consultant for Sida noted that “It appears ... that PAD has not placedpriority on the implementation of the ESPS, an argument that PAD staffmost likely would not agree with” (Kann, 2001: 18). It appeared that most ofthe activities to be funded under the ESPS were regarded by the implementing




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directorates as additional to their routine business, and when pressuresmounted, the ESPS activities suffered. Most directorates tended to over-estimate their capacity to implement programmes at the time of planning theactivities, or made highly optimistic assumptions about when vacant postswould be filled.

There seemed frequently to be a reluctance to engage with financialdetails. Although all directorates were required to keep commitment registersfor funds (whether from government or donors) coming via the SRF, therewere frequent discrepancies between the records in a directorate and thosein the Finance Division. During the time when the PAD was keeping a parallelrecord of expenditure, there were also discrepancies between the PAD’srecord and that of the Finance Division.

In summary, the implementation of the ESPS showed a need forimproved communication, for training in financial procedures, for treatingagreed deadlines with greater respect and, most importantly, for more realisticplanning in relation to available human and financial resources. “Theexperiences from the ESPS in terms of management, reporting, monitoringetc. need to be translated into changes in the way MBESC managesprogrammes” (Todd et al., 2001: 39).

3.6 Strategic Planning Advisory Group

The group was established in May 1999 as a mechanism for the MBEC(principally members of the Directorate of Planning and Development) toconsult with funding agencies on policy reform, on integration of activitiesinto the strategic plan, on financial support to the plan, and to co-ordinateimplementation, monitoring and reporting procedures. Meetings were to bechaired by the Permanent Secretary of the MBEC, with the Director ofPlanning as an alternate. Development partners would become members byinvitation. The MHEVTST, MOF and NPCS were invited to send




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representatives; this was later extended to the Efficiency and Charter Unit inthe OPM. The group was to hold a minimum of two meetings a year.

During its first year the group met six times.32 The main matters ofconcern were the strategic plan of the ministry which was then being developed,and the finalization and implementation of the ESPS. In 2000, four meetingswere held. Interest in the strategic plan and in implementation of the ESPScontinued. Arising from Sjölander’s report, there was inconclusive discussionon how the wage bill for teachers could be reduced without sacrificing quality.A recurrent theme was whether donor funds would be as safe if channelledthrough the SRF as they would be if kept outside.

Only one meeting was held in 2001, in January. The EC representativeproposed a move to a full SWAp, building on the ESPS experience, whichcould be regarded as a ‘mini-SWAp’.33 The meeting proposed for May 2001did not take place. Interested stakeholders had attended the launch of theMinistry’s strategic plan on 27 March; the implementation of the ESPS wastaken care of in meetings called for that purpose; and the costing and prioritizingof the strategic plan and later the scoping study were absorbing the energiesof those who would have been involved in the SPAG meetings.

The meeting of February 2002 looked at recommendations contained inthe scoping study, and at the way in which the terms of reference for theSPAG could be broadened to turn it into a sector advisory group for botheducation ministries. In August, following the appraisal of the sector and thejoint review meeting, a meeting of the ESPAG was held. The terms ofreference were virtually unchanged, but the Ministry of Higher Educationwould play a more prominent role. During the latter part of 2002 and theearly part of 2003, there was much overlap between the role of the ESPAG

32. 28 May, 24 June, 29 July, 22 September, 2 November, 25 November 1999.

33. SPAG minutes, 25 January 2001.




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and of the task force responsible initially for drafting the sector funding proposalto the EC and Sida, and subsequently for all the matters relating to the 2003joint annual review of the sector.

By the end of 2003 members of the group were looking at substantiallyredrafting the terms of reference to give to the ESPAG the role required of itin the MoU.

The three chief weaknesses of the SPAG were erratic attendance byrepresentatives of some offices, ministries, agencies or organizations; too fewrepresentatives sufficiently senior in the hierarchy of their organization; andineffective minute-taking. Poor minute-taking retarded progress on certainmatters either because insufficient detail had been recorded, or because theminutes of a meeting were not distributed in time. Although the SPAG meetingsfrequently duplicated discussions held with some of the SPAG participantson other occasions, the meetings served a useful purpose in trying to bringrepresentatives of a range of organizations to a common understanding ofstrategic planning and budgetary support concepts. It helped to build up workingrelationships. Through its shortcomings, its members learnt how it could bestrengthened. The new ESPAG promises to be a much more effectivemechanism for assisting the ministries in their planning, follow-up andmonitoring of implementation.

3.7 Education sector support

This section describes the most significant move to date towards a SWApin the education sector, building partly on the experience gained by the MBESCin implementing the ESPS, but perhaps more significantly on the growinginterest which some development partners have in SWAps.




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During the course of the ESPS, the Netherlands indicated that it wouldnot be able to continue its support beyond the end of the programme,34 sinceits criteria for countries qualifying for assistance had been changed. Sida wasprepared to consider support beyond April 2002 in the form of a SWAp, eventhough only one ministry might benefit. The European Commission, whoseNamibia Human Resource Development Programme (NHRDP) with theeducation sector ministries was scheduled to end in 2003, also expressedinterest in going into support of the broad sector.35

As part of the process of preparing, mainly, for EC support, a ‘scopingstudy’ was conducted in 2001, which led to an appraisal and review of thesector in 2002 and the setting up of a task force to prepare both for EC andSida support and for the 2003 review. The SPAG of the MBESC, as describedabove, was extended in scope to become the Education Sector PlanningAdvisory Group, serving both of the ESMs. A Statement of Intent (SoI) andMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) were drawn up following the 2002review. Detailed funding proposals were drafted by the ESMs to support arequest for earmarked sector programme support, but the DPs subsequentlyopted for untargeted sector support; however, the ESMs still had to negotiatethe proportion of support which would go to each of the ministries. The DPsalso indicated that a portion of the funding should be kept outside the SRF tosupport an Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building Facility (ISCBF)and preparations were made for setting this up. These activities are describedin more detail in the following sub-sections.

34. Author’s diary. Meeting with Mr Kees van den Bosch of the Netherlands Embassy on13 August 1999.

35. The Economic Adviser at the EC and the Manager of the NHRDP conveyed this to theMBESC Director of Planning and Development after they and the EC Ambassador hadmet with the Minister of Basic Education on 18 January 2001 (author’s diary). Thisconfirmed a tentative indication of such support in an electronic mail message to theauthor from the EC on 13 December 2000.




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The scoping study

The scoping study was initiated by the European Commission to providea foundation upon which a programme of sector support could be built.Previous assistance from the EC had been through programmes, the firsttargeted at improving mathematics and science education within the (then)single ministry of education, and the second targeting a wider range of objectivesin both ministries of education. The latter, the NHRDP, had been well managedby a Programme Implementation Unit (PIU).

The four-member scoping study team conducted their work in Septemberand October 2001, producing five reports:

1. The main report (Todd et al., 2001) (77 pages plus 19 annexes).2. A report on financial issues for the education sector.3. A discussion paper on decentralization.4. A report on vocational education and training.5. A record of the process and documents used.

The purpose of the study was described as being

“to assist the GRN, and in particular the two ministries of education andthe development partners to assess the relevance and the feasibility ofvarious approaches for managing education development and in particularto look at the feasibility of moving to a sector-wide approach (SWAp).The consultants were also asked to explore the possible use of differentfinancing instruments that the DP might use and whether the conditionswere right for these to be used if GRN so wished” (Todd et al., 2001: 1).

In the course of their work the scoping study team, apart fromresearching a large number of documents, interviewed the Minister of BasicEducation, Permanent Secretaries or Deputy Permanent Secretaries fromthe MBESC, the MHETEC, the MOF, and the NPC, as well as a number of




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other staff members of these offices and of the offices of the Prime Ministerand of the Auditor General, the Rector and selected staff members of thePolytechnic of Namibia, representatives of most of the DPs active in theeducation sector, NGO representatives, and a few others. Presentations weremade on the inception report, the financial situation,36 and on SWAp.37

During the government and DP workshop on the appropriateness of aSWAp, it emerged that the education ministries were supportive of a SWApwith policy development, strategic planning, reviewing the sector, and resourcemobilization to be done jointly as far as possible. This position was alsosupported by the central ministries. The participating DPs also favoured thisapproach (Todd et al., 2001: 60). The Permanent Secretary of the MBESC,in her opening remarks, while acknowledging the value of viewing the sectorholistically, cautioned that further development would have to build on whathad already been achieved, that changes would necessarily be gradual, andthat “we are ... convinced that we need to know more about [a SWAp], weneed to know more about the factors and criteria necessary to establishthis ...” (Todd et al., 2001: 61). In her closing remarks she raised “the bigquestion whether MOF is on board or not. Certainly, the education ministrieswill take issues up ... BUT, the development partners could help by sendinga clear message on their thinking, to the MOF” (Todd et al., 2001: 62).

A number of actions were agreed on for taking the process forward,notably the following (Todd et al., 2001: 69-70):

1. The workshop recommendations would be presented to the managementteams and ministers of the two ESMs. While briefing of these bodiesand persons had already taken place during the course of the precedingweeks, the understanding of the demands of the process was constantlygrowing and had been advanced significantly during the workshop. It

36. 28 September 2001.

37. Presentation on 3 October 2001, and workshop on 15 October 2001.




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was recognized that the process could not work unless it were fullybacked by senior management.

2. There were key issues to be taken up with central ministries, especiallywith the MOF. Two of the most important were guarantees of additionalityof donor funding and the carrying over of any balance of donor fundingfrom one fiscal year to the next.

3. Sector co-ordination mechanisms were to be set up, possibly by revisingthe remit of the SPAG, and by arranging joint meetings of themanagement teams of the two ministries. It was agreed that the “sectorco-ordination mechanism should have a role in resource allocation acrosssub-sectors”. It was further suggested that the ‘new SPAG’ might meetmonthly during the period November 2001 to June 2002 (Todd et al.,2001: 74).

4. A consultative meeting was to be held early in 2002, for which a numberof preparatory meetings would have to be held in November 2001. Thesewould inter alia look at the state of policy development in the ESMs,their strategic planning, links with the MTEF and NDP2, and determinewhat documentation would be required for the February meeting.

5. It was agreed that there should be an annual planning, budgeting andreview calendar which would be consistent with the GRN budget cycleand those of the ESMs (Todd et al., 2001: 71; Annex 9).

A possible set of mechanisms was proposed (Todd et al., 2001: 72):

1. The MBESC’s EMT and MHETEC’s MC were to assume joint overallresponsibility. This implied that reasonably regular joint meetings of theEMT and MC would be held.

2. Two inter-ministerial task forces were to be established, reporting tothe joint EMT/MC; one for financial planning and budgeting issues, theother for institutional development issues. The task forces were to liaisewith central ministries as required and to use normal ministryarrangements for sub-sector work.




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3. Drafting committees were to be set up, their members being drawnfrom the task forces.

A number of critical tasks, as set out in Table 3.1, were listed.

Table 3.1 Tasks in preparation for a joint GRNand DP consultative meeting

Task Lead responsibility

Overarching sector policy statement Drafting committeeAgreed mechanisms for sector co-ordination (1) TF on institutional development

(2) D P

Annual planning, budgeting and review calendar Drafting committeeOutline strategic plans for three main sub-sectors (1) PAD – for basic education

(2) VET* Directorate(3) HE† Directorate

Priority programmes for implementation Lead directorates in both ESM (PADto co-ordinate for MBESC)

Sector medium-term financing frameworks TF on financial planning and budgeting

Sub-sector medium-term financing frameworks Normal ministry arrangements

Management and monitoring arrangements, Lead directorates (PAD to co-ordinate forincluding indicators, for priority programmes MBESC)

Sector performance indicators and baseline data TF on institutional development, with inputsfrom TF on financial planning and budgeting

Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for TF on institutional development, with inputsabove indicators from TF on financial planning and budgeting

Work plans for further policy and strategic Drafting committeedevelopment, etc.

Outline of capacity-building needs, including TF on institutional developmenttechnical assistance needs

Note: ‘TF’ denotes Task Force *Vocational education and training†Higher education

Source: Todd et al., 2001: 72-73.




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It was acknowledged by the scoping study team that the set of activitiesproposed represented “a very heavy agenda” (Todd et al., 2001: 74). Inimplementing the recommendations, only one task force was established,meeting for the first time nine months after the conclusion of the scopingstudy. Its main work during 11 meetings of 2002 and the first 10 meetings of2003 was directed at ensuring that the funding agreements with the EC andSida would be in place.

The scoping study team also addressed the use of technical assistanceby the ESMs as they moved towards a SWAp.

Strategic plan development

Although the development of the strategic plans of the ESMs has beendiscussed above, it is appropriate to note here that between the completion ofthe scoping study and the first meeting of the task force there were threeimportant sets of activities which were occupying the ESM staff memberswho would later be involved in the task force. Had this not been the case, thetask force would have started its work sooner. First, there was the compilingof the report on the implementation of the ESPS.38 Second was the processof costing the MBESC’s strategic plan and reviewing the priorities. Whilethe costing was being done by a consultant, preparations were under way forthe ‘Cresta Lodge’ workshop in April 2002 to determine priorities in the plan.39

The third activity was the development of the MHTEC’s strategic plan.






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Appraisal mission in preparation for the first joint reviewof the education sector

The scoping study team had proposed a review of the education sectorfor June 2002 (Todd et al., 2001: 71). In preparation for the review, an appraisalof the sector was to be conducted.

The appraisal mission (Arcadis BMB, 2002a) and review took place inJune 2002. No appraisal report, even in draft form, was available to theESMs when the review started. On the day prior to the review, two membersof the appraisal team had met with two representatives of the MHETEC andone of the MBESC to share the team’s provisional findings. Shortly after thereview had started the following day, a member of the appraisal team askeda staff member of the MBESC whether a copy of the draft report had perhapsbeen ‘leaked’ to the Ministry. In this way a strong impression was createdthat the appraisal team members saw themselves as working for thedevelopment partners and not for the ESMs.

In their report the appraisal mission team noted the commitment of theGRN to move towards sector funding in education. The report noted theconsistency of the ESM’s strategic plans with the national poverty reductionstrategies, with national education policies, and with the Dakar Frameworkand the Hamburg Declaration. As such the strategic plans formed “animportant step towards more holistic and sector-based planning which in turnmay lead to the development of a SWAp in education” (Arcadis BMB,2002a: 5). However, the team continued that:

“... the Strategic Plans are currently an incomplete, fragmented andinitially over ambitious expression of these targets. The barriers toattaining these goals are rooted in current Ministerial capacity and thecontext of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), andthe Plans as such present only partial strategies that will address thebarriers. This is largely a result of the Plans being an articulation of




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prioritized additional activities as opposed to an outline of the entireoperational activities of the ministries complete with considerations ofrecurrent liabilities and sustainability” (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 5).

The shortcomings of the plans were elaborated, leading the team toconclude that the plans were less than appropriate for attracting co-ordinatedfunding: “Shortcomings render co-ordinated donor support on the basis of thePlans unfeasible in the best of fiscal circumstances” (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 6).In view of the national financial situation,40 the feasibility of implementing theplans was further reduced. “Essentially the targets and strategies indicatedin the Plans reflect narrow and incomplete responses to the twin challengesof aligning spending to priorities and improving the returns by unit of input”(Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 7); the “most urgent strategic need” was to “improvethe outcomes of education within the context of decreasing GRN budgetallocations by using its resources better” (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 37).

The appraisal mission team thus recognized that there had been substantialprogress in both education sector ministries in the development of plans andacknowledged linkages cutting across different organizations as a positivedevelopment (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 25), but cautioned that “unduly rapidprogress towards a SWAp will be precarious for both the GRN and DPs”(Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 8).

The report provided a detailed analysis of strengths and weaknesseswithin the sector, pointing out where the weaknesses were a reflection ofshortcomings in the broader context of public policy, and highlighting inparticular those relating to the management of public finance. There are asmany pages of the report devoted to state financing of education in Namibiaas there are to training and professional development, infrastructure, lifelonglearning, VET and higher education, and HIV/AIDS combined. The team

40. “Allocations to the two ministries are projected to drop by 20 per cent in real termsbetween the 2001/02 and 2004/05 spending years” (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 27).




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recommended that donor support should be targeted at “mediat[ing] the impactof the funding cuts and improv[ing] effectiveness and efficiency, instead offunding non-critical activities ...” (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 61). Suggested areasfor support were the further development of the strategic plans and of themedium-term expenditure plans, the improvement of the “strategic, planning,financial and human resource management and evaluation systems of theministries in line with central reform drives”, and support for selected areasto be identified elsewhere in the report (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 61).

‘Next steps’ were set out in two matrices, the first suggesting sevenpriority objectives to be slotted into the existing MBESC strategic plan, with“some liberty [being] taken to incorporate Vocational Education and Training[MHETEC responsibility] in Lifelong Learning [MBESC responsibility]”(Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 113), and the next, a ‘planning matrix’, elaboratingthese by specifying the intervention logic, outputs, process indicators,assumptions and risks, and measurable outcome indicators (Arcadis BMB,2002a: 114-134). The seven priorities are reproduced in Table 3.2.

As part of their report the appraisal mission team produced “A frameworkfor possible funding to the education sector in Namibia” (Arcadis BMB, 2002b),which had every appearance of having already been accorded some level ofapproval by the two DPs who had indicated interest in the SWAp:

“EDF 9 and SIDA support will be provided as Programmesupport ... and will contribute to prioritized activities of the Ministriesof Education. Up to 20 per cent of this support will be reserved fortechnical assistance (TA) to be utilized for capacity development, supportto reviews and monitoring and evaluation ... TA will either be recruitedunder the Programme ... or outside the Programme ... (Arcadis BMB,2002b: 6)” (Emphasis added).




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Table 3.2 Seven priority objectives for improving efficiency andeffectiveness

From the MBESC strategic plan

National Education system goal Proposed priority objectivepriority area

Efficiency The ministry is to be converted into a Improve immediate effectiveness andand high-performance organization, efficiency of spending in line with NEPeffectiveness focused on results and service strategic objectives

Education sector systems facilitatedesign, implementation and evaluationof strategic plans

Teacher The ministry is to support the Teacher, teacher educator and educationeducation development of teacher education and management performance enhanced inand support provide continuous support for teachers support of poverty reduction

to improve teaching and learning inschools

Physical The Ministry is to provide and Community-centred physical facilitiesfacilities maintainan appropriate infrastructure that support equitable and quality access

and environment that supports teaching,learning and development of skills

Lifelong Namibian out-of-school youth and More Namibians with marketable skillslearning/ VET adults – especially the disadvantaged

and people with disabilities – will acquire Out-of-school youth and adults acquireknowledge, skills and attitudes that will relevant knowledge, skills and attitudeshelp them to continuously improve thequality of their lives and theircommunities, and exercise their rightsand responsibilities as citizens in a freecountry

HIV/AIDS The ministry is to deal urgently and Implementation of education sectorpurposefully with the HIV/AIDS approach to reduce infection rate andpandemic in and through the education mitigate impact of HIV/AIDSsector, in co-operation with otherministries and agencies

Source: Arcadis BMB, 2002a: 113.




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The main assumptions “critical for the success of the Programme”,were:

1. That GRN develop a policy of macroeconomic stability within its long-term focus on poverty eradication.

2. That central and local government institutions acquire the capacity tosuccessfully manage the sector and sub-sector programmes.

3. That an appropriate institutional framework will be established that willallow for joint planning, implementation and monitoring of the programmesby the GRN and its DPs (Arcadis BMB, 2002b: 19).

The main risk identified was the failure of the strategic plans to takeaccount of the constrained fiscal environment, but it was suggested that therisk could be “minimized with sensitive but informed dialogue and well-facilitated workshops”. Further risks related to the capacity of the system todisburse funds on time and to manage the delivery of education at all levels ofthe system (Arcadis BMB, 2002b: 20).

In the same way that the ESMs understood the document to indicatethat DPs had already decided on the broad programme areas they wouldsupport, they also interpreted the suggestion on minimizing the risk as a strongindication that DPs would expect to play a strong role in persuading the ESMsto do ‘the right thing’, because the inherent weaknesses of the ministries’planning and management structures would prevent them, of their own accord,from downplaying other perceived needs to focus on the main priorities.

Again, in what appeared to be a prescription by the appraisal team onbehalf of the DPs, “conditions to be fulfilled prior to initial disbursement”were stipulated:

1. The articulation of an overall policy framework for the education sector.2. The development of the education sector budget within the context of

the MTEF, which reflects the EDF 9 and SIDA funds as specific DPfunding.




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3. The MoU to include modalities for Joint Review and financial audit isagreed and approved.

4. Operational plans for objectives 1 and 241 in the logical framework are inplace (Arcadis BMB, 2002b: 23).42

In developing the funding proposal to the EC and to Sida, the ESMswere to a great extent responsive to what appeared to be firm requirementsset by the DPs.

Following the review meeting, when the draft report was made availableto the ESMs, a response to the report was jointly prepared by the twoministries.43 The response criticized the team for being over-hasty in a numberof their conclusions, considering that they had been in the country for such ashort time. “One of the main shortcomings of the report is that it fails adequatelyto acknowledge that the education ministries are engaged in a planning process.It treats the plans of both ministries as relatively finished products, andcriticizes them on that basis”. And, “... it is not fair to criticize [the plans] fornot having incorporated information which was not available at the time whenthey were drafted”,44 the latter point referring to the MTEF, the NDP2, andthe HIV/AIDS impact study, among others.

First joint review of the education sector

The review took place from 18 to 21 June 2002. Apart from the ministersof education (basic and higher) two deputy ministers (higher education), thePermanent Secretary (higher education), the Acting Permanent Secretary

41. See Table 3.2 above.

42. The text states that there are ‘five’ conditions, but lists only four, there being no entryagainst the number 5.

43. MBESC/MHETEC. Response to the EC and to the appraisal team on the appraisalreport, 12 July 2002.

44. Ibid., paras. 5 and 6.




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(Basic Education), and senior staff members of both ministries, representativesof the NPC, the OPM, the MOF, tertiary institutions, parastatals, the privatesector, and 14 development partners were present.

The opening address was given by the Minister of Higher Education,Training and Employment Creation, while the closing remarks were made bythe Minister of Basic Education, Sport and Culture. Nineteen presentationswere made, covering aspects of the strategic plans of the two ministries,with the opportunity for discussion of the presentations and other concerns.No final joint review report was produced, largely because the ministries feltthat, since the appraisal report had not been tabled, there was no conclusiveoutcome to the review. However, a SoI was drafted by a working grouprepresenting the two ministries and development partners and modified duringdiscussion.

On 20 June the two ministries met during a lull in the review meeting toconsider signals from some of the development partners that they were notsatisfied with the way the review was being conducted or with the appraisalreport. After a closed discussion the team leader and the only Namibianmember of the appraisal team joined the meeting. Three points made onbehalf of the appraisal team need to be highlighted:

1. Moving too fast to a SWAp would be potentially disastrous for the sectorand for the development partners.

2. The report is a genuine attempt to be part of the process to move thingsalong. Some parts of the report will be informed by the outcome of themeeting with the development partners.

3. Some development partners have chosen areas for support.45

45. Notes made during a meeting on 20 June 2002 to prepare for the outcome of theeducation sector review.




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Education Sector Programme Task Force (ESPTF)

The ESPTF, which held its first meeting on 7 August 2002, was onlypartly a response to the recommendation in the scoping study. Its main taskswere to put together the funding proposal to the EC and Sida and to ensurethat the conditions set by the DPs for disbursement would be met.

Membership

The intention was that the two ESMs, the NPC(S) and the MOF wouldbe represented on the task force, as well as the DPs strongly supporting theSWAp process, when appropriate. In fact, the DPs attended virtually everymeeting. Chairing of the meeting was given to the NPC(S) so that the twoESMs could participate on even terms and to ensure participation by theNPC(S) at a sufficiently senior level. Largely because the number of staffmembers of the ESMs whose line functions demanded that they be involvedin the process was small, and because of other conflicting demands on theirtime, attendance at meetings was erratic and less than optimal. On fouroccasions the meeting was chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the NPC(S).At the meeting on 30 July 2003 he indicated that the “Steering Committee[i.e. the task force] should now be taken over by the ministries of educationand NPC will play a monitoring role, also in terms of reporting back to the ECand Sida on progress with this Programme”.46 He proposed that chairing betaken over by the ESM permanent secretaries,47 and that DPs should nolonger be members. The NPC and MOF would become ‘auditors’ of theprogramme.48 However, when the Permanent Secretary of the MBESC was

46. ESPTF minutes, 30 July 2003.

47. The Permanent Secretary, MHETEC, was present at this meeting. The PermanentSecretary, MBESC, was not, and when informed, indicated that she did not regard it asappropriate for the committee to be chaired at this level.





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informed of the new arrangement, she indicated that it would not beappropriate for the ESPTF to be chaired at such a senior level.

First meeting of the task force

The first meeting was attended by only five persons: two from theNPC(S), two from the MHETEC, and one from MBESC. Some time wastaken in sharing information and identifying documents with which all memberswere to familiarize themselves. The possibility was raised of getting intechnical assistance for developing a financing plan and a sector plan. Thelevel of EC funding was discussed, along with possible modes of applying thefunds, including the possibility of using the Education Development Fundprovided for in the Education Act, but not yet activated. The auditingrequirements of DPs were touched on, and the desirability of having arepresentative of the MOF participating regularly. The following sub-sectionscover the main topics of discussion during the ESPTF meetings. Althoughthese topics are dealt with as appropriate elsewhere in this study, the purposein this section is to highlight the role played by the task force in advancing theprocess.

Development of funding proposal

The development of a funding proposal was the most important initialtask. At an EMT meeting49 it had been discussed in relation to the suggestionscontained in the Aide-mémoire on support to the education sector, which inturn was strongly influenced by the appraisal mission team’s framework forpossible funding to the education sector (Arcadis BMB, 2002a: Annex 4,p. 48). At the second meeting of the ESPTF, the NPC(S) presented an outlinefunding proposal. The NPC(S) was prepared to flesh out most of the generalsections, leaving the two ESMs to provide the detailed objectives and strategies

49. EMT meeting of 23 July 2002.




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which the funding would support. The clear understanding at this stage wasthat the support would be earmarked to specific programmes. The share ofthe support which could be claimed by each of the ESMs was debated, aswell as the proportion of the overall funding envelope which should berequested for the first year. The MHETEC representatives questioned whetherSida’s contributions would be sector-wide or targeted at the MBESC sub-sector. By the beginning of October Sida was still exploring the possibility offunding MHETEC activities.50 ESPTF members not connected to the ESMscautioned against ‘front-loading’ and against funding activities which wouldnot be sustainable. At the task force meeting on 6 September 2002 it wasobserved by the Permanent Secretary of the NPC(S) that the proposalsexceeded indicative funds, and that prioritizing and the development ofimplementation plans should be undertaken.

The funding proposal was ready at the end of September 2002,representatives having been advised that late submission would jeopardizethe release of funds in April 2003. At the ESPTF meeting on 1 October 2002,representatives were requested to ask the responsible directorates to elaboratethe implementation plans for their activities, and to present these plans to thetask force at a meeting in the third week of October. The education ministrieswere asked to submit a joint formal request to the NPC(S).

At the meeting of 8 November the Sida representatives raised a numberof criticisms of the funding proposal as a whole and of the specific activitiesproposed by the ministries. The proposal, they said, focused too heavily onEC requirements. The objectives should have been stated more simply andclearly, and should have been related to indicators. The impression wasconveyed that the activities were ‘additional’, whereas they should have beenintegrated with the routine business of the ministries. Democracy had beenoverlooked; neither gender nor adult education was adequately covered. To

50. ESPTF minutes, 1 October 2002.




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increase access it was not sufficient just to build more schools. Risks andassumptions had not been stated and monitoring procedures had not beendescribed. At this point it was stated that Sida’s support would be to theoverall programme, not just to the MBESC. The NPC(S) representativeundertook to re-draft the relevant sections to make it less of an EC document.Ministry representatives could not guarantee that all the other criticisms wouldbe attended to before the end of the month.

At the meeting of 15 November the EC representative said that he hada problem with earmarking funds since this would require individual auditingof every main division to which funds had been allocated, and asked whethera separate main division of the budget could be created for the donor funds.This was not favoured. Both DPs indicated that a certain amount of re-writing of the proposal would be required to meet their own specific needs,but that this would not place any burden on government staff.

It was reported at the first meeting of 200351 that Sida had written tothe NPC indicating tentative willingness to support the funding proposal, whileBrussels was still studying the request. During discussion in the ESPAG meetingof 7 March 2003 it was stated by donors that “Present support is untargetedsupport to the education sector. The ministries must decide which programmesare to be supported to achieve results”.52 This was a reversal of the positiontaken by the donors in earlier meetings, at which the list of areas in theappraisal report had been taken as the focus for support.53 At the ESPTFmeeting at the end of April 2003 indicative amounts were given for Sidasupport on an annual basis, and for EC support in total. Both DPs had indicatedthat the period of the assistance had been extended from three to four years,running from 2003 to 2007. However, in the meantime it had become clearthat there would be no new money available until possibly half-way through

51. 23 January 2003.

52. ESPTF minutes, Section 5 (1.1).





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the first financial year (2003/04). At the meeting of 30 July 2002 it wasreported that the funding proposal had been approved by both DPs and thatit should be referred to as the ‘financing agreement’.

Indicators

At the very first meeting of the ESPTF54 the need to have indicatorswas noted. Apart from outcome indicators, it was suggested that ‘benchmarksand process indicators’ might also be looked at.55 At the request of ESPTFmembers a half-day workshop was organized on 29 November 2002. On12 March 2003 a small working group from the two ESMs, with a facilitatorprovided by Sida, drew up a short list of outcome indicators, but noted thatfor HIV and AIDS it was still looking for measures for which data could beavailable.56

Financial arrangements

The task force meetings addressed a range of issues, includingadditionality, sustainability, the budget cycle and the structure of the budget,modalities and time frame for channelling donor funds, and audit requirements.

The question of whether donor contributions were to be channelledthrough the State Revenue Fund,57 whether such funds would be additionalto what government provided or whether government allocations to a sectorwould be reduced on the strength of donor commitments was raised in thefifth meeting of the task force.58 The Permanent Secretary of the NPC(S)

54. ESPTF minutes, 7 August 2002.

55. ESPTF minutes, 15 November 2002.

56. ESPTF minutes, 25 March 2003.

57. The funds to be kept outside the SRF are dealt with in the section on the ISCBF(see below).

58. ESPTF minutes, 6 September 2002.




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stated that donor funds are not necessarily additional. After a consultantworking with the NPC(S) had had a meeting with the MOF, he reported atthe seventh meeting that MTEF ceilings would be increased by the amountcontributed by the DPs. If there were to be any downward adjustments, theywould be as a result of changes in the economic climate and would not bedirected at a single sector.59 At the end of the financial year unspent donorfunds could be transferred to a suspense account and would not be lost to thesector in the way in which unspent GRN funds would be.60

Sustainability, as an issue, came up regularly. The funding proposal, asdeveloped by the ministries, had the appearance of covering a collection ofadditional activities. The viability of some activities was even questioned byan ESM representative.61 The question of front- or end-loading was alsorelevant here: Were the ministries not being over-ambitious for the first yearof the programme? Particularly as the first disbursement could not take placeuntil late in the financial year.62 Such a question was well-justified if theexperience of spending under the ESPS was taken into account: only onedirectorate had been able to spend the amounts it requested on the activities ithad specified and at the time when it had indicated they would take place.63

The budget cycle had been an issue for the scoping study team in 2001,when proposals had been made to link the planning activities of the ESMs tothose of the MOF. With the MOF’s additional requirement that ministriesprovide medium-term plans (MTPs) in response to the MTEF in time for theannual budget hearings, there were frequent checks on the progress the ESMs


60. Stated by the MOF representative at the 6 September 2002 TF meeting. A differentview was expressed in the meeting of 30 July 2003, when there was no representative ofthe MOF present.



63. The Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment.




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were making in drafting MTPs. The MBESC’s incomplete draft MTP wasdistributed at the 14 February 2003 meeting for information.64 The ESMsexperienced some difficulty in accommodating the donors’ funding in theirMTPs, partly because the precise amount and timing of the disbursementwere unknown, and partly because of the fluctuating exchange rate. TheMBESC complicated matters further by trying to accommodate the generalcivil service pay increase in the revised calculations, under the impressionthat this was required by the MOF, when in fact this was not so.65 It wasmade clear that, even if the two education ministries were working togetheras a sector, the MOF would be dealing with two separate votes, as in thepast.66 For the first two years of funding, even though the MOF would requirethe financial information only by the end of September, the DPs would requireit by the end of August 2003.67 Thereafter the provision of financial informationto all parties would follow the budget calendar.

The audit requirement was raised at the first meeting of the ESPTF.68

Sida had already experienced late submission of audit reports and often onlyafter repeated prompting, even before the ESPS was initiated. Although itwas recognized that this was a valid and important issue, the ESPTF wasreluctant to become involved in discussion, suggesting that only the AuditorGeneral could say what was feasible for his office.69

64. ESPTF minutes.

65. Interview with adviser to the MOF, 5 December 2003.

66. ESPTF minutes, 23 January 2003.


68. ESPTF minutes, 7 August 2002.

69. Cf. Todd et al., 2001: 55-56, where the idea had been mooted of having the Office of theAuditor General either farm out the auditing or buy in assistance, drawing on the ISCBFto cover the costs.




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Review 2003

Early in 2003, terms of reference for the review (Joint Annual Review,or JAR) were distributed for discussion by the ministries and feedback receivedby the end of February.70 Sida “raised a concern on ensuring partnership andjoint ownership in the review process”. Firm conclusions were not reachedin the next two meetings. At the end of April the MBESC submitted a notesetting out its views on the review.71 The MHETEC submitted a memorandumon their views in June.72 At the same meeting the terms of reference for thereview were presented on behalf of the responsible sub-committee of thetask force.

There were differences of opinion as to whether external consultantsshould be recruited to assist with the review, and on the number of consultantsthat should be hired. The EC representative stressed that “it is important forboth stakeholders (ministries and donors) not to have different expectations,hence the need for a joint team of experts for one-two weeks, to prepare ajoint report and address some of the concerns that donors might have and toalso raise important issues in the education sector ...”73 It was also mentionedthat information from the World Bank study74 should be linked to the review,since the report would be available in August.75

70. ESPTF minutes, 14 February 2003.

71. ESPTF minutes, 30 April 2003.

72. ESPTF minutes, 11 June 2003.

73. ESPTF minutes, 27 May 2003.

74. See Section 2.7 above on ‘Education and training sector improvement programme’,and Section 3.8 below on ‘National programme for human capital and knowledgedevelopment for economic growth with equity’.

75. ESPTF minutes, 27 May 2003. However, Van Zyl and Marope promised the reports“around the end of September” (2003: 7).




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A consensus was reached on the four major themes of the review:(a) indicators; (b) annual work plans; (c) financial issues and medium-termexpenditure plans and framework; and (d) institutional issues.

It was agreed that there was a need to structure the review to allowadequate time for discussion after each presentation.76

On 30 July 2003 the Permanent Secretary of the NPC(S) addressedthe problem of conflicting demands on the time of staff members who wouldbe key to the success of the review: “The upcoming review is an importantexercise and people need to be released to be dedicated to this activity”.77

However, in both education ministries the staff members who wouldnecessarily be most heavily involved in preparations for the review also hadother responsibilities which could neither be transferred to other staff membersnor be temporarily shelved.

Capacity-building facility

The idea of keeping some of the funds outside the SRF had been raisedin the scoping study report, where attention was drawn to the procurement oftechnical assistance through GRN systems being “neither easy nor efficient– to say the least” (Todd et al., 2001: 75). This sentiment found resonancewith MBESC directorates that had tried to obtain technical assistance usinggovernment procedures under the ESPS funding. It was mentioned inSeptember 2002 that donors would “probably insist that at least €2 million beheld outside the SRF”. A representative of the MBESC thought this amountto be excessive.78 At the beginning of 2003 a trust fund was mentioned as a

76. ESPTF minutes, 27 May 2003.


78. Author’s diary of 3 September 2002. The opinion is not recorded in the minutes.




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possible way of dealing with the money outside the SRF.79 It was suggestedthat representatives from the Ministry of Health and Social Services or fromthe Ministry of Environment and Tourism be invited to address the next meetingabout their trust funds. Following the presentation,80 a decision was taken notto run a trust fund, but to open a ‘provisional account’: the education ministrieswere “to come up with draft chart/structure on how the account will berun”.81 It was indicated at this meeting that since the resources would nothave to go through the SRF, funds could be available as early as August2003. At the following meeting the fund was referred to as the ‘Educationsector institutional development and capacity-building facility’. Apart frombeing used for hiring consultants, “The account [could] also be used for otherresources aimed at the activities that [were] supported ... ”. A draft structurewas presented at the meeting.82 Countering an MBESC suggestion that thetraining committees of the two ministries could appropriately be involved,with the steering committee composed of selected members of the two trainingcommittees, it was stated that there was a need for the ESMs and the taskforce “to understand that capacity-building does not only deal with humanresources, it is broad including institutional and other facilities”.83

In April the MBESC tabled a memorandum proposing a managementstructure for the fund which would take account of the training committees ofthe ESMs. The Ministry was opposed to an external implementation unit.The MHETEC representative proposed a meeting between the two ministriesbefore the next task force meeting. It was again stated that capacity-buildingand institutional strengthening are much broader than training.84 At a

79. ESPTF minutes, 23 January 2003.




83. ESPTF minutes, 25 March 2003.

84. ESPTF minutes, 30 April 2003.




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subsequent meeting the MHETEC tabled its memorandum, agreeing that theinternal capacity of the ministries should be strengthened rather than creatingan external implementation unit.85 At this same meeting the DPs distributedCVs of “consultants to be considered for the Capacity Building Facility”.86

At the July meeting, the signing of the Code of Conduct for off-budgetresources was noted as one of the pre-conditions for the release of funds bythe DPs.87 This was a reference to the Capacity Building Facility, for whicha modus operandi would have to be agreed upon.

Technical assistance

The task force was used for the discussion of terms of reference fortechnical assistance, and for sharing the CVs of possible consultants. Approvalof CVs by the ministries was generally a drawn-out process.

It was agreed that some immediate support to the ministries would beneeded, for which CVs could be considered. But for longer-term capacity-building a consultant should prepare a comprehensive programme inconsultation with the top management of the ministries. In the interests ofongoing capacity-building it was suggested that for some of the training alocal institution linked to an international organization should be involved. Thechosen institution would then also benefit from capacity enhancement, but noconclusion was reached on an appropriate institution which might beapproached.88

85. ESPTF meeting, 11 June 2003. The document from the MHETEC, dated 6 June 2003,is however not mentioned in the minutes.

86. ESPTF minutes, 11 June 2003.


88. TF minutes, 15 November 2002.




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Monitoring and reporting

At the November 2002 meeting it was noted that there would be a“need to streamline the monitoring and reporting systems in the educationministries in order to ensure that there is timely monitoring and that the burdendoes not increase on the ministries. Reporting [needed] to be simple, relevant,used, and with feedback mechanisms built in”.89

Management of the education sector programme

The intended management arrangements for the ESP are depicted inFigure 3.2. Decisions on behalf of the sector ministries would be taken bythe joint meeting of the Ministry of Higher Education’s ManagementCommittee (MC) and the Ministry of Basic Education’s ExecutiveManagement Team (EMT). Within the respective ministries the MC or theEMT would be the highest management bodies. In the case of each ministry,all directorates were represented in the management team: in the MC directly;and in the EMT either directly or via a more senior staff member. Managementof the programme would have to be consistent with the Memorandum ofUnderstanding and Aide-mémoire of the 2003 Joint Annual Review (JAR)(unless formally modified), and with the government obligations in the financingagreements with the EC and Sida. Directorates would have their annualwork plans approved by their supervisor or by the EMT or MC, and reportingon implementation would be to the MC or the MPCC.

Recommendations on the management and the detail of the programmewould come from the JAR and the ESPAG, but such recommendations wouldhave to be accepted by the MC and the EMT, and when appropriate wouldalso have to be acceptable to the development partners serving in the ESPAG.Possible changes to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) andundertakings in the Aide-mémoire would be discussed in these forums.

89. TF minutes, 15 November 2002.




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Experience will show whether this arrangement is unnecessarily bureaucratic.The EMT and MC are existing parts of the management structures of thetwo ministries. A joint meeting of these two bodies is the most appropriatearrangement for resolving matters of common interest at a senior level. Timewill tell whether the agendas for these meetings will become overburdenedby matters referred by the committees on which development partners arerepresented.

Management of the Institutional Strengthening and Capacity BuildingFacility (ISCBF)90 would also be strongly influenced by the EMT and MC,but subject to the principles and procedures agreed with the developmentpartners and the central ministries. One representative of the developmentpartners contributing to the ISCBF would serve on the ISCBF steeringcommittee as an observer. (The central ministries are not shown on thediagram, either in relation to the ESPAG and JAR or to the ISCBF steeringcommittee.)

The Directorate of Planning and Development and embryo planningunit in the MHETEC would perform a number of liaison functions in relationto the ESP, within their respective ministries, in relation to the other ministry,in relation to the central ministries, or in relation to the development partners,but would report to their respective management committees and would referany matters for decision to these bodies.

Donors involved in projects, but not in budgetary support, would bemembers of the ESPAG and JAR since they would still be participating insupport to the strategic plan of the sector, even if their assistance were targetedat only one of the component sub-sectors.

90. The name finally accepted for what was referred to above as the ‘capacity-buildingfacility’.




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Figure 3.2 Management of the ESP

* Possible charges to the MoU and undertakings in the Aide-mémoire would be discussed inthese forums.

MBESC

DIRECTOR-ATES

MHETEC

DIRECTOR-ATES

MC + EMT

PAD

EMT/MPCC

JAR

ESPAG*

TF

ISCBF

MC

PLAN UNIT

PROJECTDONOR

Sida

EC

PROJECTDONOR




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The Education Sector Planning Advisory Group

From August 2002 the Strategic Planning Advisory Group (SPAG) waschanged to the Education Sector Planning Advisory Group (ESPAG), in linewith the statement of intent: “The Ministries, Development Partners and otherstakeholders will use the ESPAG meeting as a consultative forum. TheESPAG will meet three (3) times a year” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2002b:para. 9).

Essentially, the terms of reference for the SPAG remained unchanged.Membership was expanded and a pragmatic approach was used for the chairingand secretarial functions. Rotating the chair between the two educationministries proved less satisfactory than joint chairing of the body. Similarly,continuity in the secretariat was found to be desirable.

Issues discussed

Since the ESPAG was a ‘consultative forum’, endorsed in the SoI andMoU, and operating in relation to the JAR, it would be expected to monitorprogress of actions initiated or highlighted during the JAR meetings, and toadvise the ESMs on these matters.

In the five meetings91 since the ESPAG was established, the mattersdiscussed were much the same as those discussed by the education sectorprogramme task force: the further development of the strategic plans of theESMs, the development of the funding proposal to the EC and Sida,arrangements for the JAR, the SoI and MoU, indicators, reporting mechanismson strategic plan implementation, capacity-building and technical assistance.Additionally, there was reporting on the ESMs’ strategies on HIV and AIDS

91. 22 August 2002, 12 December 2002, 7 March 2003, 12 June 2003 and 20 November2003.




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and on progress in setting up the HIV and AIDS unit to serve both ministriesof education.

New items to appear on to the agenda were reflections on the role ofthe ESPAG and the development of new terms of reference, and the WorldBank study on human capital development and knowledge management.92

Regarding the latter, the Minister of Higher Education, Training andEmployment Creation briefed the November 2003 ESPAG meeting on thebackground to the study, the main findings, and the intended education andtraining improvement programme. The meeting decided that the MBESC’sEMT and MHETEC’s MC should seek an audience with the Minister toobtain greater clarity on the relationship of the World Bank’s exercise to thefurther development of the strategic plans of the ESMs, and on how fundingfrom the World Bank would be managed.

The June 2003 meeting looked at the role of ESPAG. It explored theduplication between the work of the education sector task force and that ofESPAG, but noted that ESPAG had a wider role and that this could bestrengthened by inviting reporting also from those development partners engagedin separately managed projects and programmes. This would encourage themto participate more actively in meetings. Involvement of ministry staff in themeetings would also have to be extended and be more consistent. It wasapparent that the relationships between the ESPAG, the JAR, the task force,and the EMT and MC needed to be clarified further.

92. See Section 2.7 above on ‘Education and training sector improvement programme’, andSection 3.8 below on ‘National programme for human capital and knowledge developmentfor economic growth with equity’.




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The Statement of Intent

The Statement of Intent following the first education sector review93

was signed only at the end of November 2002, by the Permanent Secretaryof the NPC(S) on behalf of the GRN, and by 13 DPs. The Statement ofIntent bound the ESMs to further develop and implement their strategic plans,and the DPs to support them in their efforts while confirming GRN ownershipand leadership of the process. The terms of bilateral funding agreementswould be respected. All parties committed themselves to holding annualappraisals and reviews of the sector, to working openly and transparently,and to using the ESPAG as a consultative forum. The ministries would worktowards greater coherence in their planning and, with the DPs, would worktowards joint monitoring, appraisal and evaluation of performance, using agreedindicators. DPs undertook to give indications of funding to the sector at theearliest opportunity.

The Memorandum of Understanding

The MoU for the ESP in Namibia94 was signed at the beginning of July2003 by representatives of government and of the DPs committed tosupporting the SWAp, namely the European Commission, the Kingdom ofSweden, and the United Kingdom. GRN representatives signed on behalf ofthe National Planning Commission, the Office of the Auditor General, andthe ministries of finance, basic education, sport and culture, and highereducation, training and employment creation. The MoU “sets forth the termsand procedures for the joint management, funding, monitoring and evaluationof support to the ESP”. Much of the text of the document relates to thecommitment of funding and the way in which it would be reflected ingovernment documents, its utilization according to government procedures,

93. The Statement of Intent is included as Appendix I.

94. For this and other references in the paragraph see Appendix II.




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and audit requirements. It stipulates reporting arrangements and also endorsesthe joint annual review and planning cycle, including the tri-annual ESPAGmeetings. It notes that annual disbursements by the DPs would be on thebasis of: (a) education sector indicators; (b) macro/budgetary indicators;(c) annual work plans; (d) audit reports; and (e) compliance to agreedundertakings.

It also provides for the Education Sector Institutional Development andCapacity Building Facility: “In addition to the funds through the SRF, therewill be an Institutional Development Pooled Facility. The modalities of thisfacility will be subject to the Agreement of all signatories to this MoU.”

The funding proposal

At the time that the funding proposal was drafted, the education ministrieswere under the impression that DP assistance would be earmarked for specificactivities, and that the areas identified in the Aide-mémoire following the2002 review should be given preference.

The 15-page funding proposal with a further 40 pages of annexes placedthe request in the context of relevance to Namibia’s internationally agreedcommitments, such as the Dakar Framework for Action and of an analysisof the sector. It identified specific problems to be addressed as follows:

1. Inequitable distribution of resources.2. Shortage of facilities at primary, secondary and technical/skill levels.3. A lack of teachers, poorly qualified teachers further exacerbated by the

HIV/AIDS pandemic.4. A lack of quality learning, low levels of achievement in rural/poor schools.5. Current skills development programmes are not market/employment

oriented or responsive to change.6. Poor capacity throughout the system to manage education and training.7. System inefficiency (MBESC/MHETEC, 2002a: 6).




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The overall objective of the programme should be set as a contribution“to the eradication of poverty and the improvement of the economic situationof Namibians through the provision of access to an equitable, relevant andquality education for all children and young people in Namibia as efficientlyas possible” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2002a: 6).

The proposal went on to define specific objectives, expected resultsand the activities through which they would be achieved, noting that theywere all drawn from the strategic plans of the sector ministries. After reviewinglessons from past experience and risks and assumptions, the proposal outlinedintended implementation mechanisms before demonstrating the sustainabilityof the programme, which would, however, require “savings elsewhere in thesector resource envelope”, which in turn would require “technical adviceand political commitment” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2002a: 13). In the annexesthe “critical areas of support” table (MBESC/MHETEC, 2002a: 23)95 wasreproduced from the Aide-mémoire, forming the basis for the matrix of“funding proposal actions and financial details”. (MBESC/MHETEC, 2002a:31-35). The proposal included the suggestion of a fund outside the SRF whichwould support short- and medium-term technical assistance (MBESC/MHETEC, 2002a: 45).

The ministries of education prepared the section of the proposal on howthe funds would be utilized, and contributed those parts of the annexes coveringfinancial details and indicators. But the bulk of the document was drafted bya consultant working for the NPCS, providing information that the developmentpartners required, much of it drawn from the work of the 2001 scoping studyteam and the 2002 appraisal mission.

At the time that the proposal was drafted, the indicative funding over athree-year period was €16 million from the EC and €10 million from Sida,





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of which €1.5 million would be reserved for the pooled fund outside the SRF(MBESC/MHETEC, 2002a: 11). At the fifth meeting of the task force theEC representative indicated that additional funds could possibly be madeavailable if the sector demonstrated the ability to absorb the funds.96 By thetime the financing agreements were signed, the amounts had been revised to€21 million from the EC, of which €3 million would be for the ISCBF, andSEK 120 million, of which SEK 10 million would be for the ISCBF. Assistancefrom both development partners would be spread over four years (EuropeanCommission, 2003a; Sweden, 2003).

The 2003 joint annual review of the education sector

The review was intended to look at progress in education sector planningand to develop a set of mutually agreed undertakings for moving the ESPforward. To this end it would look at national plans, financial plans and annualwork plans in terms of anticipated results or outputs, and possibly agree onprinciples for future reviews.

The dates of the review were set for 9 to 11 September 2003. Earliersuggestions that the review should take place in October had been rejected asbeing too late for proper co-ordination with the budget preparation calendar.The actual dates were the latest dates that were considered feasible for thework to be fed into budget preparation. It would have been preferable to holdthe review in the last week of August, but other commitments of senior staffprevented this, and the late recruitment of the consultants meant that thepreparatory work would in any case not be ready by then. An approach topeer reviewers had been left too late for anyone with the right profile to berecruited; it was therefore agreed that of the two consultants engaged inpreparation for the review, one would stay on for the review and assist withdrafting the Aide-mémoire.





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With the arrival of the two consultants to assist with the preparationsfor the review, a drafting team was appointed to prepare the JAR report incollaboration with the consultants. In the interests of capacity development,the staff members of the two ministries were to undertake, as far as possible,the drafting of the sections of the report. With few staff members with therequisite knowledge being available to do the drafting within the time available,and with other demands also being made on their time, it was inevitable thatmuch of the drafting and all of the editing should fall on the consultants. Staffmembers did some drafting on the financial framework, the institutionalframework, work planning and programming, and indicators and performancemonitoring issues. In essence the ministry staff were assisting the consultantsto prepare documents which the latter believed would satisfy the developmentpartners.

The joint annual review report

The draft review report, available for the review meeting, was slightlymodified during the review. The findings and recommendations contained inthe report “were strongly endorsed by the ESP stakeholders” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: Preface). The changes made after the review were mainlyeditorial, but a few substantive amendments were also made (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: Preface).

While recognizing that significant progress had been made towards“provid[ing] a comprehensive framework for resource planning in the educationsector”, the report noted that resource distribution was neither efficient noreffective (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 18). Policy and management functionsrequired strengthening, as did stakeholder involvement (MBESC/MHETEC,2003a: 31-32). There was a need for better co-ordination among the variousplans (strategic, medium-term work plans), with a shift in focus from inputsto outputs and learning outcomes (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 41). This shouldalso be reflected in the indicators selected for monitoring the process (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 51).




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For the immediate future, the strategic priorities in the allocation ofresources were listed (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 62). For the MBESC thesewere: (a) provision of primary education; (b) improving the quality of educationin schools; and (c) improving the efficiency of resource allocation. For theMHETEC they were: (a) vocational education and training; (b) youth andemployment; and (c) science and technology.

In the section on the development of human resources, it was observedthat:

“Outside of the scope of the ISCBF, there will remain significantrequirements for technical assistance to support initiatives aimed atimproving the quality of education. Key areas for such assistance includeteacher training (both pre-service and in-service), the development oftextbooks and teaching materials, and the strengthening of schoolmanagement. Project assistance from the DPs will have a particularlyimportant role in supporting the ESMs in meeting these requirements(MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 34)” (Emphasis added).

Since this was not discussed during the review meeting, it is not clearwhether this was intended to define areas on which the development partnersworking outside the SRF should be focusing their attention, or whether it wasan encouragement to the EC and Sida to provide additional funding for projects.Nor is it clear why, if overall the second ‘strategic priority’ for the MBESCwas improving the quality of education in schools, these activities should notbe considered for funding from the ISCBF.

Regarding the conditions for the release of budget support funds by thedevelopment partners, those for the initial release of Sida funds wereconsidered to have been met, while for the release of EC funds only thesigning of a code of conduct on the management of the capacity-buildingfacility was outstanding (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 67).




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The Aide-mémoire

At the end of the review an Aide-mémoire was accepted and signed byrepresentatives of the NPCS, the two education ministries, and ninedevelopment partners. The document notes the four main issues consideredduring the review, outlines the review process, and summarizes the technicaldiscussions, which, in addition to covering the four main issues identifiedbeforehand, also captures discussion on learner outcomes: “Much has to bedone to improve learning outcomes. Despite the substantial investment madein the education sector, the return on this investment has been low and learnersare not attaining the standards that might be expected”. It adds that “Waysneed to be found to assist communities with early child development in orderto give children entering school a better start” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 2).

The review recognized the increasing demands on management arisingfrom the reform agenda and emphasized the committed and leading role ofthe Permanent Secretaries of both ESMs in the management of the ESP(MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 3). Difficulties experienced in developing themedium-term plans (MTPs) of the ESMs were noted as being caused byinsufficient information on incorporating the civil service pay rise97 andinadequate policy analysis to support the MTP. The review confirmed thatthe support being provided by DPs through the SRF would be additional tothe resource ceilings in the MTEF. The first disbursement, it noted, could bereleased as early as mid-September, with the release of the seconddisbursement being triggered by the presentation of the 2004/05 budget toParliament.

An action plan covering the period up to September 2004 formed anannex to the Aide-mémoire; it was noted that it set an ‘ambitious agenda’and required the education sector planning task force to advise management

97. This was subsequently disputed by a representative of the MOF, who said that therewas a clear instruction to ignore the pay rise; it would be incorporated later (author’snotes).




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of the two ministries on responsibility for each of the measures contained inthe plan. The timing for submission of the initial ISCBF work plan to theISCBF steering committee was also specified.

The monitoring indicators accepted by ESPAG were confirmed, but aworking group would continue to work on “a comprehensive set of indicatorsto be applied in the education sector” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 4). Thereview also came to an agreement on the timing of forthcoming reviews.

3.8 National programme for human capital and knowledgedevelopment for economic growth with equity

During 2001 and 2002 a World Bank team collected information toassess the relevance of the Namibian education sector with a view to movingtowards a knowledge economy. A high-level forum was conducted at the endof January 2003, opened by the President, H.E. Dr Sam Nujoma. The forumwas intended to “(a) share with a large base of technical and professionalstakeholders, the planned scope, methodology and conduct of the study and(b) provide stakeholders an opportunity to contribute to the shaping of thestudy from its beginning” (Van Zyl and Marope, 2003: 2). A further twoconferences were held in May and in August 2003.

The May conference, termed the ‘second national forum on humancapital development and knowledge management’, more technical than thefirst, had as its objectives: (a) to inform stakeholders of progress since thefirst national forum; (b) to give stakeholders an opportunity to comment onkey findings; and (c) to correct misinterpretations or misrepresentations, andto point to critical omissions (Marope and Van Zyl, 2003: 3). Formalpresentations were followed by in-depth discussions in a number of parallelworking groups on the following draft reports:98 (a) potential for growth and

98. Participants were requested to respect the draft nature of the reports and not quote fromthem. At the time of writing the final reports had not yet been released.




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employment creation; (b) labour market analysis; (c) tertiary education andtraining; (d) general education; and (e) cost and financing of education andtraining. There were also report outlines on (a) skills development; and(b) knowledge creation and management.

The August forum meeting was attended by members of the Cabinet,regional governors, permanent secretaries, and captains of industry. Accordingto the leader of the study, Namibia required assistance in using the informationfrom technical studies to design implementable programmes, which would bemonitored against clear benchmarks. She added that “very tough bureaucraticmeasures” would be needed “to ensure that goals are reached in terms ofoutputs, outcomes and impact” (Van Zyl and Marope, 2003: 3).

The Namibian Government agreed at the end of October 2003 to formallyrequest the World Bank to assist it in “design[ing] an education and trainingsector improvement programme that will enhance Namibia’s capacity forhuman capital development and knowledge management for economic growthwith equity”. To support implementation of the programme, the Governmentcommitted itself to borrow between US$20 million and US$30 million over afive-year period, the loan being rand-denominated. The World Bank hadalready indicated its willingness to assist in seeking grant funding andconcessional loans, which would to some extent cushion the loan (MIB, 2003).

The key components of the improvement programme would be:(a) improving access to early childhood development programmes;(b) universal access to primary education; (c) increased access to secondaryeducation; (d) expanded access to vocational skills development opportunities;(e) improved quality and relevance of general education and skills developmentprogrammes; (f) strategic reform of the higher education system; and(g) design and implementation of a national knowledge management andinnovation system (MIB, 2003).99

99. Also, presentation by Minister Angula at ESPAG meeting, 20 November 2003.




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At the November 2003 ESPAG meeting it was recognized that such aplan would have to be fully integrated with the strategic plans of both educationministries.100 In fact, it was likely to entail the complete rewriting of thestrategic plan of the sector.

3.9 Partnerships and co-ordination

Partnerships in the sector require informal contacts and formal meetingsas well as signed instruments if they are to be sustained. Much of the businessof partnerships is conducted over the telephone, by electronic mail or scribbledmemos, by people popping into one another’s offices, and during tea breaksat meetings that have been called for a totally different purpose. While it isimpossible to document these, their importance should not be underestimated.

The MBESC had a very open relationship with representatives of Sida,DFID, and the Netherlands Embassy101 prior to the development of the ESPS;less so with the EC because the nature of their support meant that the interfacewas generally with the project that the EC supported, and otherwise limited tosteering committee meetings. From the start of the implementation of theESPS, when the EC started to show interest in a SWAp, the relationship ofthe EC with both ministries became more open. Many of the proposals thatwere made at meetings had first been tested as suggestions during informalcontact.

At the same time, members of government discussed developmentpartners and their agendas in a way that they would not necessarily haveshared with the DPs themselves, in the same way that DPs had privatediscussions among themselves about the way in which the ministries wereconducting their business.

100. ESPAG draft minutes, 20 November 2003.

101. The focus here is on DPs involved in the SWAp. It is not implied that the workingrelationship with other donors was not ‘open’.




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Sida took the lead in introducing the two ESMs to the SWAp conceptduring a December 1998 workshop in Harare. This workshop brought togetherstaff members of education ministries in five countries, along withrepresentatives of a number of development partners.

Shortly after this workshop the SPAG was put together as a formalmechanism for developing the SWAp idea in the Namibian context by donorsin partnership with ministry staff. At this stage the partnership was seen tobe with donors who were interested in supporting the Ministry through theSRF; donors who had not indicated that they wished to follow this approachwere not initially invited to be members. Because the financial support of thethree donors was directed towards areas of basic education, the Ministry ofHigher Education was not directly involved, but was invited to participate inthe SPAG meetings. The work of SPAG was focused on strategic plandevelopment and changing the approach to donor funding from project tosub-sector. Efforts were made to involve the NPC(S), the MOF, the OPMand NGOs in the partnership. When, in 2002, the EC joined Sida and theeducation sector ministries were in talks on supporting the sector through theSRF, the scope of the SPAG was widened, resulting in the ESPAG, and bymid-2003 this group was looking at ways of strengthening the partnershipwith donors who were wedded to a project approach. Although thesedevelopment partners had been invited to ESPAG meetings previously, themeetings had been structured in a way that had made them appear to beobservers rather than participants.

Education forum meetings had been attempted, but since their purposewas not sufficiently clearly communicated, they did not attract the cross-section of stakeholders who ought to have been involved. The review meetingsof 2002 and 2003 were better defined attempts to involve representatives ofall stakeholders. Yet the 2002 review apparently failed because developmentpartners on the one hand and staff of the ESMs on the other had differentperceptions of the purpose of the meeting. Even so, the Statement of Intent




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was signed by a large number of development partners. The 2003 reviewwas much more successful, in that the purpose had been agreed beforehandand the JAR report provided a strong focus. But there were still developmentpartners who wondered about the relevance of the exercise to them. TheMoU, because it contained a number of very specific undertakings, wassigned only by those development partners who were supporting the SWAp.

The move to a SWAp necessitated also that the two ministries of educationmeet formally with each other at regular intervals. The mechanism whichseemed most appropriate was that the management committees of the twoministries, each chaired by the Permanent Secretary, periodically meet jointly.Where the SPAG meeting had generally been chaired by the DeputyChairperson, the Director of Planning and Development, even though thePermanent Secretary was the substantive chairperson, the ESPAG meetingswere to be chaired first by the Permanent Secretaries of the two ministries inrotation, then by the Permanent Secretaries jointly.

Development partners held periodic joint meetings among themselves,and where two or more DPs were involved in a joint funding programme,they necessarily met more frequently. It was stated by a representative ofDFID that “there are directives for co-operation and flexibility in the DPcommunity and ... there is a willingness to work together. By engaging allDPs in the review process, it would in the longer term be easier to have onereview period of time”. A Sida representative “confirmed that DPs [had]been instructed to co-ordinate and co-operate and use the ministries’ systemsto avoid duplication”.102 This would necessarily require DPs to meet withone another.103

102. ESPAG minutes, 12 June 2003, item 11.

103. The formal arrangements for managing the education sector programme have been describedin Section 3.7 above.




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3.10 Links with the national budget cycle and medium-termexpenditure framework

The national budget cycle is schematically represented in Figure 3.3.104

Since the sector planning and reporting cycle had to be aligned with the nationalbudget cycle and MTEF, it was essential that information about funding fromdevelopment partners be available to the sector ministries at the time whenthe MOF expected line ministries to develop their budgets, and that donorfunds were released to the SRF at the start of the new financial year. Thiswas the rationale behind setting the sector review meeting for late August orearly September each year. By mid-September the ministries would be certainof the funding to be made available by donors, although in the spirit of amedium-term expenditure framework, ministries should have indicativeamounts from donors to fit the three-year horizon for which indicativeinformation on government funding was available. The EC and Sida havemade a commitment for a four-year period.105

The JAR in August or September would also be the occasion when theeducation sector ministries would present their MTP financial data. Datapreviously submitted for the upcoming fiscal year would be revised if necessaryand new data would be provided for the new horizon year, in line with theceilings provided by the MOF and the information on available developmentpartner funding.

3.11 Information needs and flows

Research into various aspects of the education sector was supportedby the ESPS as well as by donor-funded programmes and projects. What is

104. Adapted from Todd et al. (2001: Annex 9).

105. To maintain the medium-term perspective, the EC and Sida will by the end of 2004 haveto provide an indication of the value of their intended support for the 2007/08 financialyear; that is, for the year beyond the present financing agreements.




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of concern here is the flow of information required for the management of aSWAp, and research aimed directly at supporting the SWAp.

Rationale for the provision of information

Information needs to be shared both within the education system andbetween the system and various stakeholders, including the developmentpartners supporting the SWAp. Information is needed for implementation totake place effectively, and reporting on implementation is required. Botheducation sector ministries have formal meeting structures to ensureinformation sharing at senior level. Both ministries have, however, experiencedproblems in the filtering of information down to other levels, or that it doesnot filter down fast enough, or that information which is available at lowerlevels of operation is not shared upwards. Reasons for this include incorrectidentification of those who would need to have access to the information, aninability to communicate the gist of a meeting or a document or lack ofopportunity, possibly because of busy schedules. Efforts have been madefrom time to time to improve the situation, with varying degrees of success.




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Figure 3.3 The budget cycle

Annual budget cycle

December:Budget detail

drafted.

January: Draft budget submitted to Cabinet. Once approved, budget book is finalized. End January/

EarlyFebruary:

Budget is read.

1 April: Start of new

financial year

April, May, June:Ministries present detailed budgets to

Parliament for approval, known as

‘budget discussions’.

May, June: Macro-economic data

collected and analyzed to develop the Macro

Framework.

July: Macro Framework presented to Cabinet.

Once approved, ministries receive their

provisional MTEF ceilings.

Beginning August: Budget

Circular sent instructing

ministries to begin the budget process, in light

of their new ceilings.

August: Within-ministry ceilings

are communicated to or negotiated with directorates and institutions,

ideally in relation to (sub-)sector core

priorities.

September:Ministries

receive budget submissions

from directorates and institutions, with opportunity for discussion.

End September:Ministry evaluates

the submissions and, once

aggregated, presents them to

the MoF/NPC(S).

October:Ministry defends budget

submission during budget

hearings.

Early November:MoF/NPC(S) reassess

submissions and finalize ministry budget ceilings, which are sent

to ministries.

November: Ministry adjusts allocations to

directorates and institutions to fit final

ceiling.




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Implementation quite often depends on decisions which are taken atmeetings and which should be accurately reflected in the minutes of themeeting. If the minutes are delayed, implementation may be delayed, and ifthe minutes are not clear, implementation may take place in an unintendedway, particularly if implementation is the responsibility of someone who wasunable to attend the meeting and consequently does not have his/her ownnotes to work from. With the SPAG and ESPAG meetings, minutes werefrequently distributed only just in time for the next meeting, and occasionallynot even then. As a consequence, follow-up actions decided upon in a meetingwere not always carried out before the next meeting. With the conversion ofthe SPAG to the ESPAG, efforts were made to establish continuity in thesecretariat in contrast to the rotating secretariat which had previously beenthe practice. Minutes of the education sector task force meetings weregenerally circulated electronically within a couple of days of a meeting havingtaken place, but were often incorrectly dated, making cross-referencingdifficult.

Implementation reports

Implementation reports were required for the ESPS, and indeed formost donor-supported programmes or projects. At various times there werecomplaints from the PAD that information had not been submitted on time byan implementing directorate, or from development partners that compiledreports had been delayed by the PAD. This was no different than thecomplaints about inadequate reporting to the MPCC meetings onimplementation of the strategic plan, which was a ministry and not a DPrequirement.

Under the ESP, reports required for the MPCC and MC meetings ofthe two ministries on strategic plan implementation will also be submitted atthe ESPAG meetings. Development partners supporting projects which havetheir own reporting mechanisms will be encouraged to report also duringESPAG meetings, so that those attending these meetings, from the sector




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ministries, from central ministries, and from the development partners, willdevelop a common understanding of the progress being made in the sector. Itis hoped that in time such reporting will reduce the need for separate reviewmeetings for each project.

Information specified in the Memorandum of Understanding

Information to be available for the March ESPAG meeting or the August/September review meeting, or for both, is listed as: (a) education sectorindicators; (b) progress and performance reports on programme benchmarksand broad sector indicators; (c) macro/budgetary indicators; (d) annual workplans; (e) bi-annual financial reports; and (f) audit reports (MBESC/MHETEC,2003d: 3). In addition both the strategic plan(s) of the ESMs, and their MTPsshould be available (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003d: 2).

The review report, as something additional to the reports already listed,is not given in the MoU as a requirement, but the Statement of Intent stipulatesthat “a joint appraisal of progress will take place at some time prior to theannual review, the report being available at least a month before the reviewmeeting” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2002b: para. 7). The report prepared for the2003 review meeting in part covered some of the listed reporting requirementswhich were at that stage not yet in force. It is likely that for the 2004 andsubsequent review meetings a report will be compiled which will be evaluativeof the other reports submitted.

Annual work plans

Annual work plans have been required by the MBESC as part of theprogramme for strategic plan implementation from 2001. Like the strategicplan they have tended to be over-ambitious, partly because they assumed thatadditional financial resources would be available, and largely because theyfailed to take adequate account of the demands on available staff time or ofthe time-lag in filling vacant positions. From the 2004/05 financial year, with




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their alignment to the MTP of the Ministry, the possibility was introduced ofmaking annual work plans more realistic in financial terms. But this wouldnot happen all at once. The Ministry has since attempted the introduction ofnew school staffing norms in 2001 to bring regions’ spending on remunerationwithin budget, but failed, because the detailed information needed for budgeting,such as the number of teachers who would complete courses to improvetheir qualifications in a given year, was not available. The budget for utilitieshas also regularly been exceeded, although work was in progress in 2003 ona new system of unit costs. Directorates will require assistance in establishingsound links between work plans and medium-term financial plans. Even ifthe financial implications of an activity are correctly determined, an extendedtime-frame on account of personnel not being available might well pushactivities into the next financial year. Similar challenges face the MHETEC,whose strategic plan development lagged slightly behind that of the MBESC.

A particular challenge to the ministries is that annual work plans, whichformerly needed to be ready by the start of the year of implementation, andwhich were not always ready by that date, will in future have to be ready atleast eight months prior to the start of the fiscal year to which they refer.This means that they will depend largely on a correct estimate of what willbe achieved in the remaining more than two thirds of the current year and ona sound instinct for likely changes in practice stemming from yet-to-be-takenpolicy decisions. Clearly, some leeway for modification in the light of changingcircumstances will have to be allowed.

Bi-annual financial reports

Monitoring of expenditure by directorates has theoretically been possibleon the basis of commitment registers and monthly print-outs from the financeunit of the Ministry. The smaller the directorate, the easier the task. Largedirectorates – particularly the larger regional directorates of the MBESC –would, however, have difficulty in reconciling expenditure on remunerationand on utilities without a significant time-lag. The organization of the




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commitment register would also have to be adapted to relate not only tobudget lines, but also to the activities in the work plan, and by implication alsoto the MTP. Any deficiencies in the reports tabled at the March 2004 ESPAGmeeting will have to be evaluated against these constraints. Computerizationof the financial records could largely overcome the limitations of the manualcommitment register system, but would have to include remuneration,transport, purchases from government stores and utilities in order to beeffective. In the interim, training would be needed to enable staff membersof each directorate to maintain the commitment register in the most efficientand effective way possible, given the difficulties.

Audit reports

The Office of the Auditor General was signatory to the Memorandumof Understanding, but a great deal of pressure was placed on the developmentpartners to include firm undertakings in the MoU that the audit reports onboth ministries would be available within 12 months of the end of the financialyear. In fact, the requirement that they be available 14 days prior to theMarch ESPAG meeting means that they should be available within 11 monthsof the end of the financial year. Since the DPs are supporting the sector as awhole, the reports will cover the total budget and full range of operations ofboth education sector ministries, and not isolated earmarked activities withinthe budget. This will require a substantial improvement in the capacity of theOAG to process all the relevant documentation on which the audit report willbe based.

As a safety net, provision has been made for external assistance to theOAG “in accordance to the State Finance Act” (MBESC/MHETEC,2003d: 4), the costs to be drawn, if necessary, from the ISCBF. Thecommercial route could prove to be a serious drain on the resources of theISCBF if the OAG does not have provision for the commercial option in itsown budget.




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The requirement that the sector task force review and report on thefindings of internal audits of the education ministries (MBESC/MHETEC,2003d: 4) is a new and additional responsibility.

Information flows between central ministries and line ministries

The role of central ministries in relation to line ministries includes theimportant functions of providing and receiving information. This is particularlytrue of the NPC(S) and the MOF. The former is responsible for the overallco-ordination of plans such as Vision 2030, the national development plans,and the National Poverty Reduction Action Programme. The MOF isresponsible for the national budget cycle, and the updating of the MTEF. TheNPC(S) requires of line ministries their input to the mentioned plans, whilethe MOF requires medium-term plans and detailed budget proposals. Lack ofclarity as to what is required might lead to delays in submissions by lineministries, causing delays in the finalization of national policy documents.

Specifically in relation to the development of the ESP, there have beencomplaints that information provided by the MOF to line ministries on therationale and operation of the MTEF has been inadequate, while from theperspective of the MOF line ministries at times have failed to study theguidelines that were provided.

Sector studies and research

The only study which can be claimed as arising out of the adoption of aSWAp is that on efficiency in the education sector, a study intended “to mapout the needs of the two education ministries in their efforts to improveefficiency, and to provide draft terms of reference for one or more furtherconsultancies ... which would address the needs identified” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003e: 29). The study recommended immediate support to seniormanagement in engaging with the MTEF, MTP and PEMP documents tofacilitate a shift from the incremental budgeting approach which had previously




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been the norm (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003e: 25). For the medium term itrecommended intermittent consultancy support in developing the capacity ofsenior and middle management of the two ministries “to direct an outcomebased management approach” which would provide “opportunity and incentivefor efficiency measures” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003e: 26). By the end of2003, recruitment of consultants who would assist the ministries in respondingto these needs was under way. As the consultancies are implemented, it isexpected that institutional and personal capacity development will take place.

The 2001 scoping study and the 2002 appraisal, while incorporatingsome research and being relevant to the SWAp, were initiated by donors, notby the education ministries.

While no senior staff member of the education ministries would denythat there are many areas in which research would be valuable, the sector,and in particular the MBESC, has frequently been criticized for not applyingthe results of research and studies that have already been undertaken. Tomention two examples, both pertinent to the need to improve the quality ofeducation by appropriate interventions at school level: the SACMEQ surveyof grade 6 English reading comprehension, and the English Language TeacherDevelopment Project (ELTDP) research into the competence of teachers inthe English language. Namibia participated in the 1995 survey undertaken bythe Southern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality in sevenAfrican countries. The Namibian report produced 31 policy suggestions andan ‘agenda for action’ (Voigts, 1998: 70-75). The study, undertaken as part ofthe ELTDP, was published in February 2000. Finding that reading and usagewere “the two weakest areas of English language proficiency amongstNamibia’s teachers” (ELTDP, 2000: 2), the report recommended a response“at several different levels, from the policy/strategic level to the individualschool/teacher level” (ELTDP, 2000: 3). Although the reports were discussedand interventions designed in line with some of the recommendations, noimplementation has yet taken place. The 2003 education sector efficiency




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review found, with reference to both ministries of education, that “it is notevident that the favourable climate for decision-making and implementationimplied by the availability of information, clear and usefulrecommendations ... has resulted in much change in the recent past”(MBESC/MHETEC, 2003e: 21).

3.12 Indicators

Both of the education ministries provided indicators for the first andsecond national development plans (NDP1, NDP2), and both ministriesprovided indicators for the performance effectiveness management programme(PEMP). The latter sets of indicators were published as part of the government’sMTEF, giving them a special status: they would form the basis for discussionsat budget hearings between the MOF and line ministries.106 However, thecomplex matrix of baseline data and projections that these indicators generatedhas been criticized as not being user friendly; more significantly, “that thePEMP lists are too extensive with the possibility that important trends may beobscured by proliferation of data” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 52, footnote39). Indicators were also included in the strategic plans of the two ministries.In MBESC documents the classification of indicators has been according tothe broad goals of access, equity, quality and efficiency; in the NDP2 accordingto whether they measured outcomes, access, legislation, institution/policy orfinance.

In the 2000 assessment of progress towards EFA, 18 indicators wereprescribed by UNESCO (2000: 59). The MBESC was able to provide reliabledata on most of these, the exceptions being those on early childhooddevelopment and literacy, while on the quality of learning achievement proxyindicators were used (MBESC, 2000a: 25, 43).

106. See Appendix IV.




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Indicators have been used in the sector for policy formulation and forwardplanning, in performance measurement and in the formulation of minimumstandards (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 49-50).

When the working group of the ESPTF met107 to decide on indicatorsfor the SWAp, it was readily agreed that the list should be short and manageableand should preferably draw on data which were already routinely collected.Eight indicators were selected, for seven of which data was available. Neitherministry had ready access to data which would support any measure of theimpact of HIV and AIDS.108

The 2003 joint annual review of the sector raised a number of issues relatingto the collection and use of indicators (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 49). It wasfelt that a comprehensive set of indicators should be drawn up, which would meetthe needs of all major users (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 50). Since the greatestvalue of indicators lay within the sector, their identification should be driven fromwithin the sector (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 49) and a greater understanding oftheir value should be developed in both ministries (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 50).An indicator task force should be established by ESPAG by the end of 2003 toreview, and if necessary reclassify, indicators early in 2004, including the PEMPindicators (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 54). Agreement was also needed on “theappropriate lead forum for indicator development, one that all actors will respect”(MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 53).

It was strongly felt that, in reviewing input indicators, attention shouldalso be given to unit costs. “It would be helpful to demonstrate a clearconnection between what is budgeted for and what is actually spent on primaryand secondary education respectively” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 51-52).The learner to teacher ratio was suggested as the main output indicator. Asmeasures of outcome, the grade 1 entry rate, the survival rate to grade 7,and IGCSE results (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 51-52) were suggested.


108. From the author’s handwritten notes of the meeting.




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Impact data could not be collected in the same way as the other data, andperiodic sample surveys and tracer studies would be needed, for example fordata on literacy (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 52-53).

A number of process indicators, as shown in Table 3.3 were proposedfor ESP monitoring.

Table 3.3 Proposed process indicators for ESP monitoring

Area/Indicator Date Verification

1. Management of the ESPJAR Report prepared to support preparation Aug. JAR Reportof MTPsJAR held Sep. JAR Aide-mémoireIndicators for education sector reviewed, Mar. ESPAG minutesupdated and adopted by ESMs, NPC(S),OPM, DPsAnnual Work Plan for ISCBF agreed Mar. 2004 ISCBF Steering Committee

minutesJoint ESP progress report submitted Dec., Mar., Jun. ESPAG minutesto ESPAG

2. Basic educationMTP prepared by MBESC and submitted Sep. MTP documentto MOFAnnual Work Plans (AWPs) prepared Mar. AWP documentsfor each Division in MBESCAnnual EMIS report prepared Mar. EMIS report

3. Higher educationMTP prepared by MHETEC and submitted Sep. MTP documentto MOFAnnual Work Plans (AWPs) prepared Mar. AWP documentsfor each Division in MHETECAnnual EMIS report prepared Mar. (from 2005) EMIS report

Source: MBESC/MHETEC, 2003a: 66.




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In the working group meeting it was reported that what the EC neededwere indicators sensitive enough to show change.109 There seemed to be areluctance to understand that, however efficient the collection and entry ofstatistical data, there was an inevitable time lag between an intervention in theschool system and its visible impact. Only towards the end of a three-yearprogramme could one expect that the effect of the inputs at the start of thethree-year period would become visible, and even this was being optimistic.

3.13 Capacity development

Capacity-building at various levels in the system in most cases was notrelated to the move towards a SWAp. However, the introduction of a SWAphighlighted the need for training or institutional strengthening in various areaswhich had not been given sufficient attention.

Strategic planning

Since the SWAp promotes a coherent strategic sector plan, there hasbeen increasing interest from the development partners in the capacity of theministries to develop and improve such plans. In this context, the MBESCaccepted technical assistance financed by Sida and DFID. A consultant workedclosely with the Chief Education Planner for Corporate Planning and twoother education planners in the Directorate of Planning and Development in asmall working group to guide the process of strategic plan development. Theconsultant extracted and grouped recommendations from the report of thePresidential Commission on Education, Culture and Training. Jointly withmembers of the working group he developed a format for the plan and amodus operandi for the technical groups which would be elaborating theeight national priority areas. As information came in from the technical groups,the working group reviewed it, referring it back to the technical groups for

109. Author’s handwritten notes of the meeting, held on 12 March 2003.




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refinement as necessary. The consultant also worked with the group membersand the director of planning in structuring and drafting the narrative introductionto the logical framework of the strategic plan. This was a successful attemptto build capacity in the course of the work, although there were times whenthe consultant felt that he was being expected to do work that should havebeen done by ministry staff.

The exercise on prioritizing the strategic plan was facilitated by aconsultant working with almost all education planners from head office, aswell as staff from all other head office and regional directorates over a periodof three days. At the same workshop the consultant who had done the costingof the strategic plan explained the approach that had been followed. Whilethis cannot be regarded as capacity-building in the same sense as that whichtook place over a period of months with a small group of planners, it didserve to sensitize staff members on a number of the issues which have to befaced in developing a plan. A staff member from the MHETEC also attendedthe workshop. The same consultant was used to facilitate a workshop for theMHETEC on strategic plan development.

A half-day workshop on indicators was held in December 2002,facilitated by a local consultant, and attended by about 30 participants.110

This, too, should be considered a sensitization workshop.

Under the ISCBF of the ESP, provision was made for a consultant toassist the ESMs for 12 person-months over two years to “[move] towards asingle Education Sector Framework”. Responsibilities would include capacity-building of head office and regional office staff “to plan and make decisionsfor sustainable development” and “to monitor and revise the framework onan annual basis and to take account of other monitoring systems”. (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003c: Annex III, p. 1-2). It was anticipated that this consultancywould start as early as January 2004 and would be a capacity-building exercise.

110. ESPAG minutes, 12 December 2002.




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Understanding the implications of the SWAp concept

The December 1998 workshop held in Harare was an initial opportunityfor two staff members of the MBESC and one of the MHETEC to be sensitizedto the implications of SWAps in the education sector.

On 3 and 4 March 2003, after the decision to enter into agreementswith the EC and Sida on sector support to education, a public financemanagement and SWAp seminar was mounted for staff of the two ministriesas a DP initiative. This should also be considered a familiarization rather thana capacity-building exercise. The first day focused on public financemanagement, with a Swedish consultant making the presentations; the secondon SWApes, with presentations by Sida staff on experiences in Mozambique,Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania, and by a staff member of theMBESC and a consultant to the NPC(S) on the experience of Namibia.

A workshop was organized by the EC from 27 to 30 October 2003 forstaff from the NPC(S) and the ESMs in understanding EC support to sectorprogrammes. This included an understanding of concepts used in discussingSWAps, the policy of the EC in this regard,111 and operational guidelines(European Commission, 2003b: 3-4).

Financial management

There is provision under the ISCBF for “advisory support to the twoministries of education to develop managerial capacity for effective financialmanagement and budget planning”. During 12 person-months spread overtwo years the consultant would, inter alia, develop the capacity of “the mostsenior ministry staff”, and “Ensure that those staff taking part in budgetpresentation and defence have a sound understanding of the conceptual basis

111. These were partly reflected in the financing agreement of 15 September 2003 betweenNamibia and the EC.




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of the MTEF, MTP and PEMP and are able to request and use proper briefingfrom ministry staff on an outcome based budget approach” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003c: Annex V; cf. MBESC/MHETEC, 2003e: Annex 5). Theseterms of reference were developed from the recommendations in the Namibiaeducation sector efficiency review.112

Capacity and institutional development needs

The scoping study identified ‘project technical assistance’ as beingproblematic in that they were “often constrained by relatively narrow termsof reference. Often, a tight definition of outputs to be produced at the end ofa consultancy precludes their being instrumental in assisting somewhat slowerinternalization processes”. The report also cautioned that “ministries do notnecessarily have the capacities to identify their needs” (Todd et al., 2001: 75).

The rationale underlying the ISCBF was that it would:

“... be able to provide, inter alia, for the financing of short term and longterm national, regional and international support as required to new andongoing capacity-building initiatives within the line ministries, trainingprogrammes, study tours, twinning agreements and other innovativeactivities. The facility will focus on skills transfer both at central anddecentralised level” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003b: 2).

A consultancy provided for in the start-up work plan of the ISCBFwould over a period of seven weeks “undertake an institutional needsassessment in light of the constraints and challenges identified in the 2003Education Sector Review, [to indicate] what the response mechanism mightbe and … indicate some of the initial activities”. Although the focus was onpreparing a programme for further work, which would “go beyond simply‘training’”, and which might involve ‘long-term technical assistance’, the terms





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of reference stipulated that “this is a process consultancy and the outputsshould be embedded in the thinking of the sector” (MBESC/MHETEC,2003c: Annex IV) (Emphasis added).

Training needs for a SWAp

The capacity-building initiatives identified by the ministries and by thedevelopment partners, together with the identified shortcomings which couldhave been avoided had the need for training been perceived at an earlierstage, the areas of capacity-building for the successful implementation of aSWAp may be listed.

The management of all directorates and all education planners, at headoffice and at regional offices, require:

1. A broad understanding of how the government’s MTEF is constructedwithin the parameters of the medium-term economic forecasts for thecountry.

2. An understanding of the concept of a strategic plan. This should includeways in which such a plan may be structured using a matrix or a logicalframework, and techniques for modifying a rolling plan in the light ofexperience.

3. The capacity to draft a strategic plan with realistic costs of proposedactivities, which aligns with overall government policies, such as thoseon poverty reduction, and with ministry obligations as enshrined inlegislation.

4. Knowledge of how to relate the draft plan to the MTEF for the sector,and how to prioritize targets and activities.

5. The ability to forecast recurrent expenditure over a period of yearsresulting from capital expenditure or other investment in development.

6. The competence to prepare a budget and record financial commitments.




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7. Basic knowledge of how to identify key indicators for monitoring theimplementation of a plan.

8. The ability to break down a rolling strategic plan into annual work plans.9. How to report at intervals on the implementation of annual work plans,

on expenditure, and on progress in achieving targets as reflected in theagreed indicators.

10. Skill in using a computer efficiently as a tool for maintaining a strategicplan, an annual work plan, a budget and commitment register, and forproducing progress reports on implementation.

11. The ability to write minutes of a meeting which clearly summarize themain points of discussion and the decisions taken.

12. The ability to pick salient points from a report and present these usingslides, for example in PowerPoint.

In addition to the above, the senior management of the sector ministriesand all directors need:

1. To be able to make choices according to the priorities determined byoverall policy in order to bring draft plans and budgets within the medium-term framework.

2. To be able to use management meetings for monitoring planimplementation, and to call implementers to account when slippage cannotbe satisfactorily explained.

Theoretical training in the above areas should always be supplementedby actual examples, preferably taken from the country context in which theplanners will be working, and should include practical work. Depending onwhere the training is taking place and by whom it is provided, a comparativeapproach might be appropriate, but this should not deny trainees the opportunityto use data from their own country. Training should be followed by on-the-job mentoring for those with less experience.




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3.14 Transaction costs

Transaction costs are the “aggregate cost of the administrative activitiesinvolved in managing development assistance, which have no value either tothe recipient government or to the donor other than to permit an aid transferto take place” (European Commission, 2003b: 12). These would be minimalif the recipient government had requested and the donor had agreed tountargeted budget support on the basis of an existing strategic plan, and if noreporting were required other than that which the Ministry undertakes in anycase. There would be an exchange of correspondence, a meeting, and afunding agreement would be drafted, checked by both parties, and signed.Copies of reports, including that of the Auditor General, would be provided tothe donor. Such an undemanding situation is likely only in theory.

Transaction costs would increase if donors would need an appraisal ofthe programme or plan. There would necessarily be demands on ministrystaff by members of the appraisal team, even if the appraisal were largely adesk study. If the planning documents were not to the satisfaction of thedonor (as in the case of the Namibian ESPS), further work would be required,and similarly with reporting arrangements. If planning and reportingarrangements were also not to the satisfaction of the Ministry, the questionwould still arise as to whether the Ministry would have seen this as prioritywork, demanding improvement, or whether the attitude would have been“We’ll do better next time round”.

In the case of the development of the Namibian education SWAp it isnot always possible to isolate those aspects that received and were continuingto receive attention only because of development partner interest from thosein which the Ministry had a strong interest. Even if there had been no interestin strategic planning before the Presidential Commission on Education, Cultureand Training started its work, the Commission’s report demanded action on anumber of fronts. Planning was also needed in preparation for the Second




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National Development Plan (NDP2). Each of the ESMs, in different ways,and without donor prompting, was preparing a reasonably coherent plan, orat least plans relating to the work of several directorates. The ESMs also hadto take account of government’s decentralization planning and financialplanning (the MTEF and MTPs). Although the NPRAP was not available atthe time that the ministries were preparing their strategic plans, strategies toreduce poverty were considered both in NDP1 and in NDP2, and all ministrieswere expected to take account of these.

The preparation of the funding proposal to the EC and Sida absorbedconsiderable time during the ESPTF meetings and between meetings. Althoughsubstantial sections of the report were written by the NPC(S) and not by theESMs, the time taken still represented a transaction cost to the NamibianGovernment.

The ESMs did not request either the scoping study or the 2002 appraisal:they were donor requirements, and both exercises took up staff time inextracting documents, individual or group meetings with visiting members ofthe team, reading draft documents, and in preparing briefings for othermembers of the ministries. The appraisal in particular was seen as anunreasonable imposition since much of the ground it covered had alreadybeen covered less than a year earlier by the scoping study team. This is notto say that the ministries and individual staff members did not learn from themeetings with team members or from the reports themselves, but since theywere imposed on the education sector they took staff members away fromother activities related to the refinement, implementation and monitoring ofthe strategic plan.

The creation of the SPAG was prompted by donors. The meetings whichtook place demanded reporting on the development of the ESPS and thestrategic plan, compelling staff members to engage in discussion on criticalissues, with development partner contributions to the discussion often




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stimulating thought or providing useful suggestions. Meetings of the groupwere convened by the MBESC, sometimes on its own initiative, and sometimesbecause of donor prompting. In 2001 only one meeting of the group washeld, in January, as the drafting of the strategic plan was nearing completion.Implementation of the ESPS was also under way, with regular discussion –donor initiated in most instances – with those development partners who hadcontributed to the ESPS; the same DPs who were playing a leading role in theSPAG.

In 2002 a SPAG meeting was held in February, after which staffmembers of the MBESC were involved in the costing and prioritization oftheir strategic plan, the appraisal and the first joint sector review, while thestaff of the MHETEC were involved in the development of their strategicplan, and also with the appraisal and review. In August the SPAG was redefinedas a sector body, and staff of both ministries were equally involved. It wasalso in August 2002 that the ESPTF was established, meeting 11 times duringthe rest of the year and 10 times during 2003 up to the time of the review.

The review meetings were a DP requirement. Apart from the timetaken by the review meeting, the preparation of the report took a substantialamount of time. Again, the ESMs benefited from the exchanges which tookplace during the meetings, but it is most unlikely that they would have takenplace had it not been for the development partners. The meeting of 3 to 4March 2003 on public finance management and SWAps and the trainingworkshop from 27 to 30 October 2003 on SWAps should be seen in the samelight.

The steering committee of the ISCBF, created as part of the move to aSWAp, was required to meet at least twice a year. With 12 senior governmentstaff members constituting the committee, the time occupied by meetingswould represent high opportunity costs. It could, however, be argued that thedesign and overseeing of the ministries’ capacity-building programme would




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in any case have had to be attended to by senior staff members, and if notdone in the steering committee would have had to be done by the managementcommittees of the two ministries, extending the time consumed by thesemeetings. On this argument the work of the steering committee would notrepresent a transaction cost. It could also be argued that the ministry staff’stime spent in setting up the facility represented a very small transaction cost.

Reporting on plan implementation should not be seen as a transactioncost. Although reports were required by development partners, they were nodifferent from the reports which the ministries themselves required formonitoring implementation of the strategic plans.

It is not easy to identify activities that had no value either to the recipientgovernment or to the donor. Almost all of the activities in which the ministriesparticipated, even if initiated to meet the requirements of development partners,brought benefits in the form of better understanding of the planning process.

As long as governments of developing countries seek donor assistance,there will necessarily be meetings with development partners. Sometimes thesemay be on the initiative of the recipient government; but more frequently theywill be at the request of the donors, whose own disbursement regulationsdemand the provision of a range of information about the beneficiary andhow the money is to be used. From the Namibian experience it does notappear that sole ownership can be claimed by the recipient government. Butthis does not mean that the donors own the process; rather, that ownership isshared. What the beneficiary should be working towards is a steadilyincreasing share of the ownership, but complete ownership will not be possiblebefore the aid comes to an end.

Sector ministries will be hesitant about flatly refusing a planning or reviewactivity proposed by the donors unless they really believe that they can dowithout the aid, because if certain conditions are not met, the donors will take




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their aid elsewhere. Sector ministries can best ensure the largest measure ofownership not only by accepting the proposed activity but also by proposingtheir own conditions and arrangements for the conduct of the activity, suchas the timing and who should be involved. Negotiation and compromise mayfollow. The recipient government should, in the preliminary discussion,determine what benefits it is likely to derive from the activity and not leavethis to chance. The recipient government should also define the capacity-building which it expects will take place as part of the activity.

Weak leadership and weak ownership is evident if the recipient ministriesare relatively passive during the process, accepting what is proposed withoutquestion, making information available, but failing to interrogate the processor negotiate conditions. But it should be acknowledged that ministriesthemselves sometimes initiate activities without defining in advance what thebenefits will be or whether the likely benefits justify the inputs. It is not onlyin relation to activities proposed by DPs that this happens.

Transaction costs should therefore be mitigated, wherever possible, byproper planning and by ensuring that ministry staff are learning from theexperience.

3.15 Conclusion

The two education ministries moved into a SWAp partly because thePresidential Commission had recommended stronger collaboration and partlybecause of the interest of development partners in such an approach. Someof the activities which formed part of the process, such as the scoping studyand the appraisal of the sector, were undertaken to satisfy the requirementsof development partners, but none the less provided learning experiences forthe ministries. As the process developed, liaison mechanisms such as theESPAG became more effective. Two joint reviews of the sector wereconducted. Requirements set by the development partners and accepted by



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government included sector performance indicators, plans linked to the MTEF,and regular reporting. Financing agreements were signed with Sida and theEuropean Commission. The relationship between the SWAp and the follow-up of a study by a World Bank team remains to be clearly defined. It is notevident that there has been a reduction in transaction costs for the ministries.The SWAp process has required that several new activities and structuresbe put in place to ensure better co-ordination and dialogue. However, in spiteof additional burden, it would be safe to state that a lot of learning has takenplace as part of the process.



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Chapter 4Lessons learned

4.1 Introduction

Namibia’s experience of a SWAp is limited. The MBESC’s experienceof the ESPS, a sub-sector approach, was not shared by the MHETEC. Botheducation ministries have limited experience in implementing a SWAp.However, in spite of this short exposure to a SWAp, some general observationscan be made. This chapter provides these observations and some conclusionsin line with fundamental principles of a SWAp.

4.2 Leadership and responsibility in the SWAp process

Initiative

Although the SWAp process was initiated by development partners, itwas fairly readily accepted by government, since the approach was consistentwith the recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Education,Culture and Training for a more co-ordinated sector approach. It also foundresonance with the desire of the education sector ministries to harmonizeprocedures as far as possible. Its success will depend largely on the extent towhich the two ESMs can organize their priorities within a single framework.This constitutes a huge challenge. Embarking on a SWAp also entailed somedistortion of the definition of what constitutes the sector. Early childhooddevelopment does not fall within the portfolio of either of the educationministries, while on the other hand, a number of the responsibilities of the twoeducation ministries fall outside the classical understanding of an education




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sector. A pragmatic approach has been followed in including in the plans, andconsequently in the SWAp, all the activities of the two ministries.

From the time that a SWAp was first mooted, development partnerswere more articulate than government in suggesting mechanisms which shouldbe put in place. At times it appeared that DPs were prescribing proceduresrather than persuading the ESMs that these were desirable. Certainly, theannual review, the MoU and the SoI were essentials as far as the developmentpartners were concerned. The ministries accepted that they were participatingin a learning experience.

The establishment of the ISCBF is an example of development partners’strong belief in what was being proposed, with the subsequent acceptance bythe ESMs. Whereas it is a principle of the SWAp that government proceduresshould be used, and strengthened where necessary, the ISCBF was establishedto bypass government procedures. This was justified on the twin groundsthat government procedures were too cumbersome with regard to theprocurement of technical assistance, and that the development partners wouldprobably not under any circumstances channel all of their assistance throughthe SRF. Since the ESMs went along with the proposal, the question as towhether the DPs would have channelled the funds through the SRF had theministries insisted is purely hypothetical.

The ‘driving seat’

In terms of the favoured metaphor of the ‘driving seat’, governmentwas always in the driving seat, but there was a good deal of ‘back-seat driving’as well. Although government chaired meetings and provided the secretariat,there was often development-partner prompting on the date of a meeting(SPAG, for example) and influencing of meetings’ agendas. When seniormembers of the ministries felt strongly on an issue, they would assert theirviews. As an example, the Permanent Secretary of the MBESC made it



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clear that the education sector programme task force should not be chairedat permanent secretary level, despite strong pressure from developmentpartners and from the National Planning Commission Secretariat.

Selection of technical assistance

In the selection of technical assistance the education sector ministriesinsisted on having the final say, even at times when there was strong pressurefrom development partners for a specific consultant or consultancy firm tobe favoured. Development partners, however, did not see themselves as tryingto manipulate the process of selection, but rather as trying to persuade theministries on the basis of previous positive experience they had had of aconsultant. When the selection of technical assistance was left to the lastminute, even though CVs had been made available to the ministries monthsearlier, the ministries were constrained to make their selection from the CVsprovided by the development partners and from those consultants who werestill available. For the ministries to have greater control over the selection oftechnical assistance, they would have to be proactive at an earlier stage inobtaining CVs of possible candidates, and also in deciding which consultantto engage.

4.3 Partnership and co-operation

Strategic Planning Advisory Group; Education Sector PlanningAdvisory Group

When the ESPS was being developed the SPAG was established as avehicle for collaboration between the (basic) education ministry and thedevelopment partners. From the outset attempts were made to extend themembership to central ministries, the higher education ministry, and non-governmental organizations, and these were partly successful. Although thePermanent Secretary was nominally the chairperson of the group, chairing




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was usually delegated to the Director of Planning and Development. Whenthe SPAG was expanded into the ESPAG to serve both education ministrieson equal terms, chairing was taken over by the permanent secretaries, firston a rotating basis, then on a joint basis, in the interests of continuity and ofraising the level of decisions which could be taken during the meetings withouthaving first to refer to the EMT (of the MBESC) or the MC (of theMHETEC).

Two recurrent problems with the SPAG were the lack of continuity, inthat central ministries and directorates of the MBESC did not consistentlysend the same representatives and that the representatives of central ministrieswere often not sufficiently senior for appropriate information to be providedby them during meetings. It also appeared that there was frequently inadequatereporting back after the meetings. A further problem was that the SPAG wastoo narrowly conceived. Since implementing directorates had to undertakethe detailed planning of their sections of the ESPS, they should have beenmore involved in the SPAG meetings, thereby gaining more insight into theway in which the sub-sector was being supported.

The ESPAG, meeting three times a year, provides a valuable forum forthe exchange of information and monitoring the extent to which the sectorprogramme is on track. Its usefulness is reduced if senior staff members missmeetings, or if there is a lack of continuity in staff who attend from onemeeting to the next. It is also important that the NPC(S) and MOF berepresented at these meetings by a sufficiently senior or knowledgeable staffmember.

Education sector programme task force

The task force was initially set up to deal very specifically with thepreparation of the joint funding proposal to the EC and Sida, even though thescoping study had envisaged a wider role for two task forces. With the signing



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of the financing agreements, the role changed, and the task force became ineffect a sub-committee of the ESPAG, with new terms of reference. Thetask force brought about closer co-operation between the two education sectorministries, and had the potential to further this co-operation.

One of the shortcomings of the task force was that there was frequentlylittle progress to report from one meeting to the next on tasks which had beenassigned to the ESMs. This pointed to an inability at times of ministryrepresentatives to estimate realistically what the completion of the assignmentwould entail, perhaps partly because it was not clearly envisaged who wouldattend to the assignment; but also to a lack of appreciation on the part of othermembers of the task force of the other demands being made on the time ofthe ministry staff concerned.

Scoping study and appraisals

The scoping study, when proposed by the EC, was regarded by theeducation sector ministries as unnecessary. However, it turned out to be abeneficial exercise, both while it was being undertaken and there was interactionbetween consultants and staff members one-on-one and during presentationsand, afterwards, when the reports were available for study and reference.The 2002 appraisal was similarly regarded by the ESMs as unnecessary, andwhile the appraisal report highlighted a number of issues in a provocativeway, the education ministries felt that the report was marred by insufficienttime being allocated to the exercise; insufficient interaction with staff memberswhile the report was being prepared; and no time for study of the report or fordiscussion of the report with the team who had compiled it. The potential forco-operation was also marred by a lack of clarity as to whom the consultantswere working for, whether the sector ministries or the EC. If developmentpartners have a non-negotiable requirement, they should be prepared to sayso.




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Joint education sector review meetings

Of the two joint sector review meetings, the first (2002) wasunsatisfactory and the second (2003) highly satisfactory. There was a lackof common understanding of what the 2002 review was to achieve, not onlybetween government on the one hand and the development partners on theother, but also between and within the education sector ministries. Theanticipated outcomes of the 2003 review were formally agreed sufficientlyfar in advance of the review for all involved (except, perhaps, regionalrepresentatives) to approach it with a reasonably shared understanding. Thepreparation for the 2003 review was a genuinely co-operative exercise,although the work load of staff members who were assigned to work withthe consultants was such that the amount of writing which could be donejointly was less than the ideal. Despite the limitations, government anddevelopment partners were well satisfied with the process and with the result.Nevertheless, the shortcomings which it was possible to detect in retrospect,principally the reduced opportunity for capacity-building and the defects inthe medium-term (expenditure) plans, should be addressed in future reviews.

Since the Aide-mémoire drafted as part of the 2003 review was submittedto the permanent secretaries of both education ministries and to the developmentpartners for scrutiny before finalization, it was possible to have it formallyaccepted as representing firm commitments by all participants. This requireda time interval between the end of the review discussions and the formalpresentation of the Aide-mémoire.

The key to a successful review resides in the agreement among themajor players on its objectives and structure at least a couple months aheadof the review dates. This allows the preparations to be appropriately focused.



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Ministries’ decision-making bodies

The principal decision-making mechanisms of the two ministries wereunaffected by the introduction of the SWAp. No changes were made to therole or procedures of the EMT and MPCC of the MBESC or to the MC ofthe MHETEC. What was introduced was the formal joint meetings of theMC and the EMT, at first according to need, but likely to be established as aregular routine. The MBESC had already attempted to use the MPCC as aregular reporting forum for progress with implementing the strategic plan;the need to improve the quality of reporting had already been acknowledged,but the separation of narrative reporting from financial reporting had not yetbeen identified as a major problem. The procedures for reporting wouldnecessarily continue to enjoy the attention of EMT, MPCC and MC, both forimproved efficiency in the education ministries themselves and to satisfydevelopment partners during ESPAG and review meetings.

The SWAp process highlighted the important role which the seniormanagement bodies of the ministries should play in monitoring planimplementation through the regular scrutiny of reports which include financialinformation.

Co-ordination among development partners

Development partners met as necessary under the co-ordination of theEuropean Commission. However, since only two development partners wereinvolved in the co-ordinated sector support at the time of writing, there hadbeen no reduction in the number of bilateral meetings. The EC also attendedto the circulation among development partners of documents for signature.

Signed undertakings

In the ESPS agreement the Ministry of Basic Education provided certainundertakings on reporting and monitoring of the programme activities. The




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undertakings were not fulfilled as effectively as had been expected, and it isdifficult to decide the relative weighting of a number of factors which seemedto have been at play: (a) overstressed staff in the PAD and in implementingdirectorates (partly the consequence of unfilled vacancies); (b) poorcommunication of what was expected; (c) lack of interest; (d) insufficientfollow-up; and (e) insufficient interest taken by senior management.

In light of this experience, the fact that there were signed instrumentsendorsing the obligations of the ministries towards the ESP and the SWAp –the Statement of Intent (SoI), the MoU, the Aide-mémoire following the2003 JAR, and the financing agreements – should not be taken as sufficientguarantee that they would be honoured. This accounts for the attempts bydevelopment partners to have senior management of the two ministriesparticipating actively in the ESPAG meetings, the annual review, and theISCBF steering committee, and the attempts to have even the task forcechaired by a permanent secretary. The more senior the staff involved, thegreater the likelihood that undertakings would be honoured with the minimumof delay or prompting by the DPs. On the other hand, if implementation ofundertakings can be relied on only when the permanent secretary is directlyinvolved, there is little hope of improving efficiency in the ministries as awhole. The Commission on Education, Culture and Training (GRN, 1999: 22)identified “a lack of urgency and responsibility, or commitment to take decisionsand solve problems immediately at the lowest possible level” as one of thefactors contributing to inefficiency in the system.

Similarly, successful co-operation between the two ESMs depends onthe readiness of senior management of the respective ministries to get togetherwithout waiting to be prompted by outsiders. Internal sharing of informationbetween different levels within each ministry is equally important to ensurestaff commitment. Communication of ‘work in progress’ to other directorates,including regional directorates, should not be neglected; too often the feeling



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seems to be that it is not appropriate to share information until the issue hasbeen finalized.

4.4 Implementation and utilization of funds

Capacity to absorb funds

At the time of the 2002 appraisal the strategic plan of the MBESC wascriticized as being over-ambitious. The cost of fully implementing the plan ofthe MHETEC had at that stage not been determined. The experience of theMBESC with the implementation of the ESPS was that funds could not beabsorbed at the rate predicted. Criticism was also levelled at the MBESC forfailure to utilize fully the government funds allocated on the developmentbudget, although the Ministry contended that this was entirely the fault of theMinistry of Works, Transport and Communication, which delayed theappointment of consultants and the advertising and evaluation of tenders forconstruction.

Against this background doubts continued to be expressed at the abilityof the sector to utilize the ESP funds according to time table. A judgement onthe basis of spending during the first (financial) year of the ESP would beunfair, since no funds were available until well into the year and directorateswere not in a position to commit to activities before the funds had beenappropriated by Parliament. As with the ESPS, under-spending during thefirst year of implementation of the ESP might have a knock-on effect duringthe second and perhaps even subsequent years of the programme.

Throughout the ministries there is a need for training in realistic budgeting.

Additionality

When the ESPS proposal was being drafted there was concern on thepart of the development partners and of the Ministry of Basic Education that




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the Ministry of Finance should give a guarantee that the funding, if passedthrough the state revenue fund, would be ‘additional’. The guarantee was notgiven at that time, but there was no reason to suspect that the Ministry’sallocation from government funds had been reduced on account of the donorcontribution. The question of additionality was raised again during the designof the ESP. The assurance was given in one of the ESPTF meetings that areduction in the ceilings of the ESMs would not happen unless the economicclimate made it necessary to reduce the entire budget, in which case most ifnot all of the ministries would be affected.

Sjölander argued that additionality cannot be determined, since no-oneoutside the MOF could know what the allocation would have been had thedonor funds not been promised. He observed of the 2003 main budget that:

“... the Ministry of Basic Education has received very limitedcompensation through the budget proposal, as compared to otherexpenditure areas. It would not be difficult to draw the conclusion fromthis that the MOF in this case applies the full idea of fungibility, countingon the additional resources that they know development partners willprovide to this specific sector. The result of the whole exercise is probablythat the sector in total receives less resources through this continuedearmarking of donor money” (Sjölander, 2003: 5).

He argued that:

“Donors should fully untie and incorporate their budget support in regulargovernment budget procedures and use the platform for dialoguecreated by that very financial support to safeguard the allocation to thesector concerned. This could be done in different ways from technicalsupport aiming at the presentation of high quality budget material fromthe sector to the MOF, to high level discussions with governmentrepresentatives on the overall priority of the sector” (Sjölander, 2003: 6).



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Related to this was the concern on the part of development partnersand the implementing ministries that any unspent donor funds at the end ofthe financial year should be rolled over to the next year for use by the Ministry.Unless a separate budget line or column were created for the funds contributedby development partners, it would be difficult to establish whether or notdonor funds had been spent.

In the light of Sjölander’s comments, the logic of additionality andfungibility should be discussed by senior staff of the ESMs and DPs, with aview to determining how future assistance to the sector should be dealt with.

Medium-term planning and co-operation with the Ministry ofFinance

Drawing up MTPs consistent with government’s MTEF was arequirement ministries had to meet irrespective of a SWAp. Since the MOFstructured the budget by votes and not by sectors, each of the educationministries had to draw up its own MTP. The drafting of the plans wascomplicated by the uncertainty about the date on which disbursement ofdonor funds would take place and by the fluctuating exchange rate. Theopinion was expressed that ministries tended to spend a disproportionatelylarge amount of time on meeting donor requirements, seemingly at the expenseof following MOF guidelines for the bulk of the ministries’ funding, whichcomes from government. The counter view was expressed that the MOFdevoted insufficient time and effort to explaining to line ministries exactlywhat its requirements were, and complicated matters by keeping the provisionfor civil service salary increases on a separate budget line until well into thefiscal year.

In the drafting of the strategic plan, in the development of the ESPS,and in the early stages of developing the ESP proposal, there was an attitudeapparent in many directorates that financial planning was someone else’sresponsibility, or that if financial planning had to be done, it consisted of making




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a guess as to needs, and erring on the side of extravagance. It was clear thatcapacity to do medium-term financial planning in relation to resource envelopes,core functions and priorities would have to be developed in all directorates ofthe education ministries.

The level of communication between sector ministries and the MOFcannot yet be considered to be satisfactory.

Flexibility in the use of funds

The EC assistance appeared initially to be earmarked for particularareas of activity, and Sida assistance was targeted at activities within theMBESC and at overall sector-wide planning. Some months after the ministrieshad done initial work on this basis, it was clarified that EC and Sida fundingwould be available to both ministries; however, in the MHETEC only overallplanning improving efficiency, and vocational education and training couldbenefit from the funds. The MBESC thus had greater flexibility than theMHETEC in the utilization of the funds.

However, once the funds were in the budget of the Ministry, they couldbe treated as flexibly as other funds, of which Sjölander commented:

“To some extent still authorised through the State Finance Act and to alarger extent unauthorised, actual State Budget expenditure is annuallyfundamentally reallocated in relation to intended and by Parliamentdecided allocations” (Sjölander, 2000: 9).

This possibility would also contribute to the difficulty of isolating unspentdonor funds at the end of a financial year.

The ISCBF was established inter alia to allow greater flexibility, not somuch in the purposes for which the funding was used as in circumventinglengthy government procurement procedures. The NPC(S) and MOF both



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had an expressed preference that funding go through the state revenue fund;and it was agreed that the bulk of the funds would be channelled in this way.The education sector ministries confirmed the desirability of holding some ofthe funds outside the SRF in the ISCBF.

The effectiveness of the bypass mechanism has yet to be determined,although the way in which it is being managed, akin to a project implementationunit (PIU) has already proved successful.

Audit requirements

A potential drawback of the development partners’ requirements wasthat their insistence on audited accounts being produced within 12(effectively 11) months of the end of the financial year might lead to largeamounts being siphoned from the ISCBF to enable the Office of the AuditorGeneral to buy in assistance or contract out parts of the audit to meet thedeadline. Considering that the State Finance Act allows seven months forthe closing of the annual accounts before they have to be submitted to theOAG, effectively the OAG would have only four months in which to completethe audit. Late submission of the accounts, which has happened in the past,would increase the pressure on the OAG (Sjölander, 2000: 10).

4.5 Information needs

Single strategic plan for the sector

This is not required immediately; sector activities will progressively beintegrated into such a plan. An initial step would have to be agreement on theformat of the plan.

There is the danger that the high-level technical team assigned to workwith the World Bank in designing an education and training sector improvementprogramme may produce a plan inconsistent with the sector’s evolving strategicplan.




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Annual work plans

This set of documents is a requirement for decisions on the annualdisbursement of DP funds. To date many of these plans, like the strategicplan itself, have been over-ambitious and not clearly linked to available financesor human resources. In future, to meet the review date, adequate annualwork plans will have to be produced a full seven months in advance of theyear of implementation.

Bi-annual financial reports and audit reports

Bi-annual financial reports will be required for the March ESPAG meetingand for the annual review. These will have to be compiled in relation to theannual work plans and MTPs, which means that each directorate will haveto prepare such a report. The March 2004 ESPAG will be the first occasionfor which such reports are required, and will reveal the capacity of directoratesto provide them. Some training may be required.

Audit reports are required for the March ESPAG meeting.

Indicators

The 2003 review accepted a number of performance indicators and aset of process indicators, but recommended that the range of indicators bereconsidered yet again. The lesson is that it is very difficult to achieve agreementon a set of indicators that will satisfy all interested parties. The timely provisionof indicators depends on a high level of competence (either in the Ministry, orhired) and a carefully structured census process. There seemed to be persistentunrealistic expectations that the indicators would measure the impact of theESP despite the time lag between the event measured and data capture, andbetween data capture and data analysis.



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The ‘process indicators’113 appeared feasible.

Sector studies and research

Sufficient studies have been undertaken to inform the strategic plans ofthe ministries. It could be argued that more careful reading of the researchand studies already undertaken might lead to improvement of the plans.

4.6 Poverty reduction

Poverty reduction is one of the implied goals of basic education, to beaddressed through extending access to primary education and to adult learningopportunities, by improving the relevance of the curriculum and the quality oflearning, and by moving as rapidly as possible towards an equitable distributionof resources. However, the education sector plans could not be a response togovernment’s Poverty Reduction Action Plan, since this had not been publishedat the time that the sector plans were being developed. The Second NationalDevelopment Plan (NDP2) incorporated educational targets in the chapter on‘poverty reduction’ which appeared to have been based on the targets in thechapter on ‘education, training and culture’,114 the latter being consistentwith the education ministries’ strategic planning. To the extent that the SWApis supportive of the broad goals of the education ministries, it should contributeto poverty reduction.

113. Presumably the same as the ‘programme benchmarks’ referred to in MBESC/MHETEC,2003d: 3.

114. NPC, n.d. Compare pages 427-428 (education chapter), consistent with sector planning,with page 565 (poverty reduction chapter), where there are however some errors andomissions, e.g. “Maintain net enrolment of 7- to 13-year-olds at 93 per cent” (p. 427),but “Maintain net enrolment of 6- to 15-year-olds at 94 per cent”, apparently incorrectlytranscribed.




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4.7 Capacity development

The reminder in ESPTF meetings that capacity-building is much widerthan training pointed to the need to regard functional units rather than individualsas the focus for capacity-building. Both ministries had experience of investingin the further training of individuals who, soon after completion of the training,left the Ministry or moved to another job within the Ministry. While the skillswere not necessarily lost to the country or even to the Ministry, they werenot available to the unit for which the enhanced capacity had been intended.Similarly, skills which had been learnt largely by trial and error by an individualwere lost when the individual left. Similar problems were experienced whena trained staff member was away for an extended period, for example onstudy leave. Both ministries experienced situations where only one staffmember had the skill to perform a particular set of critical tasks. The situationwas often exacerbated by lengthy delays in the filling of vacant posts.

Building on such experience, provision was made under the ISCBF forconsultants to come into the ESMs intermittently to provide on-the-job trainingto staff members, who would practise the skills as they continued to do thework until the consultant returned to provide further training.

Past experience was that consultants provided relatively little training tostaff members because of the interplay of the following factors: (a) theconsultant’s terms of reference did not state specifically that capacitydevelopment was to be the main focus; (b) the perceptions of the staff memberor the supervisor as to the role of the consultant; (c) the staff members to betrained spent their time attending to other ‘priorities’ that they had identifiedfor themselves, or that had been assigned to them, while the consultant wentahead with the task; (d) the staff member took leave while the consultantwas around (or the consultant was hired while the staff member was onleave); and (e) the time frame within which the work had to be completedallowed insufficient time for training.



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Riddell commented:

“... what one seems to find repeatedly is the technical assistance that isliked within ministries is that which carries out effectively linemanagement functions and thus relieves the administration of some ofthe burdens it has. This may entail capacity building by osmosis, but itmay be nothing more than a gap filler” (Riddell, 2001: 32).

Under the ISCBF a consultant is to be hired to provide “advisory supportfor policy and planning to MHETEC and to MBESC”. It was suggested thatthe objective “could include” (emphasis added) five activities, one of whichwould be “Building the capacity of Ministry and regional staff to plan andmake decisions for sustainable development” (MBESC/MHETEC, 2003c:Annex III). In the light of prior experience it would seem that the capacity-building element of this consultancy is not sufficiently strongly stated to ensurethat capacity-building will take place. This could be remedied at the start ofthe consultancy in an agreed work schedule, but the staff members who areto benefit from the capacity-building would have to be identified, would haveto be informed of the objective, and would have to be required to reportperiodically on the extent to which the objective was being achieved. For thebuilding of regional capacity in planning, it will be necessary to fill vacantposts and to decide how regional planning responsibilities will be attended towithout expanding the staffing establishment. With the shift in the MBESCfrom seven to 13 regions, several regions were left without education planners.Some assigned an advisory teacher or other staff member to handle theassignment temporarily, but such staff members will probably at some pointmove back to their primary responsibility.

Similarly the scope of work for the ‘advisory support to the two ministriesof education to develop managerial capacity for effective financialmanagement and budget planning’ might need to be made more specific as tothe staff members who would benefit from the training. It might be a mistake




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to target the capacity-building only at senior staff, unless they were equippedin the process to provide relevant training to middle management.

Consultants need not be considered as ‘gap fillers’ when they are hiredto perform a one-off task. But they are ‘gap fillers’ when they (or others)have to be hired repeatedly to do work which is a routine responsibility of theMinistry. In the latter case, the Ministry is losing ownership of the process.This is no less true when critical posts remain unfilled because of bureaucraticdelays.

Provision should be made for in-service training for planners andmanagers in the areas, listed in Section 3.13 above, where these skills arelacking. There should also be arrangements for covering these areas with newstaff as they are appointed to planning or management positions. It would bemore efficient to do this training in country, if necessary bringing in one ormore trainers, than to send a small number of persons out of the country fortraining and expect them to train others on their return.

4.8 Transaction costs

It is particularly difficult to determine what transaction costs have beenincurred, as defined in Section 3.13. In meeting the requirements ofdevelopment partners, much has been learnt by ministry staff, even in caseswhere the Ministry was initially opposed to the activity. It is difficult to isolatethe purely administrative aspects from those which have formed an essentialpart of the negotiations. For those aspects which have been clearlyadministrative, no record has been maintained of the person-hours expended.Where DPs have prescribed reporting formats, it has been because theministries did not have an alternative to present. However, it has been clearthat ministry staff have spent time doing things that development partnerswanted because the Ministry itself had not progressed sufficiently with theproduction of working documents.



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Transaction costs will be significantly increased if the education andtraining sector improvement programme (with the World Bank) is allowed todevelop in parallel with the ESP, since this will render redundant much of thework done through the ESPTF and the ESPAG.

Transaction costs have been increased by poor record-keeping ofmeetings, leading to misunderstandings and delays in getting work done.

4.9 Conclusion

Although Namibia’s experience of a SWAp is limited, several lessonshave been learnt, some of which have already influenced the ongoing processof planning for the sector and implementation of plans. Despite thedevelopment partners’ wish to have the recipient government ‘in the driver’sseat’, the initiative will be taken by DPs if the ministry representatives are notproactive. Whoever takes the initiative, ownership will necessarily be sharedas long as the partnership continues. Written undertakings will not ensure thatactivities take place as intended unless capacity is developed. The capacity toabsorb funds is frequently over-estimated by ministry staff. Co-operationwith the MOF should be improved in the interests of more effective andefficient use of government and donor funds. Transaction costs are not easilydetermined, since many of the donor-initiated meetings and studies have alsobenefited the ministries through moving the strategic planning process forward.



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Chapter 5Conclusions and recommendations

5.1 Conclusions

From what has been described and analyzed in the previous chapters,some general conclusions can be drawn from the Namibian experience.

Engagement in a SWAp has been beneficial to both ministries, givingthem greater insight into aspects of strategic planning and budgeting. At thesame time the ESMs have received additional funding to enable them toachieve their objectives. But if Sjölander’s argument is accepted, the additionalfunding is an illusion, particularly if taken together with Sherbourne’sobservations on the share allocated to the MBESC in the 2003/04 mainbudget.115

Unfortunately, the number of staff members of the ministries who wereregularly involved in the planning work for the SWAp was small, and whereattendance at meetings was erratic because of other commitments, opportunitiesfor learning were reduced. This has also been a problem with meetings calledfor other purposes. Better co-ordination of meeting dates and times wouldrequire effort, but should bring benefits.

The SWAp also brought about a stronger working relationship betweenthe two ministries of education. Although there had never been difficulty insetting up ad hoc meetings, there had been no regular joint engagement inlooking at overall planning and budgeting issues or at the degree of

115. See Sections 2.6 and 4.4 above.




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interdependence and linkages of many of the activities of the ESMs. Thisimpetus needs to be optimized by the two ministries. In particular, the jointmeetings of the MHETEC’s Management Committee and the MBESC’sExecutive Management Team need to be regularly scheduled. Involvementin the SWAp has contributed to formalizing these relationships in a moresystematic way.

The ESPTF gave the education ministries the opportunity to work moreclosely with the National Planning Commission Secretariat. This relationshipneeds to be maintained, since plans of the sector need to fit into the overallnational planning framework, for which the NPC(S) is responsible, and theNPC(S) needs to be aware of the challenges which the education sector faces.Working relationships with the Ministry of Finance need to be strengthened.The education ministries do not yet sense that the MOF is keen to assist withfinancial planning and budgeting. But it would probably be fair to say that theSWAp process has established a base for closer interaction and dialoguewith the MOF.

Even if development partners claim to want government to be ‘in thedriver’s seat’, they have their preconditions and will not be deflected frombuilding these into the programme. While many of these features have alsoheld benefits for the ministries, it must be acknowledged that they have notbeen included on the initiative of the ministries. Some are of doubtful benefitto government. An example is the insistence that audit reports be presentedwithin 12 months of the end of the financial year, when the Office of theAuditor General has not been able to deliver within this time frame in thepast. The Memorandum of Understanding was drafted mainly to ensuregovernment compliance on a number of matters.

The ISCBF, if all of the funds are not swallowed up in audits, offers theopportunity to enhance the efficiency of the ministries, provided the institutionalstrengthening dimension is kept at the forefront. If consultants who are hiredare expected to build capacity, it is not sufficient to have a line to this effect in



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their job descriptions. Consultants can do little in this regard if the staffmembers with whom they are working do not fully understand from the outsetthat they are to be available for training, or do not understand what competencesthey are to acquire from the working relationship. If consultants also have toproduce other outputs, and find that the ministry staff are not available becauseof conflicting commitments, they have little option but to do the workthemselves. In this case they function as gap fillers to the Ministry.

Systematic training in the skills required for a successful SWAp shouldbe provided for all planners and managers. While mentoring by consultantsmay fill some of the gaps, the range of skills is sufficiently wide to justify astructured training initiative.

The SWAp requires the use of normal government procedures whereverpossible, improving them if necessary, but not circumventing them. Theestablishment of the ISCBF represents a refusal to engage with the perceivedinefficiencies of the government system for hiring consultants. On the part ofthe DPs it also represents a refusal to address head-on the factors whichprevent the OAG from producing timely audits.

The education and culture sector improvement programme in which theWorld Bank will be involved may be seen either as a threat to the educationsector programme within the SWAp or as an opportunity, depending on howit is managed. Even though members of the technical team working with theWorld Bank may also serve on bodies like the ESPTF or the ESPAG, theusual tendency is to keep tasks in compartments. If the work done with theWorld Bank is strategic planning, it needs to be integrated from the outsetwith the plans already in existence. This would mean that the work of thetechnical team would become the business of the ESPTF and of ESPAG,rather than holding World Bank meetings to which slightly or largely differentsets of participants would be invited.



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The difficulties experienced by the MBESC in establishing a pattern ofregular and spontaneous reporting on strategic plan implementation suggeststhat a good deal of encouragement will be needed to get reports of appropriatequality submitted in time for study before the ESPAG meetings.

One may ask whether the education ministries were not over-hasty inmoving to a SWAp, when so many elements were not adequately in place.The analysis has pointed inter alia to incomplete and over-ambitious strategicplans, to gaps in staffing, to difficulties in extracting financial data, to delayedreporting, and to allowing development partners to take the initiative. However,the study has also shown that the Presidential Commission on Education,Culture and Training and forces within the education ministries themselveshad been encouraging greater co-operation, quite apart from the question ofdonor aid. The theory of SWAs clearly indicates that they relate to a processrather than to a finished product, and that the process tends to be incremental.The primary justification for a SWAp, then, is not to satisfy developmentpartners, but to increase efficiency in the sector ministries. This does notchange, even if much of the development partner support is in the nature ofproject support rather than budget support. But where sector plans are welldeveloped, any project is more likely to be effectively integrated into the planand will therefore be realistic and its benefits sustainable.

5.2 Recommendations

Ten main recommendations to the Namibian education sector may bedrawn from the above conclusions.

1. If the ministries are to remain ‘in the driver’s seat’, regular joint meetingsof the MHETEC’s MC and the MBESC’s EMT should be given highpriority.



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2. When the ministries are not convinced that a proposal by developmentpartners is in their interest, the matter should be discussed without delayin a meeting at which senior staff from both ministries are present.

3. Progress should be made with the development of a single comprehensivesector plan, which should include early childhood education, even if thisremains the responsibility of a ministry outside the defined sectorministries.

4. The World Bank study should be completely integrated with the educationsector programme and SWAp.

5. Regular reporting on plan implementation should be firmly managed,especially since it is an important management tool apart from its valueto the development partners.

6. If capacity-building is to be provided by a consultant as part of a widerassignment, there should be something in the nature of a ‘soft contract’between the consultant and the staff member who is to benefit from thetraining, and the growth in competence should be regularly monitored,with formal reporting by a consultant and beneficiary of the training.

7. The skills relevant to successfully steering a SWAp should be coveredin a series of short courses for all planners and managers.

8. Further efforts should be made to establish an open working relationshipwith the MOF on medium-term planning, and the working relationshipwith the NPC(S) should be strengthened.

9. Progress with the submission of documents for the annual audit shouldbe monitored, as should the level of expenditure on audits from theISCBF. If either the time frame proves to be unrealistic or the drain onthe ISCBF too great, the relevant sections of the Memorandum ofUnderstanding should be renegotiated.

10. As far as possible staff assigned to participate in the ESPTF and ESPAGshould not allow other assignments to keep them away from meetings.

For any country contemplating the introduction of a SWAp, it is highlydesirable that senior management should become acquainted with the



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concepts at an early stage and should be seen to be driving the process. Allsenior- and middle-level managers should acquire some understanding of thenational medium-term financial planning, and all strategic planning shouldfully integrate estimates of expenditure from the outset. Understanding of theconcepts and of progress should be discussed in appropriate forums withsector staff at national and regional levels and with key stakeholders. Somemistakes are inevitable, and can be appreciated only by hindsight; but manymistakes can be avoided by careful planning.



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MEC. 1991a. Education and culture in Namibia: the way forward to1996. Windhoek: Unpublished.

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MECYS. 1990b. Education in transition: nurturing our future, submittedby the MECYS to the National Assembly. Windhoek: MECYS(unpublished).

MECYS. 1990c. Namibian educational code of conduct for schools.Windhoek: MECYS.

Mendelsohn, J.; A. Jarvis; C. Roberts; T. Robertson. 2002. Atlas of Namibia:a portrait of the land and its people. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers.




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Mendelsohn, J.; Ward, V. 2001. A review of clusters of schools in Namibia.Windhoek: RAISON.

MHETEC. 2001. Annual report for 2000. Windhoek: MHETEC.

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MHETEC. 2002b. MHETEC strategic plan. Windhoek: Unpublished.

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MIB. 1990. Constitution of the Republic of Namibia. Windhoek: MIB.

MIB. 2003. Media release from cabinet chambers, ref. 13/6/27 of5 November 2003. Windhoek: Unpublished.

MOF. 2003a. Budget statement for the 2003/04 Budget, presented by theHonourable Nangolo Mbumba, Minister of Finance, 6 March 2003.Windhoek: MOF.

MOF. 2003b. Estimate of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 1April 2003 – 31 March 2004: State Revenue Fund. Windhoek: MOF.

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MRLGH. 1997. A decentralization policy for the Republic of Namibia:decentralization, development and democracy. Windhoek: MRLGH.

NIED. 1996. Pilot curriculum guide for formal basic education. Okahandja:National Institute for Educational Development. Unpublished.

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NPC. 2003. 2001 population and housing census: national report: basicanalysis with highlights. Windhoek: NPC.

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Voigts, F. 1998. The quality of education: some policy suggestions basedon a survey of schools: Namibia. Paris: UNESCO.



Appendices



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Appendix IStatement of Intent following the first education

sector review, June 2002

Introduction

1. The Ministries of Basic Education, Sport and Culture and of HigherEducation, Training and Employment Creation have developed StrategicPlans covering the period up to 2006, and have committed themselvesto further refining and prioritizing these plans.

2. The undersigned Development Partners have committed themselves tosupporting the successful implementation of the Ministries’ StrategicPlans and the ongoing planning and implementation process with financialassistance, skill transfer, mutual learning and institutional capacity-building,while optimizing the use of existing capacity.

3. The Development Partners (DPs) respect and actively support NamibianGovernment ownership and leadership of the process.

4. Funding Agreements entered into between the Government of theRepublic of Namibia and individual Development Partners on a bilateralbasis will be respected and the contents thereof take precedence overthis Statement of Intent.

Consultation process

5. The two Education Ministries and Development Partners have foundthis Education Sector Review a potentially effective forum for the exchangeof ideas and information and are committed to holding such reviewsannually.



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6. Further annual reviews will look at progress on targets set at the previousreview and look forward to the future plans of the GRN and DP financedactivities.

7. A joint appraisal of progress will take place at some time prior to theannual review, the report being available at least a month before thereview meeting.

8. The undersigned Ministries, relevant agencies, and Development Partnerswill work consultatively in a spirit of openness and transparency.Information sharing will be critical, and related activities will be co-ordinated and planned together under a common framework andstrategies.

9. The Ministries, Development Partners and other stakeholders will usethe Education Sector Planning Advisory Group (ESPAG) meeting as aconsultative forum. The ESPAG will meet three (3) times a year.

Planning and implementation process

10. The two Education Ministries will work towards greater coherence inplanning and strategizing their activities, using regular joint managementmeetings and other technical co-operation as a means to this end.

11. The two Ministries of Education and Development Partners will worktowards joint monitoring, appraisal and evaluation of the Education Sectorpriorities and performance.

12. Indicators and milestones for the monitoring of implementation of theStrategic Plans will be agreed between the two Ministries of Educationand the Development Partners and reviewed annually.

Financial assistance

13. It is apparent from the Namibian Government’s Medium TermExpenditure Framework that there will be financial constraints on fullimplementation of the Education Sector Plans.



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14. The Development Partners will at the earliest opportunity provideindications of the funding which they will make available to the EducationSector.

15. Government and Development Partner financial contributions will bereflected in future versions of planning documents.

Next steps

16. The two Ministries of Education and Development Partners will agree inan ESPAG meeting before the end of December 2002 on the indicativestrategic activity planning for the period leading to the next annual review.

The Statement of Intent was signed at Windhoek on 19 November2002 on behalf of:

The Government of the Republic of NamibiaThe European CommissionFranceGermanyItalyLuxembourgThe NetherlandsPortugalSpainSwedenThe United KingdomThe United States of AmericaThe United Nations Children’s FundThe United Nations Development ProgrammeThe World Bank



215

Appendix IIMemorandum of Understanding for the education

sector programme in Namibia

Basic principles

Scope and objectives

This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regards the support to theEducation Sector Programme (ESP), which seeks to implement the objectivesof the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture (MBESC) and Ministryof Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation (MHETEC) StrategicPlans.

The Education Sector Programme (ESP) is designed to contribute to theachievement of the Vision 2030, National Development Plan 2 (NDP2) andthe National Poverty Reduction Action Programme (NPRAP). ThisMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) applies to the Government of theRepublic of Namibia (GRN) and its Development Partners (DPs) who arecommitted to provide budget support to the Education Sector strategic Plansbetween 2003 and 2007. The MoU sets forth the terms and procedures forthe joint management, funding, monitoring and evaluation of support to theESP.




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Contribution and obligations of the parties

Contributions and obligations of the Government of the Republicof Namibia

The Government of the Republic of Namibia through MBESC, theMHETEC and with the support of the National Planning CommissionSecretariat (NPC(S)) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) will be responsible forthe ESP and will:

Exercise the overall responsibility for policy, planning, administrationand implementation of the ESP with the assistance of the inter-ministerialEducation Sector Programme Task Force (ESPTF) whose membershipincludes the National Planning Commission Secretariat, the Ministry of Finance,MBESC and MHETEC, which will meet on an ad hoc basis.

1. Endeavour to disburse effectively the full amount of funds approved byParliament for the annual MBESC and MHETEC budget.

2. Ensure that DP resources channelled through the SRF are aligned to theMTEF and additional to GRN resources to the Education Sector.

3. Comply with any commitments to the education sector, whether madeat the annual reviews and Education Sector Planning Advisory Group(ESPAG) meetings or otherwise.

4. Strive to ensure that the resources of the DPs are reflected in the plansand estimates of revenue and expenditure of the GRN.

5. Strive to ensure that accounts and procedures for the ESP are maintainedin accordance with the GRN Financial legislation.

6. Prepare and implement an institutional development programme with aview to ensuring that the structures and qualified local personnel for theimplementation of the sector programme are available.



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7. Promptly inform the development partners of any condition (includingtheft or misuse of funds) which interferes or threatens to interfere withthe successful implementation of the ESP.

8. Ensure that any person misusing funds or assets is prosecuted inaccordance with the appropriate legal procedure.

9. The ESP will strive to be in line with the strategic plans and governmentpriorities.

Contribution and obligation of the development partners

1. Development Partners will provided indications of funding available tothe ESP for the 2003/04-2005/06 MTEF period according to the timetableof the Minister of Finance to be reflected in the estimate of revenue.

2. DPs will confirm funding available during the annual review processand will strive to ensure the timely release of funds.

3. The annual joint review process will be co-ordinated by the intra-ministerial [sic] Education Sector Programme Task Force (ESPTF).

4. Reporting will be harmonized so that one common reporting system,using GRN systems, will be used for all activities in the sector.

Contributions and obligations of the GRN and DPs

All partners will adhere to the key principles in implementing andsupporting activities in the Education Sector Programme. These principlesare:

1. The joint annual review and planning cycles, including tri-annual ESPAGmeetings will be adapted to the planning and budgeting cycle of theGRN.

2. All activities in the sector will be progressively integrated into one commonsector-wide strategic plan based on shared visions and priorities. Thisplan will include all the activities financed by the public sector and




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Development Partner funds, and be integrated in the governmentbudgetary systems under the Ministries Medium Term Expenditure Plansand GRN Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.

3. Resources will increasingly be channelled through the SRF to the extentpossible. This should not rule out the channelling of resources for specificactivities through other GRN systems such [as] the EducationDevelopment Fund provided under the Education Act nor does it precludetraditional project funds where this is deemed appropriate.

4. The common disbursement, accounting, reporting, procurement systemsand auditing will be improved and streamlined as necessary in consultationwith the Auditor General and Accountant General.

Management of the ESP

Procurement

Procurement will be according to the rules of the GRN.

Disbursements and management of funds

1. DP funds will be channelled through the SRF and a decision to allocateadditional resources to the Education sector will be accordingly taken byGRN and reflected within the Votes of the Ministry of Basic Education,Sports and Culture and Ministry of Higher Education, Training andEmployment Creation. Funding would be transferred to the Stateaccount, and would be converted into Namibian dollars.

2. Disbursements will be made according to the rules and regulations of theGRN.

3. Disbursements of DP funds will follow the presentation of the annualBudget to Parliament and will be on the request of the Ministry of Financeand the NPC(S).



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4. Disbursements will be recorded in the revenue ledger and expenditureson the expenditure ledger.

5. DP disbursements shall be linked to the GRN budget process.6. There will be one tranche release per year. The size of the tranche for

the subsequent financial year will be determined by the DPs followingthe Education Sector Review.

7. Annual disbursements decisions would be based on an analysis of:• Education sector indicators• Macro/budgetary indicators• Annual Work Plans• Audit Reports• Compliance to agreed undertakings

Reports for the Education Sector Programme

The ESPTF will ensure that biannual reports are prepared, one as aninput to the annual review and the other for the March ESPAG. These reportswill be available at least 14 days prior to the meetings.

These reports will be based on the annual work plans and cover theimplementation of the ESP, related to the goal, purpose, results and inputs ofthe programme. They will detail progress and obstacles encountered (regardlessof source of funding). In particular they will include: (a) progress andperformance reports on programme benchmarks and broad sector indicatorsset at the previous review; (b) bi-annual financial reports; and (c) for theMarch ESPAG an audit for the previous financial year.

Education Sector Institutional Development and CapacityBuilding Facility

In addition to the funds through the SRF, there will be an InstitutionalDevelopment Pooled Facility. The modalities of this facility will be subject tothe Agreement of all signatories to the MoU.




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Audit arrangements

1. Annual financial and ‘value for money’ performance audits from theAuditor General will rely on standard Government procedures of ExternalAudit. It will report on Vote expenditure including the donor resourcesprovided through the budget.

2. Should there be a delay in completing these audits, the Auditor Generalcan draw from expertise of an Audit Firm of International Standing inaccordance to the State Finance Act. The resources under the institutionaldevelopment and capacity-building facility may be utilized to supportaccordingly the Auditor General to carry out these audits.

3. The reports of the internal auditors of both Ministries, will be copied to,and reviewed by, the ESPTF who in turn will report to the Review orESPAG.

4. Exceptionally, the DPs may request external audits through the Office ofthe Auditor General in order to ensure timely presentations of audits.The annual report of the Auditor General will be made available within12 months of the end of the financial year.

Review and evaluation

1. An annual review meeting will take place in August/September eachyear. The review meeting will take stock of the full year financial andperformance report covering all expenditures in the education sector andwill support the preparation of a draft financial framework for the sectoras an input for the preparation by MBESC and MHETEC of the three-year rolling Education sector Medium Term Budget Framework. Thisreview will also examine any data available on progress towards achievingannual targets and propose corrective measures as necessary.

2. The ESPTF will agree on the timeframe and detailed Terms of referenceof the review. However the review musts be completed by the end ofSeptember each year to allow Development Partners’ commitments tobe included in the budgeting process.



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3. Upon completion of the review an Aide-mémoire will be produced whichwill detail the progress since the last review of the ESP against indicatorsand recommend amendments, if any, to those indicators. On completionof the review and signature of the Aide-mémoire, DPs will confirm theamount of the tranche for the following fiscal year.

Any amendments to this memorandum must be by written agreementbetween the development partners and the GRN.

Any new development partner may become an ESP contributor, and assuch will be required to sign the MoU, at that time.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 2 and 3 July2003 on behalf of:

The National Planning CommissionThe Ministry of FinanceThe Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and CultureThe Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Employment CreationThe Office of the Auditor GeneralThe EC Delegation in NamibiaThe Embassy of SwedenThe High Commission of the United Kingdom



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Appendix IIIEducation sector strategic plans

Terminology in the logical framework of the [MBESC] StrategicPlan 2001-2006

National priority area: Eight national priority areas have been identifiedfor MBESC in the planning period 2001-2006.

Education system goal: For each of the eight national priority areasan education system goal has been formulated.

Objectives

The objectives are outcome-based to express what should be achievedin the end.

Most objectives include a year indication, within the planning period, inwhich the objective should be reached.

An objective covers all related targets.



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Targets Responsible lead Indicators Strategies Cost elements Estimatedunit for target/ costsstrategy

The targets The responsible The indicator is the The strategies The required(expected results) to lead unit is the ruler for measuring show how inputs (costbe achieved. Several MBESC unit taking the progress of each (through which elements) for eachtargets can be set the lead role in of the targets; i.e. activities) targets of the strategies.for one objective. implementing the one indicator is will be attained.

target/strategy. needed for eachAlso indicated is target. In somethe time (month and cases there may beyear) in which the an indicator fortarget should be each strategy.reached.

The indicator mayWhen all targets be expressed inhave been reached quantitative and/orso should the qualitative terms.objective.

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Sample from MBESC Strategic Plan Matrix

Objective:

3.2 Establish a planning and management system for teacher development, by2002.

Targets Responsible lead Indicators Strategies Cost Estimatedunit for target/ elements costsstrategy

3.2.1. Standards and NIED A completed A. Liaise with NQA Sittingcriteria for qualifications, set of B. Establish national allowanceselection, employment standards standard setting bodyand progression in and criteria C. Develop and Fee for reviewthe teaching profession for the teaching make availableset by end 2001 profession standards and criteria

3.2.2. A system of EPI Performance A. Review the performance Trainingperformance appraisal appraisal appraisal document Printing,for teachers developed system B. B. Ratify the reviewed S&Tand implemented documentby April 2002 C. C. Train for the

implementation of thesystem

D. Implement the performanceappraisal system

E. E. Liaise with OPM andpersonnel division (GeneralServices)

F. Consult with unions

3.2.3. Code of conduct EPI Code of A. Proceed with plans as per Printingfor teachers implemented conduct below as soon as theby beginning 2002 education act has

been approved.B. Finalise code of conduct in

collaboration withthe Teacher unions

C. Ratify the code of conductD. Implement and promote


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Sample page from MHETEC Strategic Plan Matrix

3.4 Strategic objective: facilitate pre-service and in-service instructor trainingprogramme at the Polytechnic of Namibia PoN)

Timeframe

Activities Strategies Indicators Lead unit S c Cost element Financial

requirement

3.4.1 Provide funds for the Include funds in the VET Funds made Director 2 0 0 2 12/02 Study centrerunning cost of study centres annual budget available Div: CID* running costsat VTCs Div: TTC* Office furniture

Div: OCS* Office equipmentStaff salariesAllowancesSitting allowances

3.4.2 Equip VTC Conduct equipment and Study centres are 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3study centres material need analysis well equipped

3.4.3 Establish mentors Co-ordinate with EU Mentors placed 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 4support system in the VTCs Project Managers and functioning

and DED Office

3.4.4 Establish Joint Quarterly committee Instructor training 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 6Co-ordinating Committee with meetings per annum programme wellthe Polytechnic of Namibia co-ordinated


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Appendix IVPerformance and Effectiveness Management

Programme (PEMP)



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Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture

Strategic decision-makingNDP2 prime outcomes are: Revive and sustain economic growthCreate employmentReduce income inequalities, poverty and regional inequalitiesPromote gender equity/equality, economic empowermentCombat spread of HIV/AIDS

Tasking and accountability Operational

1 2 3 4 5 6

Objectives NDP targets Other Ministerial O/M/As Management information

All children receive quality education

Enrolment numbers 7-13 Survival from grades 1 to 7 Survival rate grades 8-10 Transition rate to secondary schools% JSC > 26 points % schools offering complete phasesDisparity in learner/teacher ratioDisparity in unit cost primary Disparity in unit cost secondary Number of class groups >40

Attendance levels against total population learners Closeness to gender equity People with disabilities Bias in enrolment Unit cost per learner

Attendance levels Quality of teaching % JSC > 26 points

Enrolment rates by region, gender and people with disabilities Attendance levels by region, gender and people with disabilities Average teaching hours per learner Levels of qualifications by field and length of study Spread from the standard on teacher/learner ratio Unit cost per learner (by area) Pass/failure rates by region Gender disparity in achievement RepeatersDrop-out by grade, gender and reason

All Namibians are functionally literate

Adult literacy ratio Numeracy level Pass rates in literacy and numeracy tests Number of people passed by gender, age, location

Entrance learners’ potential for beneficialparticipation in the economy and in society

% IGCSE candidates graded Number of schools equipped with internet access

Enrolment rates ages 7-13 Employment rate* for school leavers after x monthsAttendance levels Closeness to gender equality in attainment Teaching quality

Examination pass rates% lessons rated satisfactory by inspectors% IGCSE candidates graded

Employment levels after graduation by subjects offered Subjects pass rates at grade 10 & 12 by gender and region

Outcomes and performance measure table


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All Namibians involved in artistic endeavours

Numbers participating Enrolment numbers in arts classes

Numbersparticipating

Subsidy/grant per participant Leverage funding ratio Participation rates by gender and region

Mutualunderstanding and tolerance of all cultures in Namibia

Understanding levels Visitors to events sponsored per N$ of grant-in-aid

Understandinglevels

Number of participants in sponsored events

Optimize availability and condition of cultural heritage

Numbers visiting cultural heritage sites and museums Cost per visitor

Numbers visiting cultural heritage sites and museums Cost per visitor

Numbers visiting cultural heritage by individual site and museum Cost per visitor by individual site and museumHit count at web site State of preservation of artefacts

Optimize economic contribution of art and culture

Economic rate of return for supported projects Sector contribution to GDP Number employed in sector

Economic rate of return for each supported project

To ensure all Namibians have an opportunity to participate in sport

% people > 10 km from sporting facilities Number of disabled participants in sport Number of counterpart coaches successfully trained Number of people benefiting from GRN sponsorship

Level of equity in sportsadministrationbodies

Participation rates by sport code and regionNon-completion of coaches by course and reason

To enhance national sporting image and pride in the country

Level of success in international competition

Level of success in international competition

World ranking by sport code and gender


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General administration

Column 2 Column 5 Column 6

% Hostel cost recovery Utilization rate of school building Real average fleet running cost Average age of outstanding payments

Unit cost of catering and laundry per boarder Staff turnover Staff absence by cause Boarding fees – % cost recovery Number of rapes by hostel Fleet unit cost Fleet availability Correspondence, telephone responses & case work – accuracy, timeliness & unit cost Office space – square metre/employee Cost per inspection


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Strategic Decision-Making NDP2 prime outcomes are: Revive and sustain economic growth Create employment Reduce income inequalities, poverty and regional inequalities Promote gender equity/equality, economic empowerment Combat spread of HIV/AIDS

Tasking and accountability Operational

1 2 3 4 5 6

Objectives NDP targets Other Ministerial O/M/As Management information

Increased employment

Youthunemployment

Relative employment levels of qualified and unqualified 6 months after completion Relative employment levels of trained and untrained 6 months after completion

Number of employees repeating training provided

Number of applications granted against applied, by gender, field of study and amount granted Gender disparity by subject Unit cost of processing application Unit cost of employed student Employment by subject and qualification level Formal and informal employment levels

A work force with the competencies to enable the labour market to operate efficiently

% unemployed youth trained in SME promotion

Levels of skills shortage Number with NQA approved qualificationsNumber of trainers with NQA accreditation

Levels of skills shortages Number of people undergoing competency based courses Number with NQA qualifications

Levels of qualifications by field, length and year completed Years needed to bridge the gap ( skills shortage)% of curriculum reviewed over previous 3 years Trainers by field, length of training, and accreditation level

Well education citizens

% of population reaching stated level of academic achievement Qualification recognition index Unit cost of all qualifications Number of citizens with graduate and post-graduate qualifications with NQA accreditation

Number of Namibians educated to first degree Newly qualified in a year

Number of educated by levels Graduate and undergraduate qualifications with NQA accreditation by field, length and institution Disaggregate in tertiary institutions – registered & completed Attendance levels at tertiary institutions Internet users within the last month

Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation


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Increase level of value added research

Patents Leveraged funding ratio Total R&D spent in private sector and non-governmental organizations

Research assessment Exercise (RAE) rating by volume, quality

Number of research project by sector Administrative cost per research project

Advancement of scientific knowledge

Citation index for refereed papers Subject breakdown of citations Unit cost of citation

General administration

Column 5 Column 6

Non-completion rates Real average fleet running cost Average age of outstanding bills Sick leave per staff member

Average time to fill professional vacancies Staff turnover Staff absence by cause Fleet unit cost Fleet availability Correspondence, telephone responses & case work – accuracy, timeliness & unit costOffice space – square metre/employee


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IIEP publications and documents

More than 1,200 titles on all aspects of educational planning have been publishedby the International Institute for Educational Planning. A comprehensive catalogueis available in the following subject categories:

Educational planning and global issuesGeneral studies – global/developmental issues

Administration and management of educationDecentralization – participation – distance education – school mapping – teachers

Economics of educationCosts and financing – employment – international co-operation

Quality of educationEvaluation – innovation – supervision

Different levels of formal educationPrimary to higher education

Alternative strategies for education

Lifelong education – non-formal education – disadvantaged groups – gender education

Copies of the Catalogue may be obtained on request from: IIEP, Communication and Publications Unit

[email protected] of new publications and abstracts may be consulted

at the following web site: www.unesco.org/iiep


mailto:[email protected]



The International Institute for Educational Planning

The International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) is an international centrefor advanced training and research in the field of educational planning. It was established byUNESCO in 1963 and is financed by UNESCO and by voluntary contributions from MemberStates. In recent years the following Member States have provided voluntary contributions tothe Institute: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Norway, Sweden andSwitzerland.

The Institute’s aim is to contribute to the development of education throughout theworld, by expanding both knowledge and the supply of competent professionals in the field ofeducational planning. In this endeavour the Institute co-operates with interested training andresearch organizations in Member States. The Governing Board of the IIEP, which approvesthe Institute’s programme and budget, consists of a maximum of eight elected members andfour members designated by the United Nations Organization and certain of its specializedagencies and institutes.

Chairperson:

Dato’Asiah bt. Abu Samah (Malaysia)Director, Lang Education, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Designated Members:

Carlos FortínAssistant Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),Geneva, Switzerland.

Thelma KayChief, Emerging Social Issues Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asiaand the Pacific (UNESCAP), Bangkok, Thailand

Jean Louis SarbibSenior Vice-President, Human Development, World Bank, Washington DC, USA.

Ester ZulbertiChief, Research, Extension and Training Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome,Italy.

Elected Members:

José Joaquín Brunner (Chile)Director, Education Programme, Fundación Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Zeineb Faïza Kefi (Tunisia)Philippe Mehaut (France)

LEST-CNRS, Aix-en-Provence,France.Teboho Moja (South Africa)

Professor of Higher Education, New York University, New York, USA.Teiichi Sato (Japan)

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Delegate of Japan to UNESCO.Tuomas Takala (Finland)

Professor, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.Raymond E. Wanner (USA)

Senior Adviser on UNESCO Issues to the Senior Vice-President for Programs, The United NationsFoundation, Washington, DC, USA.

Inquiries about the Institute should be addressed to:The Office of the Director, International Institute for Educational Planning,

7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix, 75116 Paris, France.



education and sector-wide approaches (swap) in...

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