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Country of Project: Philippines

Commissioned by: UNICEF Philippines

Conducted by:

Oxford Policy Management Ltd Level 3, Clarendon House, 52 Cornmarket Street, Oxford OX1 3HJ In association with The Centre for Employment Initiatives Ltd Bridge Street, Llangollen Wales LL20 8PL United Kingdom

Evaluation of the UNICEF Philippine

Country Office 'Early Childhood Care and

Development' and 'Basic Education'

components of the 7th GPH-UNICEF

Country Programme 2012-2016

Final Report

Fred Brooker, Sourovi De, Maham Farhat, Dr. Shrochis Karki, Tanya Lone, and Jim

Shoobridge

March 2017

Evaluation of the Basic Education and ECCD components of the 7th GPH-UNICEF Country Programme

© Oxford Policy Management ii

Acknowledgements

This report has been prepared by the evaluation team consisting of Fred Brooker, Sourovi De,

Maham Farhat, Dr. Shrochis Karki, Jim Shoobridge, and Tanya Lone. A team of local researchers

including Sharon Mae S. De Los Santos, Marietta B. Simborio, Pamela Denise P. Engalan, June

Pearl Sarmiento, Judy Rola, Nova Xeres Guimalan, and Evelyn Tablan carried out the fieldwork with

the evaluation team, while Redentor Rola was the Fieldwork Manager for the evaluation. This report

details the evaluation framework, evaluation and research methodology, key findings, and

recommendations for the Evaluation the 7th GPH-UNICEF Country Programme in the Philippines,

2012-2016, focusing on their Early Childhood Care and Development component of their Education

programme.

We would like to thank to all the members of UNICEF Philippines for their help, support, and

hospitality throughout the inception period of this evaluation. We are grateful to all the other

respondents, including government personnel at the central, district, and local levels, for taking the

time to speak with us during our field visits.

This assessment was carried out by Oxford Policy Management in association with Centre for Employment Initiatives (CEI) International. The project manager is Dr. Shrochis Karki. For further information contact him at [email protected]. The contact point for the client is Vilma Aquino ([email protected]).

Oxford Policy Management Limited Level 3, Clarendon House Tel +44 (0) 1865 207 300

52 Cornmarket St Fax +44 (0) 1865 207 301

Oxford OX1 3HJ Email [email protected]

Registered in England: 3122495 United Kingdom Website www.opml.co.uk

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected])


© Oxford Policy Management iii

Executive summary

Overview of the evaluation object

Oxford Policy Management (OPM) and Centre for Employment Initiatives (CEI) International were

contracted by UNICEF Philippines to conduct a formative evaluation to assess the relevance,

effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of the Education component of 7th GPH-

UNICEF Country Programme (CP), 2012-2016.

The main focus of the ECCD component of the evaluation has been on Output 1 - ECCD of the

Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) funded programme 'Early Childhood

Care and Development (ECCD): Creating a Foundation for Lifelong Learning'. The DFAT funding

accounts for a significant proportion (57%) of the programmatic funding of UNICEF’s ECCD

outputs. The evaluation of the basic education component has a strong formative evaluation focus,

looking at the strategies and design of the next UNICEF Philippines programmes.

The evaluation took place in the final year of the 7th CP and at the end of the period of DFAT

funding for the ECCD programme. The CP has now been extended to 2018, and the additional two

years are considered as “bridging years” to the 8th CP.

Evaluation objectives and intended audience

The key objectives of this evaluation are to determine the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency,

impact, and sustainability of the ECCD and Basic Education components of the 7th GPH-UNICEF

CP and identify lessons to inform the UNICEF Philippines bridging programme and 8th CP, with a

specific focus on the DFAT-UNICEF: Creating a Foundation for Lifelong Learning Programme.

The evaluation outputs are expected be used as lessons learned for the sector, with the evidence

being used for advocacy with government and development partners. The evaluation will also help

inform the focus of the remaining two years of the CP, and will facilitate the conceptualisation of

the next CP, starting in 2019. As such, the primary audience for the evaluation will include the

UNICEF country office in the Philippines, DFAT, Department of Education (DepEd), Department of

Education ARMM (DepEd ARMM), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),

ECCD Council, and Local Governance Units (LGUs).

The evaluation is also expected to be of use to other UNICEF country offices in similar contexts

and the UNICEF regional office and headquarters, development agencies working in the UNICEF

Philippines Education sector, civil society organisations, National Economic Development Authority

(NEDA), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and other academics and

practitioners interested in basic education and ECCD in the Philippines.

Evaluation methodology

This evaluation has relied on a combination of qualitative and quantitative data to assess UNICEF

Philippines’ BE and ECCD programmes. Qualitative methods have been used to collect primary

data, and quantitative analysis of secondary data has further informed the evaluation.

UNICEF activities have centred around 36 vulnerable LGUs in the Philippines. For the qualitative

study, we purposively selected seven LGUs in close consultation with UNICEF. The evaluation

relied on extensive engagement with key stakeholders at the local, regional, and national levels to

both get in-depth information and to triangulate our findings. We interacted with learners, teachers,


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parents, school principals, school officials, education officials, government officials, policy makers,

researchers, academics, and development workers to inform our analysis.

Quantitative analysis relied largely on MIS data for the 36 focus LGUs of this programme. Changes

over time were analysed for indicators presented in UNICEF’s ECCD Evaluation matrix, with some

additional analysis to inform disability and gender findings.

Despite the best efforts of the evaluation team, a few limitations remain, and we have reflected on

these in the report.

Key findings - ECCD

Relevance

UNICEF’s ECCD component under the 7th CP is relevant to the government’s development

priorities and to the needs of its beneficiaries. There has been increased appreciation and resource

allocation to ECCD at the national, regional, and local levels. The selection of the 36 vulnerable

LGUs, and focus schools and barangays within those LGUs, raised particular questions and

concerns from respondents at all levels.

UNICEF’s ECCD programming in ARMM has responded to a clear need for the education system

to incorporate demand for Islamic education. UNICEF’s work in contextualising the KG curriculum

for children in indigenous communities (i.e. Tedurays) and Muslim children in conflict-affected

areas through the Tahderiyyah in particular resonate with demands of community members for

cultural recognition and sensitivity.

Some of the programmes supported by UNICEF are designed to improve access to ECCD

services for children living in remote and economically disadvantaged communities. Respondents

at the local level verified the need for such programmes.

The objectives of the ECCD programme are still valid, as several LGUs across Philippines

continue to face severe problems around access to ECCD services, as well as challenges in

delivering quality ECCD. Further support is also required in strengthening national policies,

coordination, management, and supervision of ECCD services.

Effectiveness

The programme has been largely effective in yielding considerable results under Intermediate

Outcome 1 (“downstream”), especially in terms of building capacity in ECCD and in mainstreaming

ECCD into policies, plans, and services. Within the first half of programme implementation,

progress has been relatively slow for Output 2 (Stimulating demand for ECCD services) and

Output 3 (Strengthening national policies, management, and supervision of ECCD programs), but

gains have been made in 2015-16.

UNICEF support in the development of guidelines, curriculum, and materials has been important in

improving harmonisation, setting standards, and assessing child learning. The quality of these

materials is considered to be high, with a combination of local knowledge and international best

practices.

UNICEF’s support towards greater use of ECCD Checklist has been particularly effective. Whilst

great efforts have been made to develop and train staff on these tools, their implementation faces

several challenges.


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Respondents at the municipal level (social welfare officers, planning officers, mayors) had little

knowledge of accreditation requirements or procedures for day care centres and SNPs. A common

finding across LGUs was the difficulty faced by Tahderiyyahs in receiving accreditation or ‘permit to

operate’ from local governments. Furthermore, some Tahderiyyah graduates face challenges with

transitioning to Grade I.

Although UNICEF has worked closely with key actors to try and strengthen evidence based

advocacy and provision and distribution of resources, the outcome of these upstreaming efforts

has not been as successful as the downstreaming activities.

Quantitative analysis of MIS data indicates that there have been substantial, albeit uneven, gains

in participation during the 7th CP. The participation of young children aged 3-5 in ECCD increased

between 2012 and 2014 in almost all LGUs, but these gains were not uniform. There were also

significant increases in the participation of 6 year olds attending grade 1 having completed

kindergarten, though distribution was uneven across LGUs.

The effectiveness (and efficiency) of UNICEF’s programmes are threatened by a number of risks.

These include a lack of coordination and of clarity in the roles and responsibilities in ECCD among

the major partners, few LGUs not delivering on their resourcing and service delivery commitments

(3 of 36 focus LGUs with decreased budget and 5 LGUs with less than 5% annual average

increase in ECCD budget), and the low absorptive capacity of partners, especially during an

election year. These challenges are compounded by differences in institutional set-up between

ARMM and the central government, as well as ongoing conflict and political tensions in ARMM.

Across all KGs, day care centres, SNPs, and tahderiyyahs, recruitment and remuneration of

qualified teachers and workers pose significant challenges. This is partly due to low levels of

remuneration for child development workers and insufficient vacancies of KG teachers advertised

by DepEd.

Efficiency

At the end of the Project, the DFAT funds in the amount of US$ 7,578,822 (99.8%) were utilised

and this shows a high level of efficiency in disbursement of funds.

UNICEF’s programme objectives have remained similar across time but targets have had to be

adjusted and some indicators re-defined in the face of several implementation challenges.

DFAT investment through UNICEF has generally led to efficient and appropriate use of its and

other partners’ time and resources to achieve the Project’s objectives.

UNICEF’s strategic advantage is in supporting government departments through technical input

and advice, particularly in the design and implementation of various trainings targeting key

stakeholders at all levels of the ECCD system. UNICEF has partnered closely with other

organisations such as Plan International and COLF to maximise output and deliver high quality

support to to concerned national government agencies and focus municipalities and cities.

UNICEF has reportedly received operational requests from DepEd and other government

stakeholders to fulfil their specific needs. For instance, UNICEF has been involved with printing

materials and guides to facilitate programme delivery, and this role has been extremely

appreciated by numerous respondents. Although this might not be the strategic space that UNICEF

want to carve for their work, such activities can be useful to develop goodwill from DepEd and

other related actors.


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Impact

At the programme level, it is difficult to claim causal impact in the absence of a counterfactual.

Nonetheless, UNICEF’s support is seen to be of high quality by numerous partners, both in the

nature of its engagement with stakeholders and the quality of the outputs delivered under the

programme, such as learning and advocacy materials.

To the extent that UNICEF programmes have been implemented at the grassroots level, they have

had a direct impact on the intended beneficiaries at that level, even if certain challenges remain.

ECCD workers and Kindergarten teachers continue to benefit from the skills acquired and

materials provided during ECCD related training sessions. Those who attended the trainings found

them to be useful and integral to professional development.

In most cases, KG teachers, day care workers and Tahderiyyah teachers found the checklist to be

very useful in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of their pupils, and often stated that they

found it a helpful tool in assessing children’s performance.

However, in most LGUs, respondents noted some difficulty in understanding the checklist as it is

printed in English. The use of checklists also imposed a significant time burden on teachers. A

large number of respondents mentioned out of pocket costs either incurred by staff or by parents in

getting the ECCD checklists photocopied.

Most LGUs had very limited learning resources, and UNICEF’s support was critical in providing an

appropriate learning space for children.

The provision of day care services was appreciated tremendously by all parents, and they noted a

visible change in the behaviour and learning of their children. Parents and SNP workers across all

municipalities where SNPs existed appreciated the need for such a programme, and emphasised

its importance in improving access to remote communities.

Overall, there was limited knowledge of KCEP in most LGUs at the municipal and barangay level,

and the importance of the programme was seen to be declining because of the perceived

implications of recent policy changes, such as DepEd Omnibus Policy on Kindergarten Education.

‘Link’ activities allowed for easy enrolment from day care to elementary school, and parents are

now more aware of ECCD services. This initiative has also helped clarify the proper age groups for

Day care versus KG to both parents and teachers.

The operationalisation and impact of the Tahderiyyah programme must be viewed with the lens of

conflict sensitivity, and an understanding of long-running differences in the development of the

ARMM versus other parts of the Philippines. As with day care centres, tahderiyyahs benefited

greatly from support provided by community members including parents and private benefactors.

The learning materials provided by UNICEF were being used effectively in classrooms.

Across day care centres, SNPs, and tahderiyyahs, the availability and quality of WASH facilities

varied greatly. A lack of maintenance or simply a lack of access to clean water were important

constraints in the use of WASH facilities. Nevertheless, WASH activities in schools have resulted in

some change of behaviour for children at school and at home.

There was variable evidence of the impact of efforts to promote and improve access to ECCD.

Attendance rates in grade 1 increased from 2012 to 2016, however there was also an increase in

dropout rates of grade 1 and 2. Dropout rates became much higher in grade 1 and in grade 2 by


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2014. There was a rise in the proportion of parents whose children are not in ECCD and who

believe their child is too young to attend school. Clear challenges therefore remain in reaching

these parents and altering their attitudes towards education.

Gender differences were also noted in some LGUs, where either boys or girls were proportionally

excluded from receiving education. In some cases, this was likely due to local social practices, but

this was not always clear, and further research will be required.

Sustainability

The success of some of the grassroots activities suggests that the processes UNICEF supported

at the school and community levels will be continued to some degree, even without additional

UNICEF support.

The development of ECCD related guidelines and learning materials was often cited as an

example of sustainability in the programme. UNICEF has contributed significantly to this

development while also ensuring that government staff capacity was increased through these

activities.

At the LGU level, ECCD programmes appear to be sustainable in those places where the local

authorities have shown ownership and commitment. This poses further challenges for the

Tahderiyyah programme, which is implemented by a non-state actor and does not have the

support of LGUs.

It is not clear from the quantitative data whether improvements in participation (attendance) are

likely to be sustained.

There are two key threats to sustainability: i) the need for continued donor and local/national

government investment and technical assistance to support ECCD efforts, and ii) unclear

governance and coordination mechanisms necessary to develop common goals, frameworks,

standards, data systems, and communication channels to monitor progress and achieve targeted

outcomes.

Key findings – Basic education

Relevance

UNICEF’s BE component under the 7th CP is relevant to the national government and international

partner’s development priorities and to the needs of its beneficiaries, which resulted in BE

components being deeply embedded in government’s K-12 reform effort including focus on

Indigenous Peoples (IP) children, OOSC, and those affected by conflict or disasters.

Despite an increase in budgetary allocation from the government, there are significant fiscal gaps

in the education system. UNICEF’s BE programme’s aims to target hard to reach and

disadvantaged groups of children has been relevant, particularly from an equity perspective.

Additionally, UNICEF’s effectively adapted it’s BE programming in the face of natural disasters by

providing preparedness and response support in relevant communities.

Though the BE programming has been relevant, there is room for focused programming, which

need to be considered in light of both national and local priorities and needs. National and local

level respondents indicated a growing need for the implementation of the mother tongue based-

multi lingual education (MTB-MLE). Teachers have to use the major local language as a substitute


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for the various mother tongues in non-monolithic classrooms, causing difficulties. The translation of

books and other school resources also pose further challenges, as the translations are often literal

rather than functional. UNICEF could consider providing support in these areas through the next

programmes to remain most relevant.

Effectiveness

UNICEF BE support has been effective in achieving the specific objectives of programmatic

components at the local level. It was decided during the inception that this evaluation would mainly

focus on UNICEF’s work on enhanced School Improvement Plans (E-SIP) and Learning Action

Cells (LAC). The evaluation refers to key findings regarding other initiatives, such as the Last Mile

Learners (LML), and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) support, when possible,

however, it will not provide a holistic evaluation of these initiatives.

UNICEF’s support to the new E-SIP guidebooks was linked to equity objectives, including with the

incorporation of tools for child mapping. It also enabled the E-SIP to be easier to understand, and

more collaborative, participatory, and transparent, compared to the previously used SIP process.

UNICEF’s support was also seen to increase parental ownership for the development of an

inclusive and equitable E-SIP. However, this collaboration was challenging to achieve and posed

an additional burden on already demanding jobs of the school heads and teachers.

UNICEF’s support on the implementation of E-SIP guidelines is most clearly visible in ARMM,

where the 222 UNICEF supported schools have been able to submit their E-SIPs despite the

challenges of the conflict-affected environment.

Furthermore, LAC orientation and in-school sessions have been beneficial in improving

pedagogical practices by increasing the use of participatory, inclusive and flexible teaching styles,

thereby resulting in performance based, hands-on teaching, and in incorporation of play-based

learning in classrooms. Though there is a shift away from rote learning, there is still room for

improvement.

The effectiveness (and efficiency) of UNICEF’s programmes are threatened by a number of risks.

Mapping for E-SIP is a time intensive exercises for teachers and other district officials. For

teachers, the child mapping often resulted in staff demotivation due to a lack of financial incentives.

This problem was compounded by security concerns in conflict affected areas, such as ARMM. For

district officials, limited time meant they were not able to perform monitoring and quality assurance

tasks effectively.

Moreover, the effective implementation of E-SIP depends on availability of discretionary funds at

the school. Head teachers have limited funds that can be used for E-SIP implementation.

Systematic linkages with barangay budgets can be a means of securing funds from the local

government.

Similar to E-SIP, teachers find it challenging to allocate time for LAC in-school sessions and low

attendance, and transfer of school officials and has reduced the scope and effectiveness of the

LAC orientation.

For WASH activities, the biggest challenges have been the availability of reliable water sources,

ability to store such water on site, and abundance of required resources to maintain sanitation and

hygiene standards.


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Efficiency

DepEd is the main counterpart for UNICEF’s BE programme, and they operate together through

the annual work plans. UNICEF’s contributions are small compared to that of DepEd; UNICEF

covers the cost of activities (such as trainings) in a limited number of schools within the 36 focus

LGUs, and DepEd covers the cost of wider replication nationwide.

Financial data indicates that UNICEF has utilized US$ 6.2 million out of the total planned budget of

US$7.4 million through the lifetime of the CPC-7. Funds have been underutilised for each of the

four main objectives of the UNICEF BE programme, raising potential efficiency concerns in the BE

programme. The underutilisation of funds has been attributed to delays in implementation due to

prioritisation of disaster response, conflict and security concerns in ARMM, and other logistical

delays.


adjusted and some indicators re-defined in the face of several implementation challenges.

UNICEF is perceived as having a good working relationship with partners, where, ‘there is an

exchange of ideas and mutually beneficial learning’ UNICEF programme support is seen as

efficient at addressing local needs and in filling the gaps on technical expertise and research at

national level policy.

Impact

To the extent that UNICEF programmes have been implemented at the grassroots level, they have

had a direct impact on the intended beneficiaries at that level, even if certain challenges remain.

E-SIPs are being utilised as primary planning tools, although the programmatic outcomes of the

school improvement plans are limited due to financial constraints. Through community outreach

during the child mapping, teachers are able to enrol out of school children.

The School Report Cards (SRC) have helped develop deeper partnerships and keep stakeholders

informed. The SRC is also a useful tool to inform the preparation of E-SIP in schools.

Through the LAC, teachers in most LGUs have been able to incorporate play based learning

practices, by developing their own games, along with other advanced pedagogical practices. This

was achieved through both the training and the guides and material provided to teachers after the

trainings.

During the lifetime of CPC-7, the country faced various natural and man-made shocks including but

not limited to Typhoon Haiyan, Typhoon Melor, Bohol earthquake and the Zamboanga siege. While

UNICEF’s DRRM efforts are not the focus of this evaluation, the evaluation team briefly explored

UNICEF’s response to Typhoon Melor. UNICEF’s efforts in strengthening emergency

preparedness and response played a pivotal role in reducing the disruption caused by typhoon

Melor in disaster effected areas.

UNICEF’s support on WASH activities has resulted in improved handwashing and oral hygiene

behaviour in children both at school and at home.

There are several challenges in attributing the efforts made by UNICEF to gains in basic education

indicators, which are compounded by inconsistent and missing indicators, and lack of sufficient

LGU level data. Trends show that there have been improvements in education indicators, such as

Net Enrolment Rate (NER), Elementary Survival Rate, and Elementary Transition Rate. However,


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for some indicators, there are disparities between progress made by ARMM and the rest of the

Philippines – with ARMM generally disadvantaged. It was beyond the scope of this evaluation to

assess the reasons behind this disparity but may be an important piece of research for UNICEF

and other stakeholders to follow-up.

Sustainability

Most of UNICEF’s BE support has been deeply embedded into new government systems and

operations, or has been used to inform government strategy such as advocacy through the LML

research. National stakeholders suggest that the sustainability of such programmes is high. On the

other hand, for programmes that are not embedded in government systems, sustainability may be

linked to effectiveness of the programme. Lack of ownership and continuity at the local level are

major challenges for the sustainability of UNICEF’s support to BE at the LGU level.

The example of WASH support demonstrates the complexity of assessing sustainability, because

UNICEF support has helped change attitudes and behaviours among learners (and even parents)

but the lack of continued resources threatens to reduce both the immediate and long term gains

from this programme.1

Main recommendations

The report provides a number of recommendations for UNICEF as well as government

stakeholders. We present the key ones here, and discuss them, including specific programme level

recommendations, in greater detail later in the report. UNICEF should:

1) Design, develop, and implement its Planning and M&E frameworks at the start of the

country programme.

2) Make explicit the link between each programme/activity pursued within a CP and the

objectives of the CP.

3) Prioritise key areas where the organisation has comparative advantage, to maximise its

impact through the next CP.

4) Strengthen the link between its downstreaming and upstreaming activities by explicitly

establishing clear links between the two and securing commitment from government stakeholders

in advance.

Government stakeholders, including DepEd and DSWD, might be interested to:

1) Ensure that the basic conditions required for the success of UNICEF programmes are in

place.

2) Agree a clear downstream-upstream-downstream plan of action with partner organisations,

including UNICEF.

3) Provide incentives and resources to volunteers and workers in ECCD centres and teachers

and head teachers in schools to implement their programmes effectively.

1 Note here that the evaluation was not focussed on studying other modalities of implementing the WASH in schools component, so we cannot comment on the sustainability of the full extent of BE WASH programming.


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Table of contents

Acknowledgements ii

Executive summary iii

Overview of the evaluation object iii

Evaluation objectives and intended audience iii

Evaluation methodology iii

Key findings - ECCD iv

Relevance iv Effectiveness iv Efficiency v Impact vi Sustainability vii

Key findings – Basic education vii

Relevance vii Effectiveness viii Efficiency ix Impact ix Sustainability x

Main recommendations x

List of abbreviations xiv

1 Programme Information 1

2 Object of the Evaluation 3

2.1 The Expected Model 3

2.2 Contextual analysis and policy framework 5

Socio-economic context 5 Global context 6 ECCD national policy framework 6 BE national policy framework 8 Major changes during 7th CP 8

2.3 UNICEF ECCD programme components 9

2.3.1 UNICEF support in ARMM 12

2.4 UNICEF BE programme components 14

2.5 Key Stakeholders 17

2.6 Implementation status 17

3 Evaluation Purpose, Objectives and Scope 19

3.1 Purpose of the Evaluation 19

3.2 Objectives 19

3.3 Scope of the evaluation 19

4 Evaluation Methodology 21

4.1 Data collection methods and analysis 21

4.2 Evaluation questions 21

4.3 Qualitative research instruments 21

4.4 Analytical Methodology 21

Evaluation methods 22 Terminology and Indicators 22 Reporting of Results 22


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4.5 Data sources and sample 23

Qualitative Data Sources 23

4.6 Stakeholder consultations 24

4.7 Gender considerations 26

4.8 Limitations 27

Qualitative Research Limitations 27 Quantitative research limitations 28

4.9 Ethical considerations 28

5 ECCD findings 30

5.1 Relevance 30

5.2 Effectiveness 34

5.3 Efficiency 40

5.4 Impact 45

5.5 Sustainability 53

5.6 Gender in ECCD 58

6 Basic education findings 60

6.1 Basic education 60

6.1.1 Relevance 60 6.1.2 Effectiveness 66 6.1.3 Efficiency 71 6.1.4 Impact 74 6.1.5 Sustainability 78

6.2 Gender and equity in BE 80

7 Conclusion and lessons learned 82

7.1 Conclusion 82

7.2 Lessons learned 84

8 Recommendations 86

References 95

Annex A Terms of reference 99

Annex B Theory of change and results framework 100

Annex C Object of the Evaluation (Details) 101

Annex D BE programme (Details) 102

Annex E Evaluation Purpose, Objectives and Scope (Details) 103

Annex F Evaluation Methodology (Details) 104

Annex G Data collection Instruments 105

Annex H ECCD Qualitative Data Analysis 106

Annex I Basic education qualitative data analysis 107

Annex J ECCD Quantitative Data Analysis 108

Annex K Basic Education Quantitative Data Analysis 109

Annex L ECCD additional tables for quantitative analysis 110

Annex M Efficiency analysis (details) 111


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List of tables and figures

Figure 1. Theory of change for ECCD component of the UNICEF’s 7th Country Programme ......... 4 Figure 2 Timeline of events during 7th CP ...................................................................................... 9 Figure 3 DFAT funds percentage total financial allocation to each main area ............................... 41 Figure 4 Percentage contribution from counterpart to each component area ................................ 41 Figure 5 Percentage DFAT Funds utilized from original allocation in each component ................. 42 Figure 6: Percentage budget utilization by BE objective ................................................................ 72

Table 1 Changes in 7th CP results structure ................................................................................... 5 Table 2 Key features of ECCD programmes supported by UNICEF .............................................. 10 Table 3 Sample LGUs and barangays .......................................................................................... 23 Table 4 List of respondents at the National Level .......................................................................... 24 Table 5 List of respondents at the LGU level ................................................................................. 25 Table 6 List of respondents at the Municipal Level ........................................................................ 25 Table 7 List of respondents at the Municipal Level ........................................................................ 25 Table 8 List of respondents at the regional level, ARMM............................................................... 26 Table 9 Engagement at the local level .......................................................................................... 26


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List of abbreviations

ACF Action Against Hunger

AIP Annual Improvement Plan

ALS Alternative Learning System

AIR Apparent Intake Rate

ARMM Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao

BDA Bangsamoro Development Agency

BE Basic Education

BESRA Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda

BLGU Barangay Local Government Unit

BOTL Basic Opportunity to Learn

CBMS Community Based Monitoring System

CCT Conditional Cash Transfer

CEI Centre for Employment Initiatives

CFLL Creating a Foundation for Lifelong Learning

COA Commission on Audit

COLF Community of Learners Foundation

CP Country Programme

DAC Development Assistance Committee (OECD)

DP Development partners

DPWH Department of Public Works and Highways

DepEd Department of Education

DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

DILG Department of Interior and Local Government

DSWD Department of Social Welfare and Development

EBEIS Enhanced Basic Education Information System

ECCD Early Childhood Care and Development

ECDI Early Childhood Development Index

ECI Early Childhood Intervention


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EFA Education for All

EiE Education in Emergencies

ELDS Early Learning and Development Standards

E-SIP enhanced School Improvement Plan

EYA Early Years Act

FGD Focus Group Discussions

FDS Family Development Sessions

GER Gross enrolment ratio

GPI Gender Parity Index

IP Indigenous Population

KCEP Kinder Catch-up Education Programme

KG Kindergarten

LAC Learning Action Cell

LGU Local Governance Unit

MDG Millennium Development Goal

MILF Moro Islamic Liberation Front

MIS Multiple Indicator Survey

MOOE Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses

MTB-MLE Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education

MSWDO Municipal Social Welfare Development Officer

NAPC National Anti-Poverty Commission

NAT National Achievement Test

NER Net Enrolment Ratio

NIR Net Intake Rate

NKCG National kindergarten Curriculum Guide

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OPM Oxford Policy Management

PES Parental Education Services

PTO Permit to Operate


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SBM School-based management

SDG Sustainable Development Goals

SIP School Improvement Plan

SNP Supervised Neighbourhood Play

SRC School Report Card

SY School Year

TLS Temporary Learning Spaces

TOR Terms of Reference

TOT Training of Trainers

TQC Teachers’ Quality Circle

TWG Technical Working Group

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UPE Universal Primary Education

WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

WFP World Food Program

4Ps Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program


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1 Programme Information

Oxford Policy Management (OPM) and Centre for Employment Initiatives (CEI) International

were contracted by UNICEF Philippines to conduct a formative evaluation to assess the

relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the Education component of 7th

GPH-UNICEF Country Programme (2012-2016) in the Philippines. The evaluation assessed the

extent to which 1) Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and 2) Basic Education (BE)

objectives have been achieved.

The main focus of the ECCD component of the evaluation has been on Output 1 - ECCD of the

Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) funded programme 'Early Childhood

Care and Development (ECCD): Creating a Foundation for Lifelong Learning'. The DFAT

funding accounts for a significant proportion (57%) of the programmatic funding of UNICEF’s

ECCD outputs. The evaluation of the ECCD programme therefore serves as the end of

programme evaluation for the DFAT-funded project on ECCD. The evaluation of the basic

education component has a strong formative evaluation focus, looking at the strategies and

design of the next UNICEF Philippines programmes.

The goal of the Education component of the 7th GPH-UNICEF CP has been to contribute to

addressing the inequities of child development in the Philippines through improving public

service delivery in selected locations experiencing multiple vulnerabilities and deprivations,

through a combination of support to national and local policy reform and standard development,

local government capacity building, and support to citizen participation in decision making,

including children and young people in planning and monitoring as a strategy for achieving

MDGs with equity.

More concretely, the 7th CP aimed:

(ECCD Focus): To have increased the proportion of 3-5 year old children with quality

ECCD experience in 36 vulnerable LGUs by 15 percent from the 2012 level by the end

of CP, while focusing on disadvantaged children, with gender parity.

(Basic Education Focus): To have increased the proportion of 6–11 year old children

participating in quality elementary education in 36 vulnerable Local Government Units by

5 percent by the end of the CP, while focusing on disadvantaged children, with gender

parity.

Given the CP’s focus on 36 vulnerable LGUs, this evaluation centres on the findings from the

same LGUs, as will be discussed in greater detail in later chapters.

Several country and programme level changes have occurred since the beginning of the 7th CP,

mainly due to UNICEF’s response to Typhoon Haiyan and reprioritisation of the programme

focus. At the policy level, for instance, the Universal Kindergarten Act institutionalising KG

education was adopted in 2012; the K-12 reforms adding an extra year to KG education took

place in 2013; the Early Years Act (EYA) recognising 0 to 8 as key years and establishing the

ECCD Council was adopted in 2014; and the Enhanced Basic Education Act strengthening the

restructuring proposed in BESRA and K-12 reform.



In carrying out this evaluation, the evaluation team was mindful of the significant challenging

circumstances faced by UNICEF during the implementation of the programme. The growing

inequity in the population, increasing child poverty rates, lack of meaningful employment

opportunities, and systemic political challenges demonstrate a difficult working environment in

the Philippines. The continued conflict in Mindanao, one of the key regions that the programme

targets, is expected to have further hindered implementation. These socio-political challenges

are compounded by significant and devastating natural disasters in the last few years. The

Philippines remains prone to typhoons and floods, which could pose further challenges to

education programming in vulnerable areas in the country. The geographical spread of the

country, which is reflected by the expected reach of the programme across 36 LGUs, further

spreads resources for the implementation, and by extension also the evaluation, of the

programme.

These contextual factors do not only pose logistical challenges in implementation but can also

have significant impact on the development of very poor children, and so effective programming

has to incorporate protective mechanisms for young children and their families, to minimise the

long-term developmental impacts of the stress generated by poverty, conflict, emergencies, and

other crisis situations.

These difficulties have been reflected in the evolution of UNICEF Philippines’ implementation of

the 7th CP. The need to revisit country priorities in the face of numerous disasters was expected

to affect the implementation of the UNICEF ECCD programme receiving DFAT funding support.

UNICEF revised their output statements for both ECCD and Basic Education as a result of

these changes (see Section 2.6 for more details), so this evaluation measures progress against

these revised outputs. The devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in late 2013 also forced UNICEF to

carry out a light Mid-Term Review in 2015 instead of the planned 2014 review of the 7th CP.

This change underscores the need for a thorough evaluation of the 7th CP to facilitate a better

understanding of UNICEF’s work in recent years.

Understanding these challenging circumstances is crucial for evaluation because they have a

direct and tangible effect on the successful implementation of a programme. We believe it is a

crucial component of any rigorous evaluation to understand and analyse the wider context to

ensure that the findings are both relevant and useful to implementing organisations going

forward. The situational and political economy based analysis in this report provides important

contextual evidence that we hope will be useful in designing more robust and resilient

programmes in the future.

This full report integrates the evaluations of both the ECCD and Basic Education components of

the 7th Country Programme.



2 Object of the Evaluation

2.1 The Expected Model

The ECCD component of the UNICEF’s 7th CP undertook to achieve the goal of ensuring 3-5

year old children’s school readiness and development through a series of diverse activities

under its ‘Creating a Foundation for Lifelong Learning’ (CFLL) project in 36 focus LGUs.

The total input in terms of the (actual) project fund utilisation for UNICEF's ECCD component is

approx. US$23.7 million. A significant part of this project is funded by the Australian

Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The timeline for DFAT-funded

activities spans from November 2012 to June 2016. The DFAT-funded activities under CFLL are

collectively called the Early Learning for Life (ELL) project. DFAT provided US$13.5 million and

UNICEF provided US$10.2 million (with contributions from other partners). A significant share of

DFAT's contributions go towards the CFLL, followed by tahderiyyah (phase 2). Costs of

tahderiyyah phase 3, contextualisation of kindergarten curriculum in Tedurays (IP communities)

and 'link' are largely covered through UNICEF counterpart funding. Further breakdown of

funding for different programmes is presented in Annex C.

Irrespective of the source of ECCD funding under the UNICEF CPC 7, there was a common

overall goal among stakeholders to enhance the proportion of 3-4 and 5 year-old children with

quality ECCD/kindergarten experience, as well as a common theory of change (see Annex B)

which identifies important supply and demand side bottlenecks being encountered by the ECCD

sector and the need for an ‘enabling environment’ in the form of policies, laws, competency

standards, curricula and training frameworks to address the key bottlenecks.

The following Theory of change was developed to guide the design and implementation of the

ECCD support for the 7th CP.



Figure 1. Theory of change for ECCD component of the UNICEF’s 7th Country Programme

This theory of change demonstrates the expected links between inputs, intermediate outcomes,

and project outcomes until 2015. However, the changing context in the Philippines, described in

greater detail in the next section, required some revisions to UNICEF’s activities and results

structure, which are noted below.

UNICEF’s Basic Education component is expected to build on the gains from the ECCD

component and existing foundation of the basic education system in the Philippines. Through all

programme activities, the UNICEF BE component aims to increase the proportion of 6–11 year

old children participating in quality elementary education, particularly in 36 vulnerable Local

Government Units, focusing on disadvantaged children, with gender parity (UNICEF, 2012d).

The Pathways of Change for the basic education component are detailed in Annex B and Table

1 indicates UNICEF’s main objective of the programme. It demonstrates the changing context in

the Philippines which made it necessary to revises UNICEF’s activities and results structure,

noted below.



Table 1 Changes in 7th CP results structure

UNICEF Philippines Results Structure

Start of Country Programme - Jan 2012

Changes Mid 2015 Changes Jan 2016

ECCD

By 2014, the proportion of 3-5 year old children with quality ECCD/KG experience, increased by 15 per cent from 2011 level, in 20 vulnerable LGUs , with gender parity.

By 2014, the proportion of 3-5 year old children with quality ECCD experience, increased by 15 per cent from 2011 level, in 20 vulnerable LGUs , with gender parity.

By the end of CP, the proportion of 3-5 year old children with quality ECCD experience, is increased, in 36 vulnerable LGUs, focusing on disadvantaged children, with gender parity

Basic Ed

By 2014, the proportion of 6–11 year old children participating in and completing quality elementary education is increased by 5 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively, in 20 vulnerable LGUs, with gender parity.

By the end of CP, the proportion of 6-8 year old children participating in quality elementary education (up to Grade 3) is increased by 5 per cent in 36 vulnerable LGUs, focusing on disadvantaged children, with gender parity.

By the end of Country Programme, the proportion of 6–11 year old children participating in quality elementary education is increased by 5% in 36 vulnerable Local Government Units, focusing on disadvantaged children, with gender parity.

Annex B provides further details about the Theory of Change for the CP, including the Pathway

of Change and the Completed Results Framework. The Annex also provide a more detailed

summary of UNICEF’s ECCD Activities, including Kindergarten Activities, to achieve these

outputs and outcomes.

2.2 Contextual analysis and policy framework

This section provides a snapshot of the key socio-economic, global, and policy contexts within

which the CP was implemented and is being evaluated. This section also notes major changes

during the CP. Annex C expands on this snapshot to explore these issues in greater detail.

Socio-economic context

The Philippines is a lower-middle-income country which has experienced rapid economic growth

over the last five years and at the same time, experiences acute inequities in income

distribution, access to health and education, particularly in areas experiencing armed conflict

and natural disasters.2 The 2015 Global Peace Index Report ranked the Philippines at 141 of

162 countries and 18th of the 19 countries in Southeast Asia on the degree of peacefulness,

largely due to conflicts in ARMM and insurgencies in areas like Sarangani. Furthermore,

Philippines is the fourth most disaster prone country in the world and among the top ten

countries with the most number of people affected by disasters, at 130 million people (CRED

and UNISDR, 2015).

2 The Philippines has been a lower-middle-income country since 1987 (World Bank Analytical Classifications, http://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/site-content/OGHIST.xls).



Philippines has made some progress in improving the overall education situation in the country,

although more could be done to consolidate these gains. Data from 2013 indicates that a third

of children under 5 remain stunted and mortality rate for under 5 children was 30 per 1000 live

births, which is much higher than the regional average in 2013.3 In 2009, about 13.4 million

(35.5%) of all children aged below 18 years were considered to be income poor, with the

incidence of poverty higher among children in rural areas and in regions like Bicol, Caraga, and

ARMM (UNICEF and PSA 2015). According to the 2015 Education For All Report, gross and net

enrolment for kindergarten has been increasing since school year (SY) 2006-2007, especially

after the universalisation of the preschool programme in SY 2011-2012. Moreover, gross and

net enrolment for elementary school has been increasing since school year (SY) 2006-2007, by

one percentage point on average. The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) and Net Enrolment Rate

(NER) for kindergarten was 103% and 77% respectively in SY 2012-13. There was also an

increase in the proportion of Grade 1 pupils/entrants who enrolled with some form of ECCE

experience, from 56% in SY 2000-2001, to 83% in SY 2013-2014 (UNESCO 2015). Although

disaggregated data for ECCD is not readily available, education indicators such as over-age

primary school attendance and numbers of children out-of-school show worse outcomes for

males and those in the poorest quintile (UNESCO WIDE, 2017).4

Global context

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations in 2015, included

for the first time in the history of international development an ECCD target, which highlights the

role ECCD plays in poverty alleviation, equity, and development. Evidence further supports that

ECCD is inextricably linked to the achievement of other goals, including preparation for life-long

learning (SDG 4), reducing inequity (SDG 10) and promoting peace (SDG 16) (Richter et al.,

2016).

ECCD interventions cut across all UNICEF programme areas. For instance, ensuring that young

children are developmentally ready for school is an integral part of UNICEF’s education priority

(UNICEF 2017). UNICEF focuses on four areas of intervention for early childhood development,

name “quality basic health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, education and protective services; good care

practices for children within the family and community; early child development policies; and

peacebuilding in early childhood” (ibid.).

ECCD national policy framework

During the 7th CP, the government has enacted several significant pieces of legislation related

to ECCD under the broad education reform programme. Key among these changes have been:

The Universal Kindergarten Act (2012) led to the institutionalisation of Kindergarten

Education into the basic education system. This law provided that Kindergarten be made

3 http://www.who.int/gho/countries/phl.pdf?ua=1 4 For instance in 2003, over-age attendance is 6% for the richest and 42% for the poorest quintile, 18% for females and 27% for males, 28% rural and 17% urban. See http://www.education-inequalities.org/

http://www.who.int/gho/countries/phl.pdf?ua=1

http://www.education-inequalities.org/



mandatory and compulsory for entrance to Grade 1 starting school year (SY) 2012–

2013.

The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, also known as the K-12 reforms, added a

year of kindergarten prior to starting grade-1. It also mandated the strengthening of the

curriculum and increasing the number of years for basic education.

The Early Years Act (EYA) of 2013, which recognised 0-8 years as the foundational

years of a child’s development and strengthened the ECCD system for 0-4 year olds

with the creation of the ECCD Council and its Secretariat.

The rationalisation of the organisational structure of DepEd was promulgated in

December 2015 and started being implemented in 2016. It aimed to improve the quality

and efficiency of delivery of services by eliminating or minimising overlaps and

duplication.5

In 2016, the budget of DepEd amounted to PhP433 billion, comprising the biggest share

of the national budget.

The Omnibus Policy on Kindergarten was issued by DepEd in June 2016. This

comprehensive policy ensured a standardised implementation of the Kindergarten

Education Program in both public and private schools nationwide, and served as a basis

for accreditation and/or recognition of those intending to put up early learning centres,

along the areas of curriculum, instruction, learning resources and materials, learning

space and environment, and teacher hiring and development.

The government has committed substantial resources to education reforms, with significant

increases in investment in the education sector in the last five years. The DepEd budget

allocated for 2014 was PhP337 billion, which was 14.86 percent of the national budget for 2014.

Despite this increase in investment, national government spending is insufficient to reach EFA

target (UNESCO, 2015).

International recommendations for minimum public investment in ECCD suggest that the

Philippines is spending below its expected capacity at 0.5% of GDP.6 In 2012, the governments’

investment in ECCD, especially by local authorities responsible for the provision of ECCD

services, ranged from as low as 0.1 to 6.9 per cent of their total annual budget (Nuqui, 2014).

Annex C provides further details on the state of ECCD kindergarten access and school

readiness outcomes.

5 One major change effected is that bureaus are no longer organized by subsector – i.e., Elementary Education, Secondary Education and Alternative Learning System – but are now under an organizational strand of Curriculum and Instruction, i.e., Bureau of Curriculum Development, Bureau of Learning Delivery, Bureau of Educational Assessment and Bureau of Learning Resources. 6 The OECD recommends spending at least 1% of GDP and UNESCO recommends spending around 0.6% of GDP solely in pre-primary education (Bennett, 2008; OECD, 2006). These targets are based around the per child cost implications of developing high-quality ECEC programmes that produce positive child development outcomes. Revisions might occur with the development of targets to reach the SDGs.



BE national policy framework

Additionally, during this time, the government has enacted several significant pieces of

legislation and reform agendas related to BE.

The key reform enacted has been the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA). Under

BESRA, the Government defined the agenda for restructuring education and implementing the

K-12 Program, which would increase the total number of years of school system service from 10

to 13 years across the country. The K-12 Program was introduced as a highly ambitious policy

reform to which the government has committed significant resources. Major construction

projects and increased hiring of new teachers are included in the programme.

Under the guidance of the Basic Education Act and the K – 12 Program, DepEd is focusing on

institutionalising the mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) method. The MTB-

MLE method promotes the use of the child’s mother tongue or regional language as the medium

of instruction from kindergarten to Grade 3. The implementation of this practice, however,

remains challenging, and Annex I details some of these challenges.

The Enhanced Basic Education Act further strengthened the restructuring proposed through

BESRA, by mandating the increase in number of years of basic education and strengthening of

the curriculum for all years of basic education. Under the guidance of these laws and the K-12

Program, DepEd has shifted its focus towards learning at lower grade levels and the adoption of

developmentally appropriate pedagogical practices. A comprehensive curriculum reform was

also carried out, both under the K-12 Program and the Enhanced Basic Education Act.

The government has also committed substantial resources to basic education reforms in the last

five years. The DepEd budget allocated for 2014 was PhP337 billion, which was 14.86 percent

of the national budget for 2014. While the education budgetary gap has been closing with

increase in budget allocation to DepEd, fiscal shortfalls still remain in the education system,

particularly at the local level (UNESCO, 2015).

Major changes during 7th CP

Analysis undertaken in this evaluation refers to the main changes evident on the timeline below,

as they are anticipated to have had significant impact on education access and on the capacity

for children to participate in education, particularly in early years. These changes may also have

an impact on UNICEF’s capacity to continue operation during emergency responses and on its

general education programming, strategies, priorities and capacities, which are examined

further in sections below.7

In the timeline (Figure 2), events which would be anticipated to have had a negative impact are

highlighted in red whilst those which are likely to have had a positive impact are highlighted in

green.

7 The 7th GPH-UNICEF Country Programme has operated in dynamically changing context, including series of major

political, policy and system changes and norm-shifting scale of disasters. The roles of UNICEF Education programme staff have also shifted based on the new contexts and expectations by the changing sector.



Figure 2 Timeline of events during 7th CP

2.3 UNICEF ECCD programme components

The ECCD component of the UNICEF’s 7th CP undertook to achieve the goal of ensuring 3-5

year old children’s school readiness and development through a series of diverse activities

under its ‘Creating a Foundation for Lifelong Learning’ (CFLL) project in 36 focus LGUs.

UNICEF’s ECCD activities include i) CFLL activities: (a) kindergarten Madrasah Curriculum –

integration of Arabic language and Islamic values; use of the Indigenous Peoples Education

(IPEd) Curriculum Framework in contextualising the kindergarten curriculum for schools in

indigenous; (b) Kinder Catch-up Education Programme (KCEP) designed for learners who have

not undergone kindergarten education due to non-availability of services, conflict, natural

disasters or other difficult situations; and ii) non-CFLLC activities: (c) the tahderiyyah project

(phases 2 and 3 – see below for more details) and (d) Establishing 'link' in Teduray

Communities.

A significant part of this project is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign

Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The timeline for DFAT-funded activities spans from November 2012

to June 2016. The DFAT-funded activities under CFLL are collectively called the Early Learning

for Life (ELL) project.

The key objectives of this project are:

To improve the quality of ECCD programmes in the 36 vulnerable UNICEF focus areas;

To stimulate demand for ECCD services in the 36 areas; and

To strengthen national policies, coordination, management and supervision of ECCD.

Conflict in Mindanao Region

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

November 2016 programme evaluation commences

Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro

Light midterm review

Typhoon Haiyan (Super Typhoon Yolanda) 2013

ECCE Policy Advances

Universal Kindergarten Act (2012) institutionalizing KG

K-12 Reforms, adding extra year to KG

Early Years Act (EYA) recognizing 0 to 8 as key years’ establishing ECCD Council



Table 2 Key features of ECCD programmes supported by UNICEF8

Day Care SNP KCEP Tahderiyyah KG

Target Age Group

3-4 years 2-4 years 5 years and

above 3-5 years 5 years

Curriculum 40 weeks 40 weeks 8 or 20 weeks 40 weeks 40 weeks

Location Centre based Home based School-based Centre based School based

Implemented by

DSWD and focus LGUs,

UNICEF support through

DSWD and focus LGUs

DSWD and focus LGUs,

UNICEF support through Plan

International and focus LGUs

DepEd, UNICEF

support through DepEd

Private, UNICEF support

through BDA

DepEd, UNICEF support through DepEd

Purpose

Utilises play as a

developmentally appropriate

early stimulation activity for the

early childhood needs of

children in the community

Utilises play as a developmentally appropriate early

stimulation activity for the

early childhood needs of

children in the community

Remedial programme for those children above the age of five years,

who were unable to

complete the kindergarten programme

due to difficult circumstances

such as: chronic illness, displacement due to armed conflict, urban

settlement, disasters, and child labour.

Alternative to regular day care and

kindergarten incorporating Islamic values

Mandatory by law to enter in Grade 1

The sub-sections below briefly outline UNICEF’s activities under each of the three intermediate

outcomes or components of the DFAT-funded ELL project in the 36 selected vulnerable LGUs.

Component 1 of DFAT- funded ELL project: Improve quality of ECCD programmes in 36

vulnerable LGUs

Under this first component, UNICEF’s mandate is to deliver three key outputs:

Output 1.1: Strengthened LGU management capacities systems and structures for ECCD

In particular, activities are aimed at increasing the annual ECCD budget of 29 LGUs to at least 5

per cent, and ensure all LGUs have functional local ECCD coordinating committees.

8 This table presented key features of ECCD programmes by design. Their actual implementation may vary (see research findings). For example some SNPs visited during field research were clearly centre-based.



Output 1.2: Ensure ECCD reforms are implemented

This includes support to alternative delivery models such as Kinder Catch-up Education

Programmes (KCEP), Supervised Neighbourhood Playgroups (SNP), and ‘Link’ programmes,

as described in Annex H. Implementation activities include training and accreditation of

kindergarten teachers and day care workers , training of day care and kindergarten accreditors;

provision of learning materials, basic furniture and WASH facilities and hygiene materials to

day care centres and kindergartens; and ensuring these sites are practicing daily group WASH

activities.

Output 1.3: Improved LGU-level M&E systems for ECCD programmes

According to the end-of-project report, all 36 participating LGUs have been collecting ECCD

data from 2013 to 2015 through the municipal/city social welfare officers and kindergarten

coordinators. The intention is to ensure this data is then used by relevant decision makers for

planning and investment purposes.

Component 2 of DFAT-funded ELL project: Stimulate demand for ECCD services in 36 vulnerable LGUs

Output 2.1: Communication Strategy to improve parents’ knowledge, attitudes and

practice on ECCD developed and implemented

This includes ensuring the development and endorsement of a communication strategy for

ECCD, reaching parents with ECCD education sessions, and ensuring that LGUs have trained

staff to implement any ECCD related communication to day care centres, day care workers,

parents and other relevant stakeholders. The evaluation will seek to better understand how this

communication is channelled through various stakeholders.

Component 3 of DFAT-funded ELL project: Strengthen national policies, management and supervision of ECCD programmes

Output 3.1: ECCD Curriculum and Assessment Tools developed and adopted at national

level

This includes adoption of enhanced standard curricula and assessment tools for major ECCD

programmes at national level.

Output 3.2: Improved teaching competencies for ECCD human resources

At the national level, adoption of competency and training framework for ECCD workers at the

national level, standard training programme and manual for day care workers and kindergarten

teachers at national level, and integrated hygiene promotion practices in training package.

Output 3.3: Improved management capacities of ECCD human resource

This includes training of kindergarten coordinators, social workers and day care officers.

Output 3.4: Improved teaching competencies for ECCD human resource



This includes adoption of quality standards and accreditation tools for kindergarten

programming, supervised neighbourhood playgroups (SNP) at national level, presence of

enhanced national standards for accreditation of DCC services, presence of national standard

for hygiene promotion, and research studies to document good ECCD practices and inform

policies. The evaluation will seek to understand and discuss gaps in the programme, and

whether the programme links well to other interventions delivered by the government and other

partners.

2.3.1 UNICEF support in ARMM

UNICEF has provided significant support to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao

(ARMM) as part of their Education component of the 7th CP. This section explains the

institutional context of ARMM, as well as the education context there. The key UNICEF activities

concerning ECCD in ARMM, including the tahderiyyah programme, are presented in Annex C.

Institutional context

There are considerable differences in the institutional set-up of education between ARMM and

the Central government. In terms of basic education, structural differences between DepEd-

ARMM and other DepEd Regional offices stem from differences in management structure,

administrative setup (for instance, DepEd ARMM has additional functions such as the

Undersecretary for Madrasah Education under the Bureau of Madrasah Education), and

budgetary processes in terms of allocation of MOE and regional budget. Moreover, for ECCD,

there is a lack of basic ECCD infrastructure in ARMM. These differences may lead to unique

challenges, for instance in dealing with government officials and the bureaucracy, and this may

affect the relationship between the ARMM government and UNICEF.

Furthermore, findings from ARMM must be considered in the context of conflict sensitivity

(see Annex C.). The ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ conflicts in ARMM contributed to the low ranking

of the Philippines in the 2015 Global Peace Index Report. Due to ongoing conflicts and

continuing instability, there are low levels of public and private sector investment in ARMM. This

prolonged low level of investment has contributed to the fact that ARMM has the lowest ranking

in the Philippines on the Human Development Index, with all but one of its provinces – Basilan –

being in the group of the 10 lowest ranking provinces. ARMM is unique in that there are a large

number of non-state actors engaging with service delivery in communities – these include both

armed and non-armed groups with varying degrees of legitimacy (as perceived by the central

government). In addition to tensions around Bangsamoro autonomy, there are conflicts amongst

local tribes as well as gang and drug related violence.

Education in ARMM and UNICEF Programming

Affected by longstanding conflict over the last several decades, the education level of the

Mindanao region, especially in ARMM, remains alarmingly low. In the school year 2013-14, just

over a third of the pupils in ARMM had made it to grade 6, against a national average of 78.6%.

ARMM remains the most disadvantaged region in the Philippines in terms of education access

and completion. The NER in ARMM is 69.64% against a national average of NER of 91.05% in

SY 2015-2016; a kindergarten enrolment rate of 49.8% against a national average of 74.1%; a



completion rate of 56.88% against a national average of 84.02%; and school-leaving rate of

17.17% against a national average of 2.69%. Some 2.4 million indigenous children are reported

to be in school (EBEIS 2015), while the available estimation of IP leaners’ number could range

around 4-5 million.

UNICEF’s ECCD activities in ARMM, run out of its Cotabato office, is designed to adopt a dual

lens of education as well as peacebuilding. One of the flagship programmes for UNICEF is

support to the tahderiyyah programme, which focuses on the provision of kindergarten in Islamic

schools. This programme is being implemented by Bangsamoro Development Authority

(see Annex C for background). UNICEF’s support under this programme includes the following

activities:

ECCD Standards, Curricula and Assessment: UNICEF, in collaboration with the

Bangsamoro Development Authority and the Tarbiyah Committee of the MILF,

developed the tahderiyyah curriculum containing a 40-week activity guide for 3-5 year

olds which was recognised by DepEd.

ECCD Human Resource Development and Management: Support to continuous training

of tahderiyyah teachers on the use of the curriculum; on-going manual development for

tahderiyyah trainers on coaching and mentoring; skills enhancement of tahderiyyah

trainers through learning visit in the Department of Family Life and Child Development of

the University of the Philippines. This is the more recent approach. In addition, a first

generation of training activities also took place under the Community of Learners

Foundation (CoLF).

Local government capacity, systems, structures, and processes: Advocacy with LGUs in

relation to implementation of Child Protection in tahderiyyah centres.

Package of ECCD / Kinder interventions: Trained 811 tahderiyyah teachers on the

curriculum with provision of ECCD kits including hygiene kits; 625 centres supported

with WASH facilities; establishments of community-based child protection system in

selected sites.

Contextualisation of kindergarten Curriculum for Teduray tribe: In 2013, there were more

than 800 Teduray tribe children who benefited from a kindergarten catch-up experience

with a component on contextualizing the curriculum based on existing practices of the

community. As a continuation, project development was initiated with civil society

partners, DepEd ARMM, and Office of the Deputy Regional Governor for indigenous

people adding emphasis on the transition from Kinder to Grade 1 – 3.

Adoption of tahderiyyah Curriculum in DepEd ARMM – Bureau of Madaris: During the

peak time of Bangsamoro transition process, a memorandum of agreement was drafted

with the Bureau of Madaris and Office of the Regional Governor to partner with UNICEF

on expanding tahderiyyah in 75 communities identified by regional government.

It is also worth noting here that UNICEF’s ECCD activities in ARMM are not only limited to

tahderiyyah. The broad range of DFAT-funded project activities described above, which are



implemented in 36 vulnerable focus LGUs, are also implemented in 7 LGUs in ARMM.

Conversely, the tahderiyyah programme is implemented in areas outside ARMM and outside

the 36 focus areas.

2.4 UNICEF BE programme components

UNICEF’s Basic Education (BE) component focuses on enhancing access to, completion of,

and the quality of learning for disadvantaged children as they progress through the six-year

elementary school cycle in the Philippines by increasing the proportion of 6–11 year old children

participating in quality elementary education is increased by 5% in 36 vulnerable Local

Government Units, focusing on disadvantaged children, with gender parity.

The four main objectives of the BE component identified in the logframe (UNICEF 2012d)

are:

a) Enhanced policy and programme environment for achieving universal primary education

(UPE) with equity and gender parity

b) Strengthened capacity, systems, processes and structures for achieving UPE with equity

and gender parity with focus on remote and disadvantaged areas

c) Strengthened evidence-based advocacy and resource leveraging for basic education

through quality assurance, research and documentation

d) Strengthened education delivery for disadvantaged children in ARMM

The basic education component aims to target hard to reach and disadvantaged groups of

children across the country, with emphasis on reducing gender disparities, with boys

disadvantaged; conflict and disaster prone communities; and the urban poor populations.

UNICEF Philippines is supporting the basic education reform by contributing to specific

programmes to achieve their objectives in basic education. Some of the most important ones

have been discussed here in brief.

Objective 1: Enhanced policy and programme environment for achieving universal primary education (UPE) with equity and gender parity

Output 1.1 Strengthened educational planning with enhanced School Based Management

A major component of UNICEF’s Basic Education Programme involves the provision of

technical support to Department of Education (DepEd) to develop and refine the enhanced

School Improvement Plans (E-SIP), and harmonizing it with other school based management

and planning approaches. UNICEF provided support to DepEd in the piloting and developing

the E-SIP manual.

The E-SIP guidelines developed with UNICEF’s support were finalised and adopted through the

DepEd Order No.44 issued in September 2015. The revised guidelines support school



empowerment by encouraging child-centred and child-friendly approaches in its planning

principles.

The support UNICEF provided through school based management and E-SIPs has been a key

focus of this evaluation. For more details on this BE component please see Annex I.

Output 1.2 Developed strategic plan for disadvantaged groups or Last-Mile Learners

(LMLs)

This component aims to inform national education strategies and plans that promote equity in

terms of access and learning. In 2015, UNICEF conducted a situational analysis on the issue of

Last Mile Learners. The findings have been presented to DepEd and are expected to guide

DepEd policy makers in developing strategic plans for out of school children and youth (through

the Alternative Delivery System).

Objective 2: Strengthened capacity, systems, processes and structures for achieving UPE with equity and gender parity with focus on remote and disadvantaged areas

Output 2.1 Capacitated schools on equity-based school-community planning process

through E-SIP and School Report Cards (SRCs)

Activities towards this objective includes the development and production of advocacy and

instructional material in support of school-community planning processes, and technical support

to quality assurance and monitoring of E-SIP and SRC roll-out strategies. Recent additional

activities are on the automation of the SRC from the EBIES data and the development of

teacher hardship index as a budget tool for teacher incentives in hardships posts.

Output 2.2 Capacitated schools to implement culturally-sensitive, inclusive, and flexible

learning strategies for disadvantaged children

UNICEF is providing support to developing multi-grade teaching, indigenized curriculum in

Region 12, and alternative delivery modes for disadvantaged children. These BE initiatives were

not the focus of this evaluation, but some progress will be mentioned in upcoming sections. For

more details on UNICEF’s support on these components see Annex I.

Output 2.3 Materials developed and school heads/teachers trained on continuous school-

level professional development with child development principles through the Learning

Action Cells (LAC)

UNICEF and DepEd worked together to roll-out Learning Action Cells in UNICEF focus local

government units (LGUs). LAC is a school-based teacher professional development mechanism

which is part of DepEd’s recent policy to enhance teachers’ continuous professional

development – this was enacted through DepEd Order no. 35, s. 2016. Through highly

participatory training and hands-on approach, LAC helps teachers’ practice child-centred

teaching and learning methods and subsequently enhances implementation of the K-12

curriculum. This evaluation provides results of the qualitative assessment of LAC.



Output 2.4 Developed capacity at the national and sub-national level to implement

harmonised education Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) systems

strengthening

Part of the education in emergencies (EiE) work derived from the Haiyan experience, this output

includes the development of DRRM training packages for DepEd regional and division level

coordinators.

Output 2.5 Strengthened emergency preparedness and response through cluster

coordination mechanisms and emergency supplies prepositioning for disaster and

conflict situations

UNICEF is also providing support to DepEd and the Education Cluster for emergency

preparedness and response.9 It does so by providing technical inputs to national and regional

contingency planning; providing inputs to develop the draft response plan for hydro

meteorological hazards and the response plan for the terrorism-related hazards; providing

coordination support to the Education Cluster; helping DepEd develop the Education Cluster’s

capacity; and providing Education in Emergencies interventions to affected schools according to

needs.

Objective 3: Strengthened evidence-based advocacy and resource leveraging for basic education through quality assurance, research and documentation

Output 3.1 Produced and disseminated analytical researches and/or studies, advocacy

materials on equitable and inclusive primary education

The completed research under this component includes:

1. A situational analysis of Out of School Children (OOSC) conducted through the

Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS).

2. A situational analysis of last-mile learners to inform the strategy and policy debate on

this issue.

3. A planned evaluation study on the effectiveness of the multi-grade education

programme.

Objective 4: Strengthened education delivery for disadvantaged children in ARMM

9Education cluster is part of the cluster approach to humanitarian response to large scale disasters/shocks. Clusters are groups of humanitarian organisations, both UN and non-UN, in each of the main sectors of humanitarian action, e.g. water, health and logistics. The aim of the cluster approach is to strengthen system-wide preparedness and technical capacity to respond to humanitarian emergencies, and provide clear leadership and accountability in the main areas of humanitarian response. At country level, it aims to strengthen partnerships, and the predictability and accountability of international humanitarian action, by improving prioritization and clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of humanitarian organisations. (See https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/philippines/education).

https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/philippines/education



Output 4.1 DepEd ARMM and selected schools capacitated on equity-based, risk

informed, conflict sensitive school community planning process

UNICEF has been working closely with DepEd ARMM and other relevant stakeholders in the

region to strengthen education delivery for disadvantaged children in ARMM. UNICEF provided

support to DepEd ARMM to introduce improved school community planning processes through

the E-SIP, with a focus on equity-based, risk-informed and conflict sensitive planning processes.

This involved tailoring the SIP Guidebook for the complex emergency context of ARMM, with

peacebuilding strategies on learning institutions as zones of peace and flexible learning options

for vulnerable populations.

Output 4.2 Capacitated DepEd ARMM on DRRM and Education response in a complex

emergency context (combination of armed conflict and natural hazards)

UNICEF is working towards building the capacity of DepEd ARMM and the education cluster on

disaster risk reduction and management in a complex emergency context.

Output 4.3 Capacitated the MILF Education Committee to undertake strategic planning

for the new Bangsamoro basic education system in preparation for the impending

approval of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL)

UNICEF provided funding and technical support to hold regional consultations with relevant

stakeholders (Bangsamoro based civil society organisations) to develop an understanding of the

education sector and share the vision and needs of disadvantaged children in Bangsamoro. The

technical support helped the MILF education committee draft a Bangsamoro Education

Development Plan.

2.5 Key Stakeholders

The ECCD and basic education component of the 7th CP requires UNICEF to collaborate with a

range of domestic and international stakeholders. At the national level, UNICEF works with

DSWD, DepEd, DILG, and ECCD Council Secretariat. At the decentralised level, it works with

the regional, provincial, and district units of the above departments, as well as the 36 focus

LGUs, community volunteers (day care workers, SNP workers, tahderiyyah teachers) and

parents. International partners in the ECCD sub-sector include donor organisations such as the

Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the World Bank (WB) and the Asian

Development Bank (ADB), and NGOs such as Plan International and Community of Learners

Foundation (COLF).

The roles of the key stakeholders are presented in Annex C, with particular emphasis on their

responsibilities in relation to UNICEF programmes and activities.

2.6 Implementation status

This evaluation is mindful of the significant challenging circumstances faced by UNICEF during

the implementation of the programme and the recent approval for the extension of CPC 7 for

two years (2017-2018). The growing inequity in the population, increasing child poverty rates,



lack of meaningful employment opportunities, and systemic political challenges demonstrate a

difficult working environment in the Philippines. The continued conflict in Mindanao, one of the

key regions that the programme targets, is expected to have further hindered implementation.

These socio-political challenges are compounded by significant and devastating natural

disasters in the last few years. The Philippines remains prone to typhoons and floods, which

could pose further challenges to education programming in the country. The geographical

spread of the country, which is reflected by the expected reach of the programme across

UNICEF targeted 36 vulnerable LGUs, further spreads resources for the implementation, and by

extension also the evaluation, of the programme.

These difficulties have been reflected in the evolution of UNICEF Philippines’ implementation of

the 7th CP. The devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in late 2013 forced UNICEF to carry out a light

Mid-Term Review in 2015 instead of the planned 2014 review of the CP. This development

points to a greater need to carry out a thorough evaluation of the 7th CP to facilitate a better

understanding of UNICEF’s work in recent years. The need to revisit country priorities in the

face of numerous disasters was also expected to affect the implementation of the UNICEF

ECCD programme with funding support from DFAT. As a result, UNICEF revised their expected

output statements twice for both ECCD and Basic Education (as noted earlier). Under

agreement with DFAT, this evaluation will measure progress and impact against these revised

outputs (changed January 2016).

At the programme level, both the Basic Education and ECCD components of the CP have been

delivered through a number of different projects and activities, which are at different stages of

implementation. Further, even the roll out of some of the specific activities are in different stages

of implementation across different areas. As such, the findings from each programmes,

discussed in the substantive chapters below, contextualise this difference in implementation

status for various programmes.



3 Evaluation Purpose, Objectives and Scope

3.1 Purpose of the Evaluation

The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the Education component of 7th GPH-UNICEF

Country Programme. The evaluation is taking place in the final year of the 7th CP (2012-2016)

and at the end of the period of DFAT funding for the ECCD programme. The CP has now

extended from 2016 to 2018, and the additional two years (2017-2018) is considered as

“bridging years” to the 8th CP. Technically, then, this evaluation is not taking place at the end of

the CP. However, the timing is optimal for informing the next design of the Education

programme.

The evaluation outputs will be used as lessons learned for the sector and provide evidence for

advocacy with government. At the same time, this evaluation will also inform UNICEF's bridging

programme (2017-2018) and the design of the 8th UNICEF CP (2019-2023), as outlined in the

Terms of Reference (Annex A) for this assignment. Other country and regional offices could

also learn from the opportunities and challenges around project development and

implementation as identified on this evaluation.

3.2 Objectives

The key objectives of this evaluation are as follows:

Determine the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of the Early

Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and Basic Education (BE) component of the

7th CP and;

Identify lessons to inform the UNICEF Philippines bridging programme and 8th CP, with a

specific focus on the DFAT-UNICEF: Creating a Foundation for Lifelong Learning

Programme.

These objectives have been accepted as drafted in the original terms of reference for this

evaluation. The evaluation is being carried out using the OECD DAC criteria, which have

international acceptability and comparability. The research matrix and the key research

questions, described in detail in Annex F, have been designed with these objectives in mind.

The evaluation has focused additionally on gender and vulnerability to assess the 7th CP in

relation to the DAC criteria.

3.3 Scope of the evaluation

The evaluation took place in the final year of the UNICEF 7th CP (2012-2016) and at the end of

the period of DFAT funding for the ECCD programme. The CP has now been extended to 2018

(2 more years), and the additional two years 2017-2018 are considered as “bridging years” to

CP 8. Technically this evaluation is not taking place at the end of the CP, but the timing is

optimal for informing the next design of the education programme.



The evaluation outputs are expected be used as lessons learned for the sector, with the

evidence being used for advocacy with government and development partners. The evaluation

will also help inform the focus of the remaining two years of the 7th CP and will facilitate the

conceptualisation of the next CP starting in 2019. As such, the primary audience for the

evaluation will include the UNICEF country office in the Philippines, Australia’s Department of

Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Philippines’ Department of Education (DepEd),

Department of Education ARMM, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),

ECCD Council, and Local Governance Units (LGUs). The evaluation is also expected to be of

use to other UNICEF country offices in similar contexts and the UNICEF regional office and

headquarters, development agencies working in the UNICEF Philippines Education sector, civil

society organisations, National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Department of

Interior and Local Government (DILG), and other academics and practitioners interested in

basic education and ECCD in the Philippines.

The evaluation covers the 36 priority Local Government Units (LGUs) that are the focus of both

the 7th CP Education programme and the DFAT-funded ECCD programme. It also includes

national level coverage in terms of national level policies and guidelines on ECCD and basic

education. The geographic area coverage also includes the seven LGUs (municipalities) of the

Autonomous Region of Muslim

In this evaluation, we focus in particular on UNICEF’s support to seven key ECCD activities: 1)

Day Care, 2) Supervised Neighbourhood Playgroup (SNP), 3) Kindergarten, 4) Kinder Catch-Up

Programme (KCEP), 5) Link Initiative, 6) Tahderiyyah, and 7) WASH activities; three key BE

activities: 1) School Based Management (including School Improvement Plans and School

Report Cards), 2) Learning Action Cells (LACs), and 3) WASH activities; and a formative

assessment of the implementation of one DepEd policy on 1) Mother Tongue Based Multilingual

Education (MTB-MLE).10

These areas were selected based on extensive consultations with UNICEF during the inception

mission and the evaluation team’s understanding of priority areas within ECCD and BE given

that these are the most prominent areas in terms of resource investment and UNICEF’s working

relationship with key stakeholders. It is noted that the support to contextualization of IP

curriculum and multigrade education, and in the area of disaster-risks reduction management,

were not analysed in depth as substantive activities remain to continue until 2018. However,

insights on progress of implementation of these are also drawn when possible.

10 Note here that the evaluation’s focus on WASH was limited to activities taking place at ECCD centres and schools, as agreed with UNICEF Philippines during the Inception trip. The evaluation team has therefore not focussed on studying other modalities of implementing the ‘WASH in schools’ component, which involved other actors, such as the Municipal health office and the WASH council.



4 Evaluation Methodology

4.1 Data collection methods and analysis

This evaluation has relied on a combination of qualitative and quantitative data to assess

UNICEF Philippines’ ECCD and BE programme. Qualitative methods have been used to collect

and analyse primary data, and quantitative analysis of secondary data has further informed the

evaluation. In terms of the qualitative research, four research teams used a range of formal and

informal tools and observations to interact with officials and beneficiaries at the central, regional,

municipal, barangay and community levels. Such a comprehensive, rounded approach has

allowed us to build a holistic picture about the programme.

4.2 Evaluation questions

The evaluation team developed an extensive list of research questions in close consultation with

key stakeholders, including UNICEF, to evaluate UNICEF’s BE and ECCD programmes. These

questions are presented in the form of an evaluation matrix by tying them to the DAC criteria

in Annex F.

4.3 Qualitative research instruments

We employed multiple qualitative research methods during the course of our research. The

instruments were developed in close consultation with UNICEF, government actors, and other

stakeholders during the inception phase. Research instruments were also piloted and translated

into local languages. For key informants at the national level, we used a single semi-structured

interview guide, which we tailored for each specific respondent. We used a similar approach at

the district and local levels as well, tailoring a comprehensive interview or group discussion

guide according to the experiences and knowledge of particular respondents. The semi-

structured tools allowed us to structure the research, be flexible, and adapt to unanticipated

areas of enquiry that developed during the course of research. The findings of this research

have also been informed by numerous informal conversations and observations throughout the

fieldwork.

Annex F summarises the research methods we used for different types of respondents, along

with their particular contribution to this research.

4.4 Analytical Methodology

UNICEF’s contributions to development throughout Philippines are many and varied, and

analysing the impact of each initiative independently would be overly complex and time

consuming. The secondary data analysis attempts to establish whether the programmes

operated by UNICEF had an overall impact in the LGU in which UNICEF operated. This method

examines whether there has been a significant change in outcome indicators between

commencement of the programmes, the baseline, and the end of programme, the endline

(2016).



This method does not give clear causal effect but rather responds to the question as to whether

UNICEF have monitored the programme well and whether the programme has achieved its

intended outcomes, both intermediate and final. In order to make assumptions concerning

attribution to UNICEF’s efforts, the quantitative secondary data analysis is compared against the

findings of the primary qualitative data analysis. The success of broader interventions at

national and regional level are particularly difficult to attribute to UNICEF, given the

government’s recent support of ECCD and BE, its rapidly developing economy and changing

socio economic circumstances.

Evaluation methods

The main guiding document for analysis were the monitoring frameworks developed by UNICEF

to monitor both the two streams of work, ECCD and Basic Education (see Annex B). The

majority of secondary analysis was undertaken using the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Survey

(MIS) which was designed as the principal tool for quantitative monitoring of UNICEF

programmes in the 36 LGUs in which UNICEF took place. Other data referenced includes

EBEIS and Philippines projected population data as published in the MIS reports.

Secondary data was analysed using a range of methods which included simple statistical

analysis of ratios and comparisons between years, regions and gender as well as comparative

analysis using Pearson’s correlation11 and T-Tests where required.12 These were used

minimally both in the interests of accessibility, to avoid incidental findings, and because the data

did not require this level of analysis in order to draw conclusions concerning the impact of

UNICEF interventions.

Terminology and Indicators

Unless otherwise stated, kindergarten/preparatory school includes day care centres, Mother

Mentor Programme, Home-based/Supervised Neighbourhood Play, tahderiyyah, and other

ECCD services.

Quantitative analysis for this report makes extensive use of ECCD indicators which are defined

in the UNICEF monitoring and evaluation frameworks and presented in Annex B.

Reporting of Results

All results are reported in accordance with UNICEF monitoring and evaluation standards, which

denote clear definitions of all indicators and gender disaggregation of results. Other

11 Correlation is a statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two or more variables fluctuate together. A positive correlation indicates the extent to which those variables increase or decrease in parallel; a negative correlation indicates the extent to which one variable increases as the other decreases. The Pearson correlation coefficient, also referred to as the Pearson's r or Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PPMCC), is a measure of the linear dependence (correlation) between two variables X and Y. 12 T-tests examine whether there are significant differences between two group means. T Test is a statistical examination of two population means. A two-sample t-test examines whether two samples are different and is commonly used when the variances of two normal distributions are unknown and when an experiment uses a small sample size.



disaggregation is made based upon required characteristics of the target population, such as

language, region, and disability as required.

4.5 Data sources and sample

The quantitative analysis relies on secondary data from all 36 vulnerable LGUs where UNICEF

provided support as part of the CP. Qualitative data was gathered during field research in 7 out

of these 36 LGUs. The key secondary data sources are discussed in detail in Annex F.

Qualitative Data Sources

The qualitative analysis relied on qualitative data collected from a sub-sample of these 36

LGUs, 7 in total, presented in the table below.

Table 3 Sample LGUs and barangays

Region Name of LGU Link Barangay

Luzon Aroroy in Masbate Syndicate

Pasay City in NCR Barangay 98

Visayas Bobon in Northern Samar Arellano

Mindanao

South Upi in Maguindanao San Jose

Mamasapano (Plan A) Pidsandawan

Siayan in Zamboanga del Norte Brgy. Paranglumba

Malungon in Sarangani Poblacion

The LGUs were selected based on purposive sampling, which was carried out in consultation

with stakeholders. The selected LGUs represent the diverse contexts in the Philippines, and

have been selected to ensure a balanced representation of geographic and socio-economic

characteristics and to maximise learning. This selection has allowed the team to delve deep into

the diverse contexts through the qualitative research.

In each LGU, we visited at least one barangay. Initially, we had agreed to select barangays

through random sampling. However, after further consultations with UNICEF, we agreed to

select convergence barangays as the primary sampling units for our evaluation Convergence

barangays refer to focus barangays (one per focus LGU) where interventions for both ECCD-

early learning and elementary education are provided under the GPH-UNICEF Seventh Country

Program for Children, and focusing on these barangays allowed us to assess both BE and

ECCD activities by referring to the ECCD-Kinder-Primary Education Link initiative introduced in

the convergence barangays.

Some of the UNICEF supported BE and ECCD activities had not been implemented in the link

barangays. As a result, when an evaluation team visited these barangays, we carried out a

mapping exercise to determine which activities could be evaluated in the link barangays. The

evaluation team then visited another adjacent barangay where some of the missing activities

had been implemented, to try to ensure the breadth of coverage in the evaluation. For instance,

some of the link barangays did not have any SNP programmes, so we visited nearby barangays

with SNP programmes to assess the role and relevance of SNPs in those municipalities.



There are some key differences across sampled LGUs, and these have been discussed in

greater detail in Annex F.

4.6 Stakeholder consultations

This evaluation was carried out by engaging with stakeholders at multiple levels. At the national

level, interviews and discussions were carried out with representatives to understand macro

perspectives and the impact of the policy as understood in policy circles.

Table 4 List of respondents at the National Level

Institution ECCD BE Both Tool

DepEd X KII

DSWD X KII

DILG X KII

ECCD Council X KII

NGOs X X KII

Key Individuals X X KII

DFAT X KII

UNICEF X KII

In the ARMM region, the equivalent representatives from DepEd-ARMM (regional and division

level), tahderiyyah centres and Bangsamoro Development Authority (BDA) – the development

arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were also interviewed to inform the evaluation

team about issues and activities in the region.

A small evaluation team, led by the team leader and supported by a research assistant, spent a

week in Metro Manila, carrying out interviews at the national level. At the same time, three

research teams comprising of an international consultant and two local researchers were trained

extensively for five days, and then deployed to seven LGUs. A total of six local researchers

were hired for this part of the assignment, based on their extensive knowledge and experience

of working on various education and development projects in the Philippines. Some of our

researchers had also worked on UNICEF projects before, including a couple of researchers who

had worked on the quantitative data collection for this project itself, so the local research team

showed some familiarity with the programme.

The international consultants and local researchers were deployed geographically, such that

two of the research teams covered two LGUs each and one research team covered three LGUs,

thereby allowing the evaluation team to complete data collection within the expected timelines.

The training was comprehensive, covering a refresher to qualitative research, a review of our

research approach and methods, and a detailed study of the research tools to ensure that our

research teams were completely familiar with each tool. These tools were also piloted during the

training, allowing us to revise them extensively. Each tool was translated to a local language for

ease of reference for both the local researchers and our respondents.



Each evaluation team carried out a range of activities, listed below, in each LGU, and

complemented these findings with informal observations and conversations to provide greater

context to our findings. At the end of each day, the research teams carried out a thorough

thematic debriefing session to ensure that the key findings as well as learnings from that day’s

work were properly discussed to ensure that we understood our data completely. Beyond the

initial debriefs mentioned above, we also took notes during fieldwork, recorded and transcribed

the interviews, carried out systematic debriefing, and then analysed the data collected in a

thorough manner. The list of respondents per LGU is presented below.

Table 5 List of respondents at the LGU level

Barangay level ECCD BE Both Tool

Barangay captain X KII

Day care worker X KII

SNP worker X KII

Kinder teacher X KII

School principal X KII

day care Parents X FGD

Elementary School Parents X FGD

Elementary School Learners X FGD

Tahderiyyah Parents FGD

Tahderiyyah Teacher KII

Table 6 List of respondents at the Municipal Level

Municipal level ECCD BE Both Tool

Social welfare officer X KII

Planning officer X KII

Mayor or Vice Mayor X X KII

Table 7 List of respondents at the Municipal Level

District level ECCD BE Both Tool

District Kinder Coordinator X KII

District Supervisor X KII

School Based Management Coordinator X KII

Within each LGU, the sampling strategy for stakeholder selection was based on the type of

respondent being considered. For the KIIs, the respondents were pre-selected based on their

roles and responsibilities, so we approached these post holders for their views on ECCD, BE, or

both. For the focus group discussions, we selected BE and ECCD parents for respective

discussions by approaching ECCD centres and identifying the relevant parents for these

discussions. ECCD parents were selected randomly by referring to the attendance list of day

care children, selecting 6-8 mothers from the day care to attend our discussion. Similarly, BE

parents were selected by referring to the attendance list of grade 1 learners in the elementary



schools in our focus barangays. Finally, grade 3 learners were selected randomly to represent

the perspective of BE learners. It was not always possible to meet with the randomly selected

respondents because they were not free, lived too far, or faced other obstacles to participate.

We tried to ensure geographic, economic, social, and gender diversity to the extent possible

among the respondents.

In addition, we also carried out interviews with some regional officials in ARMM, as listed in the

table below.

Table 8 List of respondents at the regional level, ARMM

Regional level ECCD BE Both Tool

DepEd ARMM Assistant Secretary for Academics

X KII

DepEd ARMM kindergarten Programme Coordinator

X KII

Executive Director of BDA X KII

tahderiyyah Programme Coordinator of BDA

X KII

We were able to carry out most interviews and discussions as planned, and the table below

demonstrates the extent of our engagement in the field.

Table 9 Engagement at the local level

Region LGU and Province Total interviews and

FGDs conducted

Luzon Aroroy in Masbate 15

Pasay City in NCR 13

Visayas Bobon in Northern Samar 16

Mindanao

South Upi in Maguindanao 16

Mamasapano in Maguindanao 13

Siayan in Zamboanga del Norte 13

Malungon in Sarangani 17

4.7 Gender considerations

This evaluation explicitly sought to collect and analyse data with particular regard for gender

differences, especially given the expected gender disparities in education in the Philippines, with

boys disadvantaged. To that end, an additional indicator, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) was

employed to analyse gender differences. The GPI is a socioeconomic index usually designed to

measure the relative access of males and females to education. This index is provided by

UNESCO.

In its simplest form, the GPI is calculated as the quotient of the number of females by the

number of males enrolled in a given stage of education. However, it can also be applied to



ratios of relative amounts such as percentages. For example GPI Net Enrolment Rate (NER) =

(girls NER / boys NER).

The primary data collected through qualitative methods also sought to assess gender disparity

in BE and ECCD. Most key questions had probes asking stakeholders about different inputs or

outcomes based on gender. However, it was extremely difficult to secure any substantial

information, as most respondents noted consistently, and even after significant probing, that

gender was no longer a serious concern for access or demand of education.

4.8 Limitations

There were a number of methodological limitations faced during qualitative research done using

field research and quantitative research done using secondary data analysis. These have been

discussed in greater detail in Annex F, but we provide a brief discussion here to highlight some

key issues that arose during the evaluation.

Qualitative Research Limitations

First, the research team sought to conduct all interviews and FGDs in private to ensure a safe

space for our respondents, and we sought to carry out these activities at times that were

conducive to our respondents. However, this was not always possible at the local, municipal,

and national levels, so the field team had to make adjustments to accommodate our

respondents. Second, although the research team had planned a random sampling strategy to

select our respondents, especially for FGDs, ground realities required us to adapt our plans. For

instance, we wanted to select parents and learners by using the attendance sheets used by day

care centres and elementary schools in our target barangays. However, this sampling method

often required us to seek respondents from villages or localities far away from our primary

research sites. It was not possible for the research team to travel to those sites, and requiring

potential respondents to travel a significant distance to participate in our discussion would place

an undue burden on them. In such situations, the research team worked with local officials and

villagers to identify appropriate respondents who could provide us the necessary details through

their participation without having to face significant difficulties in the process. Third, a number of

our respondents did not know enough details about the programme, particularly because of high

turnover among stakeholders and because of recall problems. Fourth, it was extremely difficult

to attribute programmes and their performance in relation to UNICEF because UNICEF has

been providing widespread support to a number of different programmes, and respondents were

not clear about the extent of this support. UNICEF’s support also appeared to account for a

proportion of a larger programme in most cases, so it was difficult for respondents to know

exactly the nature and extent of UNICEF’s impact. This issue was further compounded by the

fact that a number of national and international organisations were also working on similar

issues, often in partnership with UNICEF, at the same time.

As an example, Plan International and UNICEF partnered to deliver a number of programmes at

the local level, including providing support to day care centres and SNPs. Similarly, UNICEF

worked with a number of government ministries to provide materials and training support to day

care workers and school teachers. Most respondents across all levels considered the role and



relevance of these disparate actors (such as Plan, UNICEF, and DepEd) as interchangeable,

and so were unable to make any distinction between these partner organisations. The

evaluation team tried to probe further to delineate responsibilities and impact, but this was

seriously constrained and not always possible.

Reflexivity is a key component of carrying out rigorous research, and the evaluation team

engaged with these challenges and limitations throughout the fieldwork and during the analysis

and writing up phase of the report. While these limitations have posed some constraints in parts

of our analysis, our research design was both extensive and adaptive to employ mitigation

strategies to address some of these concerns. Similarly, these limitations are also symptomatic

of the ground realities and challenges of implementing large, complex programmes in trying

circumstances.

Quantitative research limitations

First, it is important, if possible, to understand what has occurred in regions or areas where

UNICEF has not intervened and to be able to make informed comparison against areas in which

UNICEF has intervened. However, the evaluation found it challenging to find reliable and

current data sources upon which comparison was possible. The baseline MIS conducted in

2012 was in three LGUs in which UNICEF did not operate programmes, and these LGUs were

not covered in future surveys. Second, the MIS is used exclusively to monitor intermediate

outcome indicators. This is problematic as intermediate outcome indicators can then only be

evaluated at the end of the programme timeframe. This means that evaluation of success can

only be determined at the completion of the programme which does not allow for proper

intermediate (mid-term) evaluation. This limits the capacity of the programmes to realise their

achievements to date and to make changes where required to help address shortcomings or

other issues. The use of MIS data also presented a number of challenges, including the fact that

standards for analysis and data presentation varied for each publication of data, and sampling

and indicators were inconsistent over time.

The issues noted above impact the capacity to draw definitive conclusions from the data.

However, given the depth and quality of the survey tools, there is sufficient data to draw many

conclusions relevant to this evaluation.

All average participation rates are population weighted according to the following population

figures. This skews results towards Quezon and Davao as they contain almost 60% of the target

population. Therefore the LGUs average (the average of all LGUs) is also noted in all

references. LGUs population figures are taken from 2016 projections (UNICEF 2016) and are

presented in Annex L.

4.9 Ethical considerations

The evaluation team takes research ethics very seriously, and we adhered to ethical research

protocols throughout our evaluation, including when interacting with respondents. A special

session was organised during class-room training to explain the ethics of research with children.

During data collection, our research teams clearly explained the purpose of our visit and



established our independence from UNICEF as well as the government of the Philippines. We

ensured that all respondents were aware that their participation in the research was voluntary,

and that they were free to not answer any question or end the interview at any time. We

explained to our respondents that our conversation would remain confidential within the

research team, and that we would anonymise the identity of the respondents, should we use

their responses in the report. We also informed them that they could ask us questions at any

time. Focus group discussions with children were conducted with informed consent of both the

teachers and child participants.

We received explicit informed oral consent from all respondents before beginning our sessions,

and sought permission to record our conversations to be able to transcribe them later for

internal use. We tried our utmost to maintain privacy of our discussions by carrying out the

interviews in isolated settings where confidentiality could be maintained. This was not always

possible due to space limitations in some of our field sites, as was discussed in the limitations

section.



5 ECCD findings

This section provides findings on the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and

sustainability of UNICEF’s ECCD programming. Sub sections are structured around questions

presented in the Evaluation matrix and were agreed upon with UNICEF ex-ante. Detailed

findings underpinning this analysis are provided in Annex H and Annex J.

5.1 Relevance

To what extent did ECCD outputs suit the priorities and policies of government stakeholders, focus LGUs, DFAT, and international partners?

As stated in the DFAT Independent Progress Review Report (2015), documentation, design,

financing, and on-going implementation of UNICEF’s programming reflect the importance which

both the Australian and the Philippines governments place on the development and wellbeing of

young children, especially those of disadvantaged families and communities. It is therefore

clearly relevant to both governments’ development priorities and to the needs of its

beneficiaries. UNICEF’s programmes and priorities in ECCD have been closely aligned to

match the needs of government partners and international organisations.

Philippines has a comprehensive ECCD system, and there is acknowledgement amongst

stakeholders that the country has greatly improved the governance, management and service

delivery in ECCD. One example of success in the ECCD sub sector concerns the legal reforms

which were initiated, prepared and implemented by the previous administration. ECCD has

gained recognition as a response to child development, not just for the need of working women

but also as a way of protecting children from harm. The sector has gained support and

recognition regarding its importance, both from the government and in communities. The

impetus has also been driven by parents, as day care centres allow both parents to work. A

large number of national level respondents also cited increased support and resource allocation

by the government to ECCD. They also noted that LGUs and the communities were increasingly

realising the importance of ECCD as a foundation for education, which was partly brought about

by advocacy activities carried out by UNICEF. The LGU ECCD Budget Study commissioned by

UNICEF showed that 33 out of the 36 LGUs (92%) increased their ECCD budget during 2013-

2016. In terms of annual increase, 31 LGUs (86%) demonstrated an average annual increase of

at least 5 percent from 2013 to 2016 (INTEM 2016).

While a significant number of national level informants stated that the ECCD policy framework is

comprehensive and that government has a clear policy direction, many were equally concerned

with weak or poor implementation. Some gave the reasons as a result of poor stakeholder

involvement and weak coordination (see further discussion below in efficiency section).

Most of the LGUs where UNICEF commenced ECCD programming had low baseline levels of

access and participation in ECCD services at the start of the 7th CP (see ECCD Profile, UNICEF

& DFAT 2014). The programmes’ focus on expanding access was therefore relevant. UNICEF’s

work on Link activities to facilitate the transition from ECCD to BE also fits well with the high

profile education reform in the Philippines to establish a K-12 system. A number of ECCD



activities, such as support to day care, SNP and KG, further prepare young children to transition

to and succeed within the basic education system.

The selection of the 36 vulnerable LGUs was contested as being appropriate for UNICEF’s

ECCD support, especially at the local and regional levels. The selection of LGUs, and focus

schools and barangays within those schools, raised particular questions and concerns from

respondents at all levels.

The country office went through an extensive mapping process to select the LGUs. According to

the Government of the Philippines - UNICEF Country Programme Action Plan 2012-2016, the

country office “went through an iterative assessment of the geographic vulnerabilities affecting

children of the Philippines”. An extensive mapping of regional and provincial vulnerabilities,

taking account of natural disasters, conflict, and inequitable social development outcomes, were

matched against the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) analysed by the UN to draw up a

long list of 108 municipalities and 12 cities, which had already been identified by the

government as high priority areas. Cities in particular had been identified to address the

potential for inequity and urban poverty, which is often not obvious through aggregate

measures. These potential beneficiaries were then asked to submit an ‘expression of interest’

application package to receive support from UNICEF, which they received from 76

municipalities and 9 cities. These were then matched again the National Anti-Poverty

Commission’s (NAPC) list of ‘ready’ municipalities and cities which were to be prioritised for

programming, leading to the selection of 30 municipalities and 6 cities for the UNICEF CP.13

Despite the extensive documentation and planning to select the target LGUs, serious concerns

were raised by research respondents about the selection parameters. First, none of the non-

UNICEF respondents were able to articulate how these LGUs, and the schools and day care

facilities within these LGUs, had been selected. Even at the national level, there was no

acknowledgment of the extensive vulnerability-based mapping used to select the LGUs. Some

schools and day care centres visited during field research were receiving multiple sources of

funding, whilst others relied solely on support provided by UNICEF in procuring furniture,

supplies, and other materials. Some head teachers and municipality officials even noted that

their schools/areas should not have been selected, as there are many other LGUs/day care

centres that need more support urgently.

The selection process of LGUs and its implications should be discussed clearly with all

stakeholders at an early stage. In addition, UNICEF programmes could be more relevant in the

future if they could reach out to more focus schools and communities and/or provide a clear

opportunity to upstream, so that the findings and experiences from particular cases could be

used to reach even more beneficiaries.

To what extent were outputs suited to cater for disadvantaged children and

disadvantaged areas such as ARMM and their context?

UNICEF has focused its activities in 36 vulnerable LGUs across the country, including 7 LGUs

from ARMM. Overall, national level respondents suggested that UNICEF encouraged equity

13 This section is informed by an internal UNICEF note: Development in Vulnerable Philippine LGUs: Towards the Equity Agenda



across disadvantaged groups (including gender) in their programmes, and specifically targeted

disadvantaged communities, including in ARMM.

UNICEF’s ECCD programming in ARMM has responded to a clear request from the community

for the education system to incorporate demand for Islamic education. The tahderiyyah

programme therefore combines the benefits of regular day care curriculum and a madrassah

education system, and provides an alternative for parents in Bangsamoro communities to

educate their children in a system that helps retain their Islamic values and improves their

school readiness. During qualitative research, parents stated that they had enrolled their

children in tahderiyyahs because they wanted their children to receive balanced education,

including a sound grasp of English and Arabic. Parents reasoned that education in Arabic was

essential for their religion, and would be an advantage for someone who would work abroad,

especially in the Middle East. At the same time, learning English was also important, as they

wanted their children to be ‘world wary’ when they grew up. One parent described English as

international language and Arabic as eternal language in the following words:

The good thing about learning two languages is that English is international. Arabic

is from this world up to another dimension. In short, at all times we have a weapon.

You have to prepare yourself. For example, in Islam we believe that we have our

permanent life there. That's what we called enlightenment in our lives.

Furthermore, UNICEF’s work in contextualising of the KG curriculum for the Tedurays and the

tahderiyyah in particular resonate with demands of community members for cultural recognition

and sensitivity. UNICEF’s support in contextualising the kinder curriculum for tahderiyyahs was

acknowledged by a respondent in this way:

One of the tahderiyyah (programme’s) strengths is the integration of values and the

contextualization of the curriculum. For example, in some of these materials there

are some drawings that are haram for Muslims, like using pig as an example. We

have become more sensitive in these issues.

Some of the programmes supported by UNICEF are designed to improve access to ECCD

services for children living in remote and economically disadvantaged communities.

Respondents at the local level verified the need for such programmes. For example, the SNP

programme is designed to fill an important gap in the provision of ECCD services to remote

areas. Although SNP programmes have been operated by the government for many years,

UNICEF has provided renewed support and emphasis to SNPs, often in remote villages.

Parents and SNP workers across all municipalities where SNPs existed appreciated the need

for such a programme and emphasised its importance in improving access to remote

communities. According to an SNP worker:

SNP is very helpful for kids that live very far and have to walk at least 4 km to go to

school (day care).

This was verified by another SNP worker as well:



Having SNP here in our sitio is more helpful, especially for those (poor) parents who

can’t afford daily expenses on transportation… it is a great advantage for them.

Many SNP sites are located in extremely remote and topographically challenging areas. In

these barangays, parents and children often have to walk considerable distances, crossing

rivers and muddy tracts, to reach their nearest day care centre or school. UNICEF’s direct

support in revitalising SNP centres advocating to LGUs for its expansion has therefore helped

improve access to ECCD services at the local level by bringing ECCD services closer to such

communities.

The ECCD Evaluation framework (see Annex B) does not include any indicator measuring

performance on access of ECCD services for children with disabilities. Reviews conducted by

DFAT also do not address this issue in detail. The last independent DFAT Review (2015) notes

that while UNICEF’s project had strong focus on ‘disadvantaged’ children, i.e., those in low-

income, minority, and hard-to-reach communities, the Education and ECCD subsectors as a

whole (from the national to the local level) still need to develop sufficient focus on children with

disabilities. From an operational perspective, there were no special provisions in UNICEF-

supported programmes for children with disabilities, and researchers did not come across

physically children with disabilities in the ECCD centres we visited. According to the CFLL End-

of-Project Report annual mapping of all children as part of the Link initiative includes information

on disabilities, and attendance in pre-school/kindergarten/elementary education (UNICEF

2016). This has led to the implementation of interventions of children with disabilities in some

LGUs such as issuance of PWD identification, referral to MHO or MCR, enrolment in a SPED

centre or programme.

At the national level, UNICEF has provided support to the development of System for

Prevention, Early Identification, Referral and Intervention of Developmental Disorders and

Disabilities in Early Childhood (UNICEF 2016). Field testing of this system has been conducted

in one non-focus area and demonstration of the strategies and processes in three focus areas.

The original design was for 3-5 year old children. Based on the results of the field test, the

system has been enhanced and expanded to cover 0-6 year old children and consider

appropriate on-going related initiatives of various agencies, including the National Council for

Disability Affairs.

To what extent are the objectives of the Education Country Programme still valid?

The objectives of the ECCD programme are still valid, as several LGUs across Philippines

continue to face severe problems around access to ECCD services, as well as challenges in

delivering quality ECCD. Further support is also required in strengthening national policies,

coordination, management and supervision of ECCD services. However, increasing demand for

ECCD no longer seems to be as relevant in the majority of target LGUs, as changes in national

policy and advocacy efforts (including those conducted by UNICEF) have created a wide

awareness of the importance of ECCD amongst parents and furthermore, have made it

compulsory for children to enrol in KG in order to enrol in Grade 1.14 Also, the conditionality on

attendance of day care and KG imposed by the 4Ps programme has further incentivised parents

14 Some work remains to be done, as discussed later in this chapter.



to enrol children in day care and KG. Although quantitative analysis of parental attitude towards

ECCD does not provide reliable information, this can be verified by reports from field research

conducted during the evaluation. Nevertheless, access to ECCD remains problematic for

remote communities or minority groups such as IPs and Bangsamoro, and households affected

by conflict or natural disasters. Furthermore, demand for ECCD services may not be sufficient to

improve access which also relies on the availability of ECCD services and parents’ perception of

the quality of education and returns to education.

5.2 Effectiveness

To what extent were the objectives achieved/are likely to be achieved?

As stated in the DFAT Independent Progress Review Report (2015), the 7th CP has been

effective in yielding considerable results under Intermediate Outcome 1 (“downstream”),

especially in terms of building capacity in ECCD and in mainstreaming ECCD into policies,

plans, and services. The report also notes lower progress in achieving the desired outputs in

Intermediate Outcome 2 and Intermediate Outcome 3 (“upstream”). A more recent report

(UNICEF 2016) notes that UNICEF has achieved all milestones under Output 2 and Output 3

except for adoption of training framework for ECCD workers at the national level, and adoption

of enhanced standard curricula for madrassah kindergartens.

UNICEF’s advocacy work with key LGU stakeholders, as well as their capacity building, have

proven to be effective, resulting in participants’ better understanding and appreciation of ECCD

and new knowledge and skills in evidence-based ECCD planning, programming, and budgeting.

This is verified by data collected during the evaluation at the national and local levels. UNICEF

supported activities at the local level have yielded some notable results. For instance, various

stakeholders, including parents, are aware of the support provided by UNICEF to ECCD in their

communities. As noted earlier, LGU budgets for ECCD services have increased in 33 out of 36

target LGUs and, according to UNICEF data, attendance in day cares and SNP centres has

increased in Link LGUs.

DFAT’s Independent Progress Review Report (2015) notes that UNICEF’s training programmes

and materials are generally considered useful, and the planned outputs related to teaching and

learning materials and basic furniture have been achieved. This was affirmed by a majority of

national level informants who thought that UNICEF supported programmes were largely

effective in areas where they were implemented. Many informants at the national level noted

that UNICEF support in the development of guidelines, curriculum, and materials has been

important in improving harmonisation, setting standards, and assessing child learners. The

quality of these materials is considered to be high, with a combination of local knowledge and

international best practices. Finally, the development of these guidelines was done in a

collaborative manner with national government partners, with UNICEF providing guidance and

useful feedback. This type of support also enhanced the capacity of the government.

UNICEF’s programme has supported the design and implementation of two effective alternative

models for bringing ECCD closer to children in remote communities -- Supervised

Neighbourhood Play (SNP) and the Kindergarten Catch-up Programme– and has been

advocating to LGUs to ensure that ECCD services are available and has promoted it in the



context of the country’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Programme. UNICEF’s support

enabled the provision of day care and KG services in some of the most poor and remote LGUs,

although a minority of LGUs were not appropriate because they did not need additional support

(for example Pasay city, where the centres were extremely well resourced without UNICEF

inputs). In these vulnerable LGUs, improving ECCD service access would have been difficult

without the crucial support provided by UNICEF. For instance, learning materials and furniture

provided by UNICEF were critical in ensuring a basic functioning of ECCD centres. UNICEF-

supported ECCD programmes were effective at improving access to ECCD in target LGUs with

a focus on disadvantaged children such as those in conflict affected areas.

Overall, the CP has been effective in strengthening monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and

tools at both local and national levels, and in developing communication tools which have

proven to be effective in promoting ECCD among both LGUs and parents. This is evident in

promoting the use of an ECCD Checklist by day care workers to monitor the growth and

development of 3-4 year-old children and by kindergarten teachers for 5-year-olds.

Whilst great efforts have been made to develop and train staff on these tools, their

implementation on ground faces several challenges. These include a dearth of qualified

teachers and child development workers, as well as limited resources for schools and day care

centres to fully implement classroom assessment tools. Despite the achievements, further

efforts are needed to promote a more systematic and effective monitoring, supervision, and

mentoring process after initial training, as noted by the DFAT Independent Review Report

(2015) as well.

At the barangay level, one way of assessing the efficiency of implementation was to understand

the nature of monitoring and implementation of standards across UNICEF supported

programmes. Field research revealed that the level of monitoring and supervision in day care

centres, SNPs, Tahderiyyahs, and KGs varied across communities. Many respondents were

unable to distinguish between monitoring visits and guest visits such as those done by the

research team or donors visiting facilities. In some LGUs, day care workers received monitoring

visits from district welfare officers or zonal leaders, who then reported to Municipal Social

Welfare Development Officers (MSWDOs). The spread of day care centres across a wide area,

as well as language diversity, meant that monitoring was infrequent and often challenging.

There was little evidence that day care workers received feedback based on these monitoring

visits. Two out of three tahderiyyah centres reported receiving monitoring visits from

Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) officials, although it was unclear if these were regular

visits or if they included class observations. Monitoring visits were clearly embedded in DepEd’s

operations across LGUs, however, the responsibility of monitoring for KGs seemed to be

different across municipalities.

UNICEF’s programme under DFAT has engaged and trained 87 accreditors in 17 regions on

how to assess day care services and provide technical assistance to day care workers using

established accreditation standards of DSWD. This support was discontinued in some LGUs

after the revision of accreditation standards in 2016 (UNICEF 2016). However, the qualitative

component of the evaluation highlighted that all respondents at the municipal level had little

knowledge of accreditation requirements or procedures for day care centres and SNPs.

Although accreditation was not compulsory for these centres, getting accredited allowed day



care workers to receive honorariums from the provincial or municipal office. It also served as an

incentive for day care centres to improve their facilities. A common finding across LGUs was the

difficulty faced by tahderiyyahs in receiving accreditation or ‘permit to operate’ from local

governments. Furthermore, some tahderiyyah kindergarten completers face challenges with

transition to Grade I. DepEd’s current policy is to accept kinder completers from non-recognised

service providers such as tahderiyyah in Grade 1, conditional on undertaking a validation

assessment before they can be issued with the Learner’s Reference Number (LRN). Some

tahderiyyah children have yet to take this validation assessment because of the inability of

DepEd Central Office to deploy staff to administer the assessment.

Although UNICEF has worked closely with DepEd and other key actors to try and strengthen

evidence based advocacy and provision and distribution of resources, the outcome of these

efforts has not been as successful as the downstreaming activities. For instance LGU increase

in budget for ECCD resulting from UNICEF advocacy is an important success but is limited to

33 out of the 36 focus LGUs. There was very little evidence to suggest that LGUs were

implementing UNICEF supported activities more widely within their jurisdiction, though some

respondents mentioned isolated incidents to support this.

The dire situation of schools and community with few resources and access to technical support

has provided fertile ground for UNICEF to implement specific components of different

programmes in these particular sites, but more work will be necessary to establish stronger

relationships with central level actors to ensure that isolated gains can be replicated nationally

as well.

A common theme throughout most of the discussions highlighted the support that UNICEF has

provided in printing of materials and logistical support in booking and paying for training events,

workshops, and conferences. According to many national respondents, some of these activities

were not directly aligned to the specific activities and programmes as planned, but came

through requests from the government officials. While some of the national level respondents

understood that this type of downstream support was not an effective use of UNICEF support,

they noted that many important activities would not have progressed without this assistance.

They were extremely supportive of UNICEF’s flexibility in meeting their needs. However,

UNICEF officials have noted that all operational requests (like printing) were a part of agreed

workplans and so aligned with UNICEF priorities.

UNICEF informants largely agreed that downstream activities should continue in alignment with

the upstream activities. Examples were given where UNICEF has developed guidelines and

materials and then provided technical support to facilitate the use of these in the field. This is

substantially different from the other informants who predominantly want UNICEF to provide

procurement and logistical support.

The effectiveness of UNICEF’s ECCD programme can also be assessed by measuring change

in some key indicators presented in the ECCD evaluation framework Annex B, in terms of

increases in participation observed in regions in which UNICEF have operated programmes.

Whilst it is difficult to claim causal impact in the absence of a counterfactual, certain changes

and trends can be illustrative.



Quantitative analysis of MIS data indicates that there have been substantial, albeit uneven,

gains in participation during the 7th CP. The participation of young children aged 3-5 in ECCD

increased between 2012 and 2014 in almost all LGUs, but these gains were not uniform. There

were also significant increases in the participation of 6 year olds attending grade 1 having

completed kindergarten. Again, these gains were not evenly distributed across the country, with

some LGUs having had large gains between 2012 and 2016 and others having declined. In

particular, we note:

Participation of 3 to 5 year olds in ECCD between 2012 and 2016

o The participation of 3 to 5 year olds in ECCD increased by 10.7% between 2012 and

2016, from 50.8% in 2012 to 61.5% in 2016 (boys 58.9%, girls 64.9%). 58% (28 of

36) LGUs achieved the target. Girls (64.9%) had a higher participation than boys

(58.9%). There was significant variation amongst LGUs.

o Gains in participation of 3-5 year olds in ECCD varied amongst LGUs. 28 of 36

LGUs (78%) met the target for total students of 58% (boys 26 LGUs or 72% of LGUs

and girls 31 LGUs or 86% of LGUs). However, it should be noted that the average

gain was lowered because of Quezon, which accounted for 37% of the population

but only had 54.5% of 3-5 year olds attending ECCD. The LGUs unweighted

average attendance rate was 67.6%, which is much higher than the population

weighted average of 62.5%. The average LGU increase during the course of the

programme was 20.7% for an average annual increase of 7.0%, which was well

above the UNICEF target of 1%.

Proportions of 5 year old children currently attending kindergarten or preparatory

school

o There were very large gains in the attendance of 5 year old children in kindergarten

or preparatory school. Attendance rates improved from 58.9% in 2012 (boys 58.2%,

girls 59.6%) to 90.5% in 2016 (boys 92.8%, girls 88.6%), an increase of 31.6%. This

achieved the UNICEF targets for the total participation rate and that of 65.9% (boys

64.2%, girls 65.6%).

o There were large gains in the attendance of 5 year olds in ECCD across all LGUs.

35 of 36 (97%) met or exceeded the target for boys and 34 (94%) for girls. This

resulted in an average annual increase of 6% (boys 6%, girls 6%) which exceeded

the target of 2%. The proportion declined in 4 LGUs (13%), while there were gains in

all other LGUs.

Percentage of 6 year olds attending grade 1 having completed kindergarten or

preparatory school

o There was a large increase of 12.1% in the percentage of children aged 6 attending

grade 1 who had completed kindergarten or preparatory school, from 62.4% in 2012

to 74.5% in 2016 (boys 69.1%, girls 79.1%). Both boys and girls achieved the

UNICEF target of 68%.



o However, there was significant variation amongst LGUs, and some LGUs decreased

the rate of 6 year olds having completed kindergarten / preparatory school by large

percentages. 29 (81%) of the LGUs achieved the target of 68% of 6-year old

children having completed kindergarten/ preparatory school, 26 (72%) met the target

for boys, and 31 (86%) met the target for girls.

o Some LGU saw a decline in the percentage of children aged 6 attending grade 1

having completed kindergarten or preparatory school. 11 LGUs of 30 (36%) declined

the percentage of either boys or girls, 9 of which (30%) decreased both boys and

girls. Some changes were large, and in particular four of the six LGUs located in

ARMM which declined between 15.7% and 37.6%. At the other extreme were LGUs

located in Camarines Norte, which increased between 23.5% and 41.9%.

With the policy on making kindergarten mandatory prior to Grade 1, it would be expected that

LGUs which increased participation rates of 6 year olds in grade 1 would also have increased

the percentage of students aged 6 who have attended kindergarten. However, there was no

relationship determined. This may be because of efforts to ensure all children are enrolled in

elementary school, and also that large gains in ECCD enrolment are still very recent. Some

schools may have accepted 6 year olds in Grade 1 even if they do not have Kinder experience.

As emphasised earlier, the attribution of these changes solely to UNICEF’s programming is very

difficult to establish via the limits of the quantitative analysis.

What were the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the

objectives?

As noted in the Draft Independent DFAT Review (2015), the efficiency and effectiveness of

UNICEF’s programmes are threatened by a number of risks. These include a lack of

coordination and of clarity in the roles and responsibilities in ECCD among the major partners,

LGUs not delivering on their commitments (such as increasing budget allocations to ECCD),

and the low absorptive capacity of partners, especially during an election year.

In spite of the non-inclusion of DILG in the ECCD Council, coordination mechanisms are

sufficient and functioning relatively well at the national level. However, the meetings led by the

Council are not held regularly. According to UNICEF respondents, the setting of the ECCD

Council under DepEd, while its responsibilities are inter-sectoral and inter-agency coordination,

has inhibited meaningful inter-sectoral ECCD coordination. Furthermore, the Terms of

Reference for the ECCD Technical Working Group (TWG) could be enhanced to provide greater

backstopping support to the ECCDC GB in areas such as agenda setting, identifying cross-

sectoral issues, and recommending solutions, ensuring harmonization and consistency of

policies, standards and programmes across various agencies. The current TWG with the main

functions of preparing the annual workplan of the Council has been tapped to discuss/review

proposed policies, plans, standards, programmes for consideration by the Council. This

arrangement has been effective, although on an ad hoc basis. Therefore UNICEF has been

advocating to issue an ECCDC GB Resolution expanding the Terms of Reference and

composition (to include DILG and key development partners) of the current ECCD TWG.



National level respondents noted that there is a breakdown at the sub-national level, with

implementation not coordinated effectively. Respondents pointed in particular to a lack of

administrative capacity below the level of the MSWD (i.e. municipal and local level). The

decentralised funding meant that because implementation and funding was controlled by the

LGU, national agencies could not ensure equitable provision of ECCD services at the

grassroots level. A number of national informants also noted that LGUs do not have sufficient

understanding of the technical issues concerning ECCD. They have little knowledge and

experience of the guidelines and standards produced at the national level under the ECCD

Council and DSWD. For example, day care workers are not receiving sufficient support and

supervision. According to a senior official, DSWD only provides technical support while

supervision should come from MSWD officer.

In the current institutional context, coordination challenges are compounded by differences in

institutional set-up between ARMM and the Central government, as well as ongoing conflict and

political tensions in ARMM. Coordination and programming in ARMM have therefore posed

unique challenges during the course of the last five years. For instance, according to

respondents in ARMM, the curriculum adopted by the tahderiyyahs is officially recognised by

central DepEd and is supported by the Tarbiyyah Committee (education committee) of the

MILF, but it is not officially recognised by DepEd ARMM. Unlike day care centres, tahderiyyahs

do not receive official support (for example in providing honorariums for staff) from BLGUs, as

they are implemented by non-state actors. However, over the course of 2015 and 2016,

UNICEF has worked closely with the BDA to influence its position regarding LGUs, with a focus

on the advantages to the tahderiyyah and children, e.g. LGU financing to support sustainability

of tahderiyyah and accreditation by DSWD, enabling families to access the conditional cash

transfer. This has been complemented by advocacy with DepEd, DSWD, and DILG at the

central and ARMM level, drawing on UNICEF’s wider programming and relationships. In

addition to these challenges, many of the communities where tahderiyyah are located are both

poor and conflict affected. Therefore, whilst communities are supportive of the programme, they

are not always able to translate this into contribution of financial resources. In the redesign for

Phase 3 (of the tahderiyyah programme) UNICEF has introduced a number of strategies to

address these challenges, including a strengthened communication for development (C4D)

strategy and enhanced advocacy to engage all levels of LGUs in programming.

Several challenges to successful implementation of ECCD services were also identified at the

community level through primary research. Across all KGs, day care centres, SNPs, and

tahderiyyahs, recruitment and remuneration of qualified teachers pose significant challenges.

This is partly due to a shortage of qualified candidates within communities, and also due to the

low levels of remuneration in the job. Challenges around recruitment, remuneration and

retention are also corroborated by information provided in other reports.15 One barangay level

respondent noted how the very nature of the job, including remote locations and poor

remuneration, made it less attractive to applicants:

Our problem is finding service providers or SNP volunteers because they will be

assigned to far flung sitios and they have a limited provision of honorarium which is

15 See UNICEF (2016). Early Childhood Care and Development. Creating a Foundation for Lifelong Learning: End of Project Report. UNICEF.



only 2,000 a month. Also, the volunteers should reside near the sitio or lives within

the sitio.

Staff working in day care centres, SNPs, and tahderiyyahs are working largely as volunteers

and receive variable amounts of remuneration in the form of honorariums. This acts as a

deterrent for recruiting highly qualified applicants and results in poor morale and high turnover of

staff. In most LGUs, staff also reported incurring occasional costs in providing food or school

supplies to students. Further details are provided in the detailed qualitative findings presented

in Annex J.

UNICEF reports suggest (UNICEF 2016) that through continuous advocacy to increase LGU

investment for ECCD, several LGUs increased their ECCD budget during 2015-16. The bulk of

this increase in LGU budget for ECCD/early learning went to the augmentation of

honorarium/salary of day-care and SNP workers, according to the LGU ECCD Budget Study

commissioned by UNICEF. Qualitative research suggested that this increase is yet to filter down

to child development workers, at least in the seven LGUs sampled for this evaluation.

Whilst UNICEF support has contributed towards improving access to ECCD services, parents

continue to incur out of pocket expenses in day care centres, SNPs, and tahderiyyahs. This is in

the form of registration fees, honorarium for child development workers, food, or classroom

materials (see Annex J for details). A UNICEF study on factors affecting ECCD budget

allocation at the local level noted that the cost of parents’ expense/contribution and those of day

care workers out-of-pocket expense and contributions are disproportionate with the affordability

levels of day care workers and parents who send their 3–4 year-old children to public day care.

The study estimated annual costs of parents in sending their child to public day care to range

from at least PhP 2,334 per child in an urban poor barangay to at most PhP 8,233 per child in

conflict-affected barangays (as cited in UNICEF 2016).

5.3 Efficiency

Were the UNICEF ECCD activities cost-efficient?

An allocation of resources for each budget line or result area for each LGU was not available.

This would have enabled analysis of financial inputs against result area outcomes. This

information would have allowed for the testing of the following hypotheses:

a) Whether LGU which had larger financial inputs had greater gains under the programme

in any of the result areas.

b) Whether financial inputs were related to either the population size or to another factor

such as relative poverty or development need.

In the absence of this information, the analysis proposed above is not possible. However overall

budget information by result area was available, which enabled analysis of financial efficiency

i.e. an analysis of over and underspending on each ECCD component. A comparison was also

made of financial allocation against results achieved, however, this is not wholly meaningful as



results areas are all interdependent. For example, a reduction in dropout rate or change in

parental attitude would also be expected to correlate with an increase in participation rate.

A summary of the total programme budget for the ECCD component is shown in Annex M. The

following analysis is based on data provided in UNICEF End of Project Report (UNICEF

2016).16 Figure 3 shows that the split of DFAT funding across outputs, with the greatest share

being allocated to Output 1 (building scalable models of ECCD and KG in vulnerable areas).

Figure 4 indicates that counterpart funding constituted a majority of funding for Output 1 and

Output 2, in contrast to Output 3 where UNICEF provided the majority funding.

Figure 3 DFAT funds percentage total financial allocation to each main area

Figure 4 Percentage contribution from counterpart to each component area

16 This analysis is based on the data received by the evaluation team by February 2017. It does not indicate reallocations across budget lines agreed between DFAT and UNICEF in 2015-16. These have been acknowledged in

the explanatory text below. Analysis taking into consideration the reallocations across budget lines agreed between DFAT and UNICEF in 2015-16 would yield the following percentages of DFAT Funds Utilization: Component 1: 100%; Component 2: 102%; Component 3: 98%.

62%21%

17%1. Building scaleable models ofECCD/Kindergarten in vulnerable areas

2. Mainstreaming of ECCD Innovation

3.0 Monitoring and Evaluation

62% 59%

41%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1. Building scaleable modelsof ECCD/Kindergarten in

vulnerable areas

2. Mainstreaming of ECCDInnovation

3.0 Monitoring andEvaluation



Figure 5 Percentage DFAT Funds utilized from original allocation in each component

The review noted the following concerning the efficiency, accountability and effectiveness of

financial allocation and expenditure:

At the end of the Project, the DFAT funds in the amount of US$ 7,578,822 (99.8%) was

utilised while the actual total UNICEF counterpart funding amounted to US$ 9,617,119,

which is 157% of the planned counterpart contribution and represents 58% of the total

contribution.

There was considerable change in funding to each component from the original

proposal. 149% of DFAT funds were allocated to component 1, Building scalable models

of ECCD/Kindergarten in vulnerable areas and 123% to component 3, Monitoring and

Evaluation. Overall 114% of funds were utilized, the additional funds coming from the

DFAT utilisation plans for April 2015 to June 2016 (not shown in the table).

In total, after the reallocation, 99.8% of funds were utilised, which shows a high level of

efficiency in disbursement of funds. UNICEF note that the undisbursed funds of 0.02%

are mainly due to payment adjustment at the closure of different contracts and will be

utilised by end of programme (UNICEF 2016).

As indicated in Figure 3, 21% of the DFAT budget went towards monitoring and

evaluation, of which 36% was allocated for the MIS. This represents 7% of the total

budget of US$ 16.669 million of the total ECCD programme and 9% of the total DFAT

contribution. The MIS survey is a quantitative survey in each of the 36 LGU and does not

contribute to the development of government systems. This therefore is arguably a large

allocation of funds for this purpose. By comparison, only 2% of DFAT funds were spent

on development of government M&E systems and only 0.2% of the counterpart budget.

As also noted, Monitoring and evaluation was the lowest area of counterpart funds with

UNICEF contributing only 41% of funds compared to 62% for component 1, building

scalable models of ECCD/Kindergarten in vulnerable areas and 59% for component 2,

mainstreaming of ECCD Innovation.

Based on the approved Utilization Plan for the period April 2015 to June 2016 in the

original budget, which includes the substantial reprogrammed budget for WASH

149%

69%

123%

0%20%40%60%80%

100%120%140%160%

1. Building scaleablemodels of

ECCD/Kindergarten invulnerable areas

2. Mainstreaming of ECCDInnovation

3.0 Monitoring andEvaluation



activities, the actual utilisation rate per activity ranges from 75% to 174% of the original

plan.

As noted in the points against each activity (see Annex M), all budget reallocations were

agreed with DFAT.17 Of note, a greater emphasis was placed on the following activities,

which resulted in budget adjustments: Activity 1.2.10, Provision of hygiene materials in

schools and day care centres (174%) owing to an increased target to 1400 centres;

Activity 2.1.2, Support to the development of curricula and assessment tools for DCS

and SNP (121%) owing to 3000 additional DCCs; Activity 2.2.1, Support to the

development of Kindergarten training program and manual (136%) owing to provision of

TA to expand the modules to nationwide use; Activity 2.4.3, Assessment, audit and

development of WASH facilities and hygiene promotion methods/tools in day care

centres and schools (163%) owing to the additional need to develop curriculum

materials.

All reductions and increases in financial allocation were agreed with DFAT and documented and

appear to have been undertaken with a high level of efficiency and accountability. Activity level

explanations are provided in Annex M.

Were the UNICEF ECCD programmes efficient in terms of working with the government

programmes and systems?

Overall, respondents at the national and regional level appreciated the consultative approach

taken by UNICEF. They noted that UNICEF staff communicated well and sought suggestions

and advice at all levels of programming. In most instances, UNICEF has provided support in

downstream activities through implementing partners such as DSWD and DepEd, thereby

avoiding duplication of effort and parallel structures. In ARMM, the political context and unmet

needs of conflict affected communities required greater flexibility and UNICEF adopted the

approach of using non-state service providers like BDA to implement the tahderiyyah

programme.

Were ECCD objectives achieved on time?

UNICEF’s programme objectives have remained similar across time, but targets have had to be

adjusted and some indicators re-defined in the face of several implementation challenges. See

Section 2.6 on the challenges around implementation.

The current nature of reporting on progress for outputs and activities does not allow for a

consistent or clear understanding of whether activities were conducted ‘on time’. The ECCD

evaluation framework is not disaggregated at the activity level. Second, even at the outcome

level, there is no reporting on targets achieved or not achieved on a yearly basis. The current

documentation only refers to end of project (2016) achievements. We therefore assume that the

timeliness of achieving objectives refers to UNICEF completing activities and producing outputs

over the lifetime of the project. For an ideal assessment of whether activities were conducted on

time, targets should be set ex-ante and include a quarterly or yearly timeframe.

17 These are not indicated in the dataset underlying in the above analysis but acknowledged in the report (see footnote 16).



According to DFAT’s Independent Review (2015), most outputs were delivered on time except

for the development and adoption of a standard curriculum for children aged 3-4 and a

competency framework and standards for ECCD workers. DFAT considered the investment

modality and implementation arrangements to be appropriate and proportional to the desired

outcomes. The report noted that activities conducted on time appeared to have been produced

in a cost-effective manner; their reporting was transparent and accountable; and the funding

and staff available for their implementation was sufficient. The report noted that considering the

human and financial resources available to UNICEF, the scale of their programming and

activities undertaken were impressive.

According to UNICEF’s end of project report, progress has been made in completing some

activities highlighted as incomplete in the 2015 review whilst others remain incomplete. For

instance competency standards for ECCD Workers were finalized for endorsement by the

ECCD TWG to the new ECCDC Governing Board. However, the training framework was not

reviewed by the ECCD TWG and endorsed for adoption (UNICEF 2016).

Was the Education programme and ECCD component implemented in the most efficient

way compared to alternatives?

According to the DFAT Independent Progress Review Report (2015), DFAT investment through

UNICEF has generally led to efficient and appropriate use of its and other partners’ time and

resources to achieve the Project’s objectives. It has done this largely by helping to promote a

stable and supportive environment and context both for the development and mainstreaming of

important policies and programmes at the national level, and the design and implementation of

essential ECCD services in the targeted 36 vulnerable areas.

UNICEF has aligned its programmes closely to government programmes and systems, and

UNICEF supported activities are clearly aligned with national priorities. For instance, UNICEF’s

support was important towards the effective use of the existing ECCD checklist and supporting

its implementation through training/re-training of teachers and child development workers, as

well as provision of ECCD checklist copies. Most downstreaming activities such as provision of

materials, training sessions, and training of trainers on ECCD checklist were conducted in

collaboration with DSWD and DepEd.

UNICEF’s strategic advantage is in supporting DepEd through technical input and advice,

particularly in the design and implementation of various trainings targeting key stakeholders at

all levels of the schooling system. UNICEF has partnered closely with other organisations such

as Plan International and COLF to maximise output and deliver high quality support to DepEd

and municipalities.

UNICEF has also received operational requests from DepEd and other government

stakeholders to fulfil their specific needs. For instance, UNICEF has been involved with printing

materials and guides to facilitate programme delivery, and this role has been extremely

appreciated by numerous respondents. Although this might not be the strategic space that

UNICEF want to carve for their work, such activities can be useful to develop goodwill from

DepEd and other related actors.



5.4 Impact

What has happened as a result of the Education component of the CP and the ECCD

model?

UNICEF’s efforts under the 7th CP have contributed towards wide-spread acceptance – mostly

at the national level but increasingly at the local level – of two important principles of ECCD

programming: (1) the need for a holistic, multi-sectoral approach to early childhood

development, and (2) the importance of a seamless transition in the curricula and pedagogy for

children aged 3-8 years of age (DFAT, 2015). UNICEF’s support is seen to be of high quality by

numerous partners, both in the nature of its engagement with stakeholders and the quality of the

outputs delivered under the programme such as learning and advocacy materials.

Under the Link initiative, experiences and lessons learned during implementation have provided

inputs to DSWD’s programming at the central level. This includes a) issuance of memorandum

regarding participation of day care centres in Early Registration of DepEd; and b) inclusion of

the ECCD Checklist reproduction for all day care/SNP children in the Department’s 2016

budget. Furthermore, the turn-over of ECCD Checklist of day care/SNP completers to

kindergarten, which was encouraged in the Link Initiative, is now part of the DepEd’s Omnibus

Policy on kindergarten. In particular, Section VI. Enrolment Procedure provides that “If the child

has undergone pre-Kindergarten in Day Care Centres or Child Development Centres, a copy of

his or her Philippine ECD checklist must be provided to the Kindergarten teacher”.

Based on the experiences and lessons learned in the implementation of the tahderiyyah

Programme, attendance of 3-5 year old children in tahderiyyah is now considered as compliant

to the conditionality of 4Ps (conditional cash transfer). Further, UNICEF has initiated

discussions with DepEd (Central and ARMM) to review the national/regional

standards/requirements for the issuance of Permit to Operate (PTO) towards comparable

accreditation and recognition of the tahderiyyah centres similar to day care centres by the

government.

Details of all ECCD activities supported by UNICEF are presented in Annex B, and are too

numerous to be listed in this section. The evaluation team agreed with UNICEF to focus only on

some of these key activities for the purposes, as discussed in Section 2.3.

What real difference has the ECCD model made to the beneficiaries?

The primary beneficiaries of ECCD programmes are learners, and secondary beneficiaries

include stakeholders involved in the provision of ECCD services such as teachers, child

development workers, parents, community members, school principals, barangays, regional

officials, and central officials.

At the programme level, it is difficult to claim causal impact in the absence of a counterfactual,

although an assessment of impact can be made by looking at a) national level stakeholder

perceptions of impact, b) community level verification through qualitative data, and c) changes

in some key indicators in the quantitative analysis. Considering the large number of activities,

numerous development partners (Government of the Philippines, WFP, UNICEF, World Bank),



and use of implementing agencies (BDA, Plan International, Save the Children), attribution of

ECCD activities to UNICEF is extremely challenging at the regional and community level. Care

must therefore be taken in interpreting the findings based on primary data collection (see

section 4.8 for a further discussion on the key limitations).

National level stakeholder perceptions

To the extent that UNICEF programmes have been implemented at the grassroots level, they

have had a direct impact on the intended beneficiaries at that level. There are certain

challenges that remain (lack of resources, shortcomings with trainings, continued complexity of

the situation), but the immediate impact on those who have felt the programmes has been

positive.

However, this impact has largely remained localised to the immediately intended, limited

beneficiaries. Significant challenges, including resource constraints, will make it difficult for

UNICEF to reach a wider range of stakeholders, so greater effort will be needed at the central

and regional levels to ensure that the gains and learnings from UNICEF programmes will be

consolidated further at the national level.

Qualitative research findings at local level

UNICEF’s support in conducting and financing ECCD related training sessions was much

needed across most LGUs. Teachers continue to benefit from the skills acquired and materials

provided during this training. Those who had attended the trainings found them to be useful and

integral to professional development and learning of teachers in kindergartens and child

development workers. One day care worker noted how training sessions contributed to

continuous learning for teachers:

Trainings for day care workers are very important because the learning process

continues and the teachers need to evolve their learning capacity.

Some respondents saw these trainings as opportunities to compensate for their limited

educational experiences and contribute towards their professional development. Furthermore,

trainings supported by UNICEF also motivated child development workers and boosted their

morale. For instance, one respondent noted:

…I learn so much from the training like understanding child behaviour, child

protection and disaster preparedness. Another big impact for me is when the

community calls me teacher even if I did not finish college, it makes me proud

especially when I finish the training and I received a certificate of participation, it is

like a diploma for me.

It was difficult to assess if these training sessions had been effective in changing pedagogy in

classrooms without conducting formal learning assessments of teachers and staff. At times, it

was also unclear if trainings attended by respondents had been supported by UNICEF or other

donors.



UNICEF has also supported curriculum development and distribution activities at the national,

regional, and local levels. Respondents at the district level appreciated the usefulness of

training sessions conducted by UNICEF on the National kindergarten Curriculum Guide, which

provided much needed clarity on its implementation. In ARMM, the contextualisation of KG

curriculum for Teduray and tahderiyyah was a much needed activity that could not have been

undertaken without UNICEF support.

Most respondents (except for parents) were aware of the ECCD checklist and the support

provided by UNICEF in training teachers on the use of this checklist. In most cases, KG

teachers, day care workers and tahderiyyah teachers reported that they were trying to use the

checklist to monitor child performance in class. Teachers found the checklist to be very useful in

identifying the strengths and weaknesses of their pupils, and often stated that they found it a

helpful tool in assessing children’s performance. For instance, one KG teacher noted the

benefits of the ECCD checklist:

It’s really good and helpful because you can use the checklist to observe the

development of children.

However, in most LGUs, respondents noted some difficulty in understanding the checklist as it

as printed in English. The use of checklists also imposed a significant time burden on teachers.

A large number of respondents mentioned out of pocket costs either incurred by staff or by

parents in getting the ECCD checklists photocopied. This has implications for effective

implementation of the checklist. In some instances, this meant that students with irregular

attendance did not benefit from the use of the checklist. According to another day care worker,

Not all children have the checklist…because I have to buy the checklist for 60 peso

per checklist. Because I have to buy it, I only buy it for those children who are

regular to the day care…so not all children have the checklist. I have to use money

from my own pocket, as well as some from Barangay funds.

UNICEF’s recent Link Initiative has encouraged DWDS to include the reproduction of ECCD

Checklist for all day care/SNP children in the Department’s 2016 budget. It remains to be seen if

this funding translates in alleviating this shortage at the barangay level.

Under the 7th CP, UNICEF has supported day care centres through the provision of learning

materials, age-appropriate furniture, training of day care workers, and provision of the ECCD

checklist. Most LGUs had very limited learning resources, and UNICEF’s support in terms of

providing learning materials and furniture was critical in providing an appropriate learning space

for children. The provision of learning materials and toys was an area where UNICEF’s support

had clearly made a significant difference to the quality of instruction in day care.

There was a large variation in the structural quality of day care centres visited for field research

across LGUs. Most day care centres had received learning materials and furniture through

UNICEF support, although their use was not evident in all instances, especially in Mamasapano

and South Upi. UNICEF’s support with learning material, furniture and tableware was critical in

providing an appropriate learning space for children. In most instances, day care centres had



received learning materials and toys in 2013, and respondents noted that many of these

materials had worn out, so the centres needed more regular support from UNICEF or DSWD.

Across all municipalities, day care centres charge a minimum fee to parents, although

administrative staff always emphasised that parents were not forced to pay it. The recruitment

and retention of day care workers posed a considerable challenge for DSWD across all

municipalities. In most day care centres, a supplemental feeding programme was being

implemented either through the support of DSWD or international donors. This was an important

factor in encouraging attendance, in addition to the attendance conditionality required for

parents enrolled in the 4Ps conditional cash transfer programme. The provision of day care

services was appreciated tremendously by all parents. Despite the short hours of instruction,

parents noticed a visible change in the behaviour and learning of their children. The benefits of

day care were summarised effectively by a parent:

Day care adds knowledge and learning in school, and children know how to deal

with people. My child has now memorised alphabets, colours, and learned how to

write.

UNICEF’s support to SNPs was visible across all municipalities. UNICEF provided an 11 day

training to SNP workers, which was delivered by Plan International. Apart from the trainings, it

also provided much needed learning materials and supplies provided to SNP centres. In

addition, SNP workers benefitted from the use of the ECCD checklist. SNP workers across all

LGUs requested more training in the use of the ECCD checklist, as well as a curriculum specific

to their needs. This was used by SNP workers to monitor child performance as well as monitor

their physical development.

There was variation in how SNPs operated across all research sites: some charged registration

and attendance fees whilst others were free. Across all municipalities, SNPs relied greatly on

financial and time contribution of parents and community members. The SNP programme is

designed to fill an important gap in the provision of ECCD services to remote areas. Parents

and SNP workers across all municipalities where SNP existed appreciated the need for such a

programme, and emphasised its importance in improving access to remote communities. One

parent noted the positive impact of SNP on her child:

There is improvement in interacting with other kids, and even in our house she

already enjoys colouring, and you can really see that she is enthusiastic to learn.

She already knows how to hold a pencil, although she can only just write circles and

lines.

Overall, there was limited knowledge of KCEP in most LGUs at the municipal and barangay

level. In some LGUs, elementary schools had implemented KCEP three or four years ago but

recent policy change making kindergarten education compulsory had meant that, according to

our respondents at the local and regional levels, there was little need to continue with this

programme as all children now had to be enrolled in KG. Given capacity constraints, including a

lack of teaching space as well as KG teachers, most respondents noted that implementing the

KCEP was only possible over the summer vacation, when kinder teachers have some time. This

meant that KCEP in practice was implemented as a two month course. There were no reports of



parents having to make any financial contribution to enrol children in KCEP and respondents

appreciated the shorter duration of this programme.

The KCEP programme, in areas where it had been implemented, received mixed reviews from

parents and teachers. Whilst respondents appreciated its importance in improving school

readiness for children, there was no consensus on the optimal duration of such a remedial

programme. Some respondents were concerned that a successful KCEP could prevent parents

from sending children to regular kinder classes although there was no substantial evidence

found during fieldwork to support these fears.

The vast majority of respondents at the barangay and municipal level did not recognise ‘Link’

initiative as it is. Nevertheless, several activities were identified in these barangays which fall

under the Link initiative, including the use of ECCD checklist in day care centres and KGs, as

well as parental awareness sessions on ECCD services. More recently, UNICEF through the

partnership with Plan International Philippines has supported the mapping of children as one

major milestone in establishing SNP programme as a part of the Link initiative. In barangays

where this mapping was conducted, there was a rapid increase in enrolment in 2016, according

to data provided by UNICEF (see Annex H for details). Where knowledge of the Link initiative

did exist, respondents noted that it allowed for easy enrolment from day care to elementary

school, and that the parents are now more aware of ECCD services. This initiative has also

helped clarify the proper age groups for day care versus KG to both parents and teachers. A

child development worker in one LGU noted:

Before, this (link programme) happened, there was a conflict with the day care

worker and the DepEd (KG). There was a competition for children because the

policy was not yet clear. But then the policy came out that all the 5 years’ old must

be in the DepEd and 4 years and below must be in the day care.

Another benefit of the Link initiative noted by respondents was that school officials were better

able to monitor overall enrolment in KG by monitoring students’ transition from day care to

Kinder.

The operationalisation and impact of the tahderiyyah programme must be viewed with the lens

of conflict sensitivity (See Annex C) and an understanding of long-running differences in the

development of the ARMM versus other parts of the Philippines. All tahderiyyahs visited by field

research teams reported receiving learning materials, furniture, and copies of the ECCD

checklist from BDA (which is supported by UNICEF). Tahderiyyah teachers had received

trainings from BDA on the use of ECCD checklist, child management and the tahderiyyah

curriculum. The structural quality of tahderiyyahs varied across municipalities. In general, there

was little awareness of the tahderiyyah programme at the district and municipal level.

There was a large variation in school timings and attendance days across the tahderiyyahs

visited by research teams. These differences were largely a result of teacher availability and

class capacity. All tahderiyyah teachers were familiar with the ECCD checklist and were using it

to assess the performance of children attending class. All tahderiyyahs visited mentioned the

scarcity of funds and difficulty in coping with operational costs. As with day care centres,

tahderiyyahs benefited greatly from support provided by community members including parents



and private benefactors. However, in contrast to day care centres, most tahderiyyahs did not

receive much financial or operational support from the barangay LGU. The learning materials

provided by UNICEF were being used effectively in classrooms and, as with the day care

centres, it would not have been possible for tahderiyyahs to obtain these on their own. Parents

appreciated the balanced education provided in Tahderiyyahs, and noted a visible change in

children’s learning and behaviour.

Across day care centres, SNPs and tahderiyyahs, the availability and quality of WASH facilities

varied greatly. In general, as with most WASH interventions, the availability of WASH related

infrastructure (handwashing stations, latrines etc.) was not a good measure of implementation.

A lack of maintenance or simply a lack of access to clean water were important constraints in

the use of WASH facilities. Nevertheless, respondents noted that the emphasis on handwashing

meant that teachers were looking for innovative ways of overcoming a shortage of supplies. It

was difficult to verify if handwashing and tooth brushing activities were being carried out

regularly across all sites visited. Discussions with parents and teachers suggested that these

WASH activities at school had resulted in some change of behaviour for children at school and

at home. Children had learnt handwashing songs at school, which they would enjoy reciting at

home, whilst at the same time demonstrating handwashing to their parents. This was illustrated

by one parent, who noted:

My child tells me how to properly wash ones’ hands while singing. They were also

taught by their teacher on how to brush their teeth before going to bed.

Quantitative research findings

Whilst it is difficult to claim causal impact in the absence of a counterfactual, an assessment of

programme impact can be made by looking at changes in some key indicators listed in the

ECCD evaluation framework (see Annex B)

There was variable evidence of the impact of efforts to promote and improve access to ECCD.

Attendance rates in grade 1 increased from 2012 to 2016, however there was also an increase

in dropout rates of grade 1 and 2. Dropout rates became much higher in grade 1 and in grade 2

by 2014, although more recent figures at LGU level were not available. Furthermore, although

attendance of 3-5 year olds has largely improved during the course of the programme period,

the attitudes of parents with children out of school remain negative. There was a rise in the

proportion of parents whose children are not in ECCD and who believe their child is too young

to attend school. Clear challenges therefore remain in reaching these parents and altering their

attitudes towards education. Also of note, the gains in attendance rates of children in grade 1

and of those aged 6 in grade 1 having completed kindergarten were not evenly distributed and

for some LGUs, even declined during the period. Gender differences were also noted in some

LGUs, where either boys or girls were proportionally excluded from attending education. In

some cases this was likely due to local social practices, in others the reasons are not clear and

further research will be required. Detailed analysis of changes in key indicators is presented

below. Unless stated otherwise, this analysis is based on MIS 2016 data.



Percentage of 6 year olds currently attending grade 1

o The efforts to promote access to ECCD education were partially successful in

increasing attendance rates in grade 1. The proportion of 6 year olds currently

attending grade 1 in all 36 focal LGUs increased by 6.7% from 58.5% (boys 59.0%,

girls 57.9%) in 2012 (18 LGUs) to 65.2% (boys 62.0%, girls 67.0%, GPI 1.07) in

2016. The attendance rate for the total population and for girls met the target of

65.2% and 65.4% respectively, but boys failed to meet the targets of 65.0% of boys

attending grade 1.

o There was significant variation amongst LGUs for the attendance rate of 6 year olds

in grade 1. Disparity in the participation of 6 year olds in grade 1 was large ranging

from 40% of pupils in Mamasapango to 87% in President Roxas. 26 (72%) LGUs

met or exceeded the target for the proportion of 6-year old children currently

attending grade 1.

o Gender equity in the attendance of 6 year olds in grade 1 was also only partially

achieved. There were significant gender differences in many LGUs for both boys and

girls attending grade 1. These ranged from Maguindanao Upi, with almost twice as

many boys studying as girls (GPI 0.57), to Parang (Sulu) with far more girls

proportional to the population than boys attending grade 1 (GPI 1.47).

o However, there were a substantial proportion of 6 year olds enrolled in ECD. The

proportion of six year olds enrolled in ECD in 2016 was 14.3% (boys 15.1%, girls

13.5%).18 This makes the total enrolment of 6 year olds in grade 1 or ECD 79.3%.

The situation is not ideal or an efficient use of limited resources because part of the

KG efforts should be to normalise enrolments to the correct age groups for entry into

primary education. International evidence indicates that children who enter primary

school late are less likely to complete the education cycle and dropout or more likely

to repeat grades (UNESCO, 2006).

o Achievements can also be measured through growth in attendance rates in Grade 1

during the course of the programme. In this regard, there was some success,

although comparability against comparative LGUs without interventions has not been

made. The focal LGUs increased participation rates annually by 1.5%, which was

below the anticipated 2% annual rate. 13 LGUs (32%) decreased attendance of

either boys or girls or both. In some cases, such as Maguindanao Upi, girls

participation decreased significantly.19

o Data derived from the MIS survey can be compared against data derived from

EBEIS, however caution should be exercised. Nationally, grade 1 national Apparent

Intake Rate (AIR) decreased from 131.2% in 101.1% 2012 (GPI 0.99) to (GPI 0.93)

in 2016. A decrease of 30.1%. Grade 1 national Net Intake Rate (NIR) increased

18 See Annex for details on methodology. Unless otherwise stated, kindergarten/preparatory school includes day care centres, Mother Mentor Programme, Home-based/Supervised Neighbourhood Play, tahderiyyah, and other ECCD services 19 In the case of Maguindanao Upi, boys had far greater proportional attendance than girls (Male: 80.0, Female: 45.5, GPI 0.57).



from in 74.8% (GPI 0.93) 2012 to 79.8% (GPI 1.05) in 2016. An increase of 5.0%.

This does not compare favourably with the attendance rates of 6-year old children

currently attending Grade 1 identified in the MIS. Discrepancies may be due to errors

in EBEIS, the difference between enrolment and attendance, and UNICEF LGUs

being difficult and disadvantaged regions, as noted in the table below.

o Inclusion of children with disabilities was difficult to measure. There is no clear metric

for evaluating disability such as the Washington Standards20 and therefore it would

be expected that there are significant margins of error in evaluating the results of this

question. Of the children with disabilities identified in MIS data, only 38% (total 22,

boys 10, girls 12) were attending ECCD centres. There was a slight gender bias in

favour of girls but given the issues of identification and recording this is within a

margin of error. This is much lower than the average in all LGU of 61.5% for all

children (population weighted). This indicates that there is significant work remaining

in ensuring that children with disabilities are properly included in ECCD education

both in terms of properly identifying those children who are disabled and ensuring

their inclusion. This indicates that more work is required on inclusion of children with

disabilities in the target LGU.

o Inclusion of ethnic minorities in ECCD education is important to ensure that all

children are receiving equal opportunities for education. There are large variations in

access to ECCD dependent on ethnicity of the child. Waray children have a 90%

attendance rate in ECCD compared to Maguindanao children with just 46%. This will

also be related to factors such as local access to education and poverty and

highlights the gaps that remain to achieve equity.

o Closely related to ethnicity is the language spoken at home. There are large

variations in access to ECCD dependent on language spoken at home of the child.

This closely reflects the enrolment rates of the different ethnic groups associated

with the languages. Disparities range from Samal, for which more proportionally

more boys than girls are attending ECCD (GPI 0.88), to Tausug where more girls

than boys are attending ECCD (GPI 1.16).

o Not all parents appreciated the value of children being taught in their own language.

80% of parents surveyed believed their children will learn better if taught in their

mother tongue. However, opinions varied depending on the ethnicity of the

respondent. 75% of parents of Iranon children disagree that children should be

taught in their mother tongue (only 25% agree) whilst at the other extreme almost all

parents of Bikol (94%) agree. The variations may be related to socio economic

conditions and attitudes predominant to each ethnic group.

o There is scope to undertake greater advocacy towards parental involvement in

children reading in the home. Children who are read to at home may have higher

rates of attendance at school. In total, 72% of parents read with their children (aged

3-8) at home. As shown, there is large variation between LGU with only 40% of

20 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/citygroup/washington.htm

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/citygroup/washington.htm



parents reading to their children at home in Siasi compared to almost all (96%) in

Aroroy.

Dropout rates in Grade 1 and 2 (EBEIS 2014)

o Dropout rates in Grade 1 and 2 increased between 2012 and 2014. Data from 2015

was not available at the LGU level. UNICEF had established a target of 0.3%

reduction in dropout rate for grade 1 and 2. Grade 1 dropout increased from 1.78% in

2012 to 3.83% in 2014, an increase of 2.75%. Grade 2 dropout increased from

0.63% (boys 0.74%, girls 0.51%) in 2012 to 2.22% (boys 2.58%, girls 1.81%) in

2014, an increase of 1.59%.

o Dropout rates varied amongst LGUs. For example, grade 1 dropout varied from just

0.4% in Aleosan to 6.09% in Quezon City. This goes against the theory that

increasing ECCD service provision leads to reductions in dropout rates however

given that these data are from 2014, it may be too early for the full impact of ECCD

to be evident in these reduction of dropout rates. Further research could provide in-

depth analysis of the causes of drop-out at early grades and its relation with ECCD

provision.

Parental attitudes towards ECCD

o The MIS indicates that parental attitudes towards ECCD may have declined in one

respect between 2012 and 2016. The 2012 survey determined that 76.6% of parents

of children aged 3-5 who were not attending school believed their child was too

young to be enrolled in grade 1 or pre-school. In 2016 this percentage had risen to

81.2% (Male: 78.0%, Female 85.0%, GPI 1.08). This was well above the UNICEF

target of 70.6%. This may have been as a result of increased participation in ECCD

leaving the majority of parents whose children were not in school holding the belief

that they were too young to attend school.

5.5 Sustainability

To what extent did the benefits of ECCD continue after DFAT funding ceased?

A number of UNICEF-supported programmes are ongoing, and the 7th CP has also been

extended for two years. Given that a number of ECCD activities such as the Link Initiative are at

an early stage of implementation, it is not yet possible to attest their sustainability. However,

some analysis can be done on whether UNICEF’s programme is perceived to be sustainable

and if activities supported under the programme are likely to continue once programme funding

is ceased.

At the national level, government’s support to ECCD is largely considered sustainable by most

of the respondents. This is reflected in the development of the ECCD policy framework, and in

the increase in the budget and decision-making structures at the national level. However, it was

also noted frequently that there is a significant gap of representation in the ECCD Council,

where DILG is not represented, though this has been acknowledged as a shortcoming by



respondents at all levels, including by UNICEF and government departments. DILG is mandated

to assist the Office of the President in supervising the LGUs and LGUs play a governing role in

the implementation of the 0-4 year provision of ECCD. Furthermore, according to national level

respondents, implementation bodies at the regional and local levels have not been coordinating

and collaborating consistently, and the provision of services (and their impact) has not been

equitable. It was also noted that there is little evidence of the good practices or impact in target

centres and target LGUs have spread effectively to neighbouring centres and LGUs yet,

undermining the potential sustainability of these programmes and their impact.

The success of some of the grassroots activities suggest that the processes UNICEF supported

at the school and community levels will be continued to some degree, even without additional

UNICEF support. The example of WASH support demonstrates the complexity of assessing

sustainability, because UNICEF support has clearly helped change attitudes and behaviours

among learners (and even parents) but the lack of continued resources committed by LGUs

threatens to reduce both the immediate and long term gains from this programme. Qualitative

research revealed that UNICEF had provided oral hygiene kits to kindergarten children in

elementary schools and day care centres once to demonstrate the type of WASH related

support that DepEd and DSWD could provide to learning centres in the future. In practice,

almost all respondents demanded continued support from UNICEF in the provision of these

materials, and stated that without forthcoming supplies, it would be difficult to continue oral

hygiene practices at school. School staff reiterated that a vast majority of parents were unable

to afford hygiene materials. A day care worker noted the particular challenge of sustaining oral

hygiene activities:

We just finished the two days of training on handwashing, I told them (UNICEF) that

our handwashing (stations) were destroyed and we don’t even have budget for the

toothbrushes. You will teach tooth brushing but you don’t have a budget for the

toothbrush so how can you implement the tooth brushing? In handwashing, it is

okay because even if the handwashing (station) was destroyed, I will just fetch

water.

UNICEF’s support to WASH activities attempted to establish sustainability mechanisms at the

local level (UNICEF 2016). These include 1) municipal ordinances that commit financing by the

LGU to provide hygiene materials to day care pupils and improve WASH facilities onwards from

the end of the UNICEF supported programmes; and 2) formation of local WinECCD Technical

Working Groups or integration into the LCPC or municipal WASH councils as governance

mechanism. According to UNICEF while a few municipalities (e.g. Bobon, Capalonga and

Sindangan) have been able to disburse funds and purchase supplies for 2016, other LGUs have

not been able to release the budgets or have had difficulty in the procurement process of

hygiene kits or construction services. This reflects an important issue around sustainability:

even if UNICEF’s WASH support was designed to be sustainable, LGUs were unable to fulfil

their commitments owing to capacity constraints. Note here that the evaluation was not

focussed on studying other modalities of implementing the ‘WASH in schools’ component and

the sustainability of these in detail, therefore, the evaluation cannot comment on the

sustainability of the full extent of ECCD WASH activities.



The development of ECCD related guidelines and learning materials was often cited as

examples of sustainability in the programme by national level respondents. UNICEF has

contributed significantly to this development while also ensuring that government staff capacity

was increased through these activities. DSWD staff feel that they can continue to develop

guidelines and materials on their own, but the support from UNICEF in the printing and

distribution of the same will be missed. DSWD does not have sufficient budget allocations to

fully implement the printing and distribution across the whole country, and they face some

bureaucratic difficulties (slow procurement owing to multiple approval levels, delays in financial

disbursements etc.) in swiftly providing these materials through government channels.

Therefore, they view the financial and logistical support provided by UNICEF as crucial in

reaching more districts and LGUs.

While the policy framework and coordination mechanisms are well developed at the national

level, many informants pointed to weak and / or varied implementation capacity at all levels.

ECCD related funding provided by LGUs vary, and often depend on local political commitment.

As a result, there were numerous concerns about the inconsistency of service delivery by the

LGUs. At the same time, national level respondents noted that there are some exemplary LGUs

that have mainstreamed and institutionalised ECCD programmes. In these LGUs, significant

changes have already been seen on the ground, with increased enrolment, new positions for

KG teachers, and good communication between the local and national levels. These LGUs have

clearly developed sustainable ECCD programmes, and could be used as models within their

regions and across the country.

At the LGU level, ECCD programmes appear to be sustainable in those places where the local

authorities have shown ownership and commitment. As noted earlier, implementation of ECCD

programmes has varied greatly amongst LGUs. National level respondents claimed that

communities have played a strong role in those LGUs where the ECCD programmes have been

most successful, often providing their own time and resources to support programmes. This was

verified at the local level during qualitative research, where day care centres and SNPs

especially relied on community support and contributions. As noted in earlier sections, this also

poses a challenge for the tahderiyyah programme, which is implemented by a non-state actor

and does not have the support of LGUs.

UNICEF has also sought to introduce certain elements within its programming to facilitate

greater sustainability beyond the life of the immediate programmes. For instance, the design of

the SNP support already ensured that the programme is included in the plans of the LGUs to

provide the honorarium of workers. Barangay officials are closely involved with the recruitment

of SNP workers and the provision of space and resources to set up these centres. WASH

support included securing commitments by LGUs to allocate budgets to these activities (as

noted earlier). At the same time, resource ad capacity constraints in practice mean that ECCD

services will continue to suffer from uneven implementation. For instance, till the issue around

formalisation of honorariums of child development workers is resolved, there will be a lack of

qualified staff and continued risk of poor pedagogy and staff burden, especially in remote areas.

Quantitative data analysis was used to assess sustainability of programme impact by analysing

attitudinal changes over the duration of the programme. Attitudinal changes can be seen as a

measure of sustainability: if key stakeholders change their attitudes then the demand and take



up of ECCD services should continue after the conclusion of the programme. In the ECCD

framework, UNICEF selected two key measures of attitudinal change relating to sustainability.

These were the proportion of parents who believe ‘Early childhood education prepares a child

for school’ and ‘It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that a child finishes his/her

education’. These are ‘motherhood’ statements that few parents are likely to disagree with and

the results of the MIS indicate that positive responses to both of these questions were high at

the commencement of the programme, and remained high throughout with little change. There

were some regional variations but these are hard to determine. Thus, it is not clear from the

quantitative data whether improvements in participation (attendance) are likely to be sustained.

A detailed analysis of indicators reveals:

Percentage of respondents who agreed that it is the parents’ responsibility to

ensure that a child completes his/her education

o The average percentage of respondents who agreed that it is the parents’

responsibility to ensure that a child completes his/her education was 98.8%

weighted by population. This only marginally failed to meet the UNICEF target of

98.9%.

o 20 (56%) LGUs achieved the target of 98.9% of respondents who agreed that it

is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that child completes his/her education. 9

(30%) LGUs declined the percentage of respondents who agreed that it is the

parents’ responsibility to ensure that child completes his/her education.

o Parental attitudes towards their responsibility concerning a child’s education was

anticipated to remain high and remained reasonably constant throughout the

programme. The average percentage of respondents who agreed that it is the

parents’ responsibility to ensure that child completes his/her education was

98.8% weighted by population. which was almost identical to the baseline of

98.9%.

Percentage of respondents who agreed that early childhood education prepares a

child for school

o The average percentage of respondents who agreed that early childhood

education prepares a child for school was 97.6%, exceeding the target of 95.8%.

Almost all LGUs (28, 78%) achieved the target of 95.8%. However, only 10

(33%) LGUs met or exceeded the target of 1% annual increase in the percentage

of respondents that who agreed in 2016 that early childhood education prepares

a child for school. 14 (47%) LGUs declined the percentage of people who agreed

that early childhood education prepares a child for school.

o Less than half of parents (45%) of children aged 3-5 were aware of the Kinder

Catch-Up Education programme of DepEd for 5 years old and above who are not

able to enrol in kindergarten on time. There is a large variation in awareness

between LGU. In one third of LGU (12, 33%), less than 40% of parents are

aware of the catch up programmes.



o There is still work remaining to ensure that all parents appreciate the value of

ECCD. The percentage of parents who are aware that all 5-year-old children

should attend kindergarten before entering Grade 1 for each LGU is shown in the

figure below. Most LGUs have a high percentage of parents who are aware,

however, 33% (11 of 36) have a high percentage of parents who are not aware,

including Kalamansig (74.7%), Siasi (75.9%), Mamasapano (83.1%) and Parang

Sulu (83.2%)

What were the major factors which influenced the achievement or non-achievement of

the sustainability of the Education component of the CP?

As noted in the DFAT Independent Review Report (2015), there are two threats to sustainability:

i) the need for continued donor and local/national government investment and technical

assistance to support ECCD efforts, and ii) unclear governance and coordination mechanisms

necessary to develop common goals, frameworks, standards, data systems, and

communication channels to monitor progress and achieve targeted outcomes.

As noted in Section 2.3.1, ongoing conflict and political uncertainty around the peace process in

ARMM will affect the coordination of UNICEF with implementing partners such as BDA and

government counterparts such as DepEd ARMM. In the earlier phase of the 7th CP, it was

expected that MILF would officially participate in governance in ARMM through the passage of

the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). Had this happened, BDA would have received a greater

degree of legitimacy to undertake operations in the region, including running programmes such

as the tahderiyyah centres. However, given a change of government in recent elections (2016),

the passage of the BBL has become unclear. Thus, tensions between state and non-state

actors continue to pose a risk to the sustainability of programmes implemented outside of

government structures.

One example of how changing political priorities have affected the sustainability of UNICEF’s

programming is the process of contextualisation of KG curriculum for Tedurays in ARMM. This

activity was undertaken in 2013 and discontinued till 2015. According to UNICEF respondents,

this was due to DepEd ARMM prioritising other education initiatives. UNICEF has recently

started a new partnership with the same implementing partner, Lingap Pangkabataan, to

continue and expand the contextualization of curriculum for Tedurays under the Link initiative.

This has now been expanded for the curriculum for 3-4 year olds (encompassing day care and

SNP), 5 year olds (encompassing regular KG and KCEP) and above (Grade 1). These efforts

will only bring about sustainable change if outputs resulting from this renewed initiative are

adopted by DepEd ARMM and central DepED and inform their planning and assessment of

schools in the future.

As described in detail earlier, UNICEF’s support to WASH activities has not been sustainable,

despite efforts to secure LGU commitment and local level coordination. This is reflective of

challenges in service delivery in contexts of poor local governance, capacity constraints and

budgetary issues.



5.6 Gender in ECCD

At the national level, existing data presents a mixed picture on gender differences. The EFA

Report (2015) notes that in 2011, there were more female than male children from age zero to

three (44.4% males, 55.5% females) and children three to five years old (46.9% males, 47.5%

females) who received ECCD services in day care centres. On the other hand, in the same

year, there were more male children (51.5%) than female children (48.2%) aged five years old

and above who received ECCD services in day care centres (EFA 2015). This may imply that

there are more boys who are late in entering kindergarten.

In this section, we present some additional findings with reference to gender differences in 36

focus LGUs of the 7th CP:

Secondary data analysis did not show severe issues of gender bias in either direction

concerning participation. However, there were some regions where either boys or girls

had lower proportional attendance of ECCD and into Grade 1.

As noted, a higher percentage of 6 year old girls were attending grade 1 than boys (GPI

1.07). The average participation rate for LGUs was 67.4%, which comprised of a

participation rate for boys of 66.7% and for girls of 67.1%. The average ratio of girls to

boys was almost even (GPI 1.01). There are LGUs where either boys (GPI less than

0.80) or girls (GPI greater than 1.20) have significant barriers towards participating in

grade 1 education at the correct age of 6 years old. Girls have significant barriers to

participation in grade 1 in Upi, Mapanas, Monreal and Lebak, however boys have

significant barriers to participation in almost twice as many LGUs (7). Upi is located in

ARMM and local cultural / religious practices my result in girls being excluded from

education. Lebak also has a high proportion of Muslim population (48%), which may lead

to boys being favoured over girls. Mapanas and Bobon are both located in Northern

Samar, and local cultural practices may exclude girls from early education.

There were LGUs which decreased in attendance of 6 year olds for either boys or girls

between 2012 and 2016. 13 LGUs (43%) had a decrease in either boys or girls during

the period. 8 LGUs (27%) decreased attendance of boys and 10 LGUs (33%) decreased

attendance of girls. There are some unusual results which may be because of

questionable data, cohort effects or other factors. For example, Camarines Norte Labo

decreased attendance of boys by 23% but increased girls by 22%. Maguindanao Upi

decreased attendance of girls by 32% and boys by only 1%. There are almost

proportionally twice as many boys studying in Upi than girls. These cases should be

investigated to determine the validity of the data and also to help determine what may

have caused such pronounced gender barriers.

There is a large disparity in the participation ratio of 5 year old girls and boys attending

ECCD in some provinces in 2016. In total, 13 (36%) LGUs have a greater proportion of 5

year old boys attending ECE than girls compared to 17 (47%) with a greater proportion

of girls than boys. LGUs with a significantly higher proportion of boys aged 5 attending

ECCD include Mamasapano (GPI 0.82), Vinzons (GPI 0.85) and Quezon City (GPI

0.88). Those with proportionally more girls than boys include Mapanas (GPI 1.11), P.



Princesa GPI 1.11, Siayan GPI 1.12, Siasi GPI 1.14, Lebak GPI 1.16, Paracale GPI

1.21, and Basud GPI 1.26.

There were only 60% of children with disabilities attending ECCD (total 80, boys 51, girls

29, GPI 0.95) and there was no evidence of gender bias on selection.

Ethnicity and language both influenced the attendance rates of children aged 3-5 in

ECCD. For ethnic groups, disparities range from Samal for which more proportionally

more boys than girls are attending ECCD (GPI 0.88) to Tausug where more girls than

boys are attending ECCD (GPI 1.16). Language groupings showed similar bias towards

either girls or boys. Disparities ranged from those children speaking Samal at home for

which proportionally more boys than girls are attending ECCD (GPI 0.81) to those

speaking Tausog at home for which more than twice as many girls as boys are attending

ECCD (GPI 1.17).

Parents did not seem to have a strong attitudinal bias towards the education of either

girls or boys. The proportion of parents of children aged 3-5 who were not attending

schools because their “parents think child is too young to be enrolled in grade

1/preschool” were similar for parents of boys and girls. This question could give a good

indication of gender bias in each of the LGUs. 15 (42%) LGUs had a bias towards boys

not attending ECCD due to being too young (GPI <1.00) and 20 (58%) LGUs a bias

towards girls (GPI >1.00). However, there are also outliers evident which have a strong

bias towards either girls or boys (GPI <0.95 and >1.05).

The MIS survey asked parents whether it was more important for girls to be in school than boys.

This question is possibly flawed because parents could be aware that it would seem incorrect to

prioritise one child over another because of gender. A better question may have been whether

parents believe it is equally important that girls be in school as boys. However, the MIS asks

parents whether they have a bias towards girls’ education. There was limited evidence of

gender bias amongst parents. Only 20% of parents believed it was more important for girls to be

in school than boys. As noted, this does not mean that 80% of parents believe it is more

important for boys to be in school than girls.



6 Basic education findings

This section provides findings on the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and

sustainability of UNICEF’s Basic Education programme. Sub sections are structured around

questions presented in the Evaluation matrix and were agreed upon with UNICEF ex-ante.

Detailed findings underpinning this analysis are provided in Annex HAnnex I and Annex K.

6.1 Basic education

6.1.1 Relevance

To what extent did Basic Education outputs suit the priorities and policies of government

stakeholders, focus LGUs, and international partners?

UNICEF’s programmes and priorities in BE have been closely aligned to match the broad

priorities of government partners and international organisations. The basic education

programme reflects the national and international commitments to education. The UNICEF

basic education programme is guided by the Philippine Development Plan 2011–2016

(UNICEF, 2015a) and SGD 4 ‘Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong

learning’ and formerly MDG 2: ‘Universal access to primary education’ and MDG 3 ‘Gender

equality and empowerment of women’ (UNICEF, 2016b).

The basic education programme and its outputs focus on supporting the Government of

Philippines in their implementation of the recent BESRA reform, transforming the education set-

up to a K – 12 system of education and the Enhanced Basic Education Act. These reforms

signal DepEd and the government’s priorities to promote equitable school readiness and

increase enrolment and retention rates. The intent of UNICEF’s basic education component,

when it was developed, was to facilitate the next steps necessary to achieve the objectives set

out by the lead reforms. The basic education component was expected to do so by focusing on

providing access to quality education services to disadvantage communities through innovative

approaches

UNICEF basic education outputs are focused on improving access to quality education to

disadvantaged children in the Philippines. This focus is relevant to the priorities and needs

emerging from the evidence at the grassroots level. The UNICEF Country Office Education

Programme Brief 2016 alludes to the stagnation in education access in the country, with

elementary level net enrolment being 92.57% in 2015, and reported that the lowest enrolment

rates are in ARMM, at 75.64% (UNICEF, 2016b). It was noted that results of the Department of

Labour and Employment Survey show that new school graduates lack requisite skills, and that

this has been attributed in part to poor learning conditions. The basic education programmes’

focus on expanding access, particularly to the last mile learner, and ensuring quality is therefore

clearly relevant.

UNICEF programmes have focused on supporting key government capacities, policies and

priorities. According to the UNICEF Country Office Education Programme Brief 2016, the main

focus of the UNICEF Philippines Education Programme has been to enhance the capacity of



national and local government partners to provide holistic, equitable, and inclusive education for

all children between 3 to 11 years old. Additionally, it aims to improve elementary education

access and quality in 36 most vulnerable areas, identified and agreed between the Government

of the Philippines and UNICEF based on a series of vulnerability analyses (UNICEF, 2016b).

Looking at particular components of the basic education programme, UNICEF support has

focused on enhanced School Improvement Plans, which are a central component of the

Department of Education’s planning and monitoring tool for schools. UNICEF’s support to

government’s investments in peer-peer support and training (including through Learning Actions

Cells), and WASH are also evident in BE programming. UNICEF’s activities are thus directly

contributing towards achieving the government’s goals.

This has resulted in the support being embedded within existing or new government systems

and operations. Some BE outputs and components are built on existing foundations of the basic

education system in the Philippines, whereby they are embedded in the basic education

structures of the national, regional, and local government. For instance, a major component of

UNICEF’s BE programme involves the provision of technical support to Department of

Education (DepEd) and selected Local Government Units (LGUs) to develop enhanced School

Improvement Plans (E-SIPs), and harmonize it with other school based management (SBM)

and planning approaches. In particular, UNICEF provided support in piloting and developing the

E-SIP guidelines, thereby adopting child friendly and equity based mapping and planning

approaches. The E-SIP guidelines, developed with UNICEF’s support, were then finalized and

adopted through the DepEd Order No.44, issued in September 2015, thereby incorporating it

into government systems. Other BE outputs and components provide input into upcoming

policies and reforms, thereby increasing their relevance to the government’s thinking, for

instance, the situational analysis of the Last Mile Learner (LML) was used to inform government

priorities for out-of-school children and youth through the planned expansion of the Alternative

Delivery System by the new administration (with a new Secretary being appointed in July 2016).

Another factor cited as instrumental in the improvement of the basic education programme is

the close collaboration in advocacy initiatives between DepEd and UNICEF, with UNICEF doing

the initial coordination for the 36 LGUS and DepEd covering the rest. Despite the perception

that this collaboration is improving, there are still areas that should be prioritised for UNICEF to

work. Some of these areas will be identified below.

Among these is the selection of the 36 vulnerable LGUs, which was contested as being

appropriate for UNICEF’s basic education support, especially at the local and regional levels.

Despite the extensive documentation and planning to select the target LGUs the selection of

LGUs, and focus schools and barangays within those schools, raised particular questions and

concerns from respondents at all levels. These concerns relate to the selection criteria. First,

none of the non-UNICEF respondents were able to articulate how these LGUs, and the schools

and day care facilities within these LGUs, had been selected. Even at the national level, there

was no acknowledgment of the extensive vulnerability-based mapping used to select the LGUs.

Some schools and day care centres visited during field research were receiving multiple

sources of funding, whilst others relied solely on support provided by UNICEF in procuring

furniture, supplies, etc. Some head teachers and municipality officials even noted that their

schools/areas should not have been selected, as there are many other LGUs/day care centres



that need more support urgently. The selection process and its implications should be discussed

clearly with all stakeholders at an early stage.

Overall, the selection process by design responded to the 7th CP’s objectives. However it

seemed to have led to the inclusion of some LGUs which were higher class municipalities and

much less vulnerable than those in conflict or disaster affected areas. This could have been

avoided by stratifying selection at the LGU level (instead of province level). Using more up to

date data would also have helped in better targeting; an alternative could be to use micro

estimates of poverty and inequality.21. This is linked to the challenge of clearly defining and

measuring ‘vulnerability and disadvantage’. Conflict, exposure to natural disaster, lack of natural

resources (such as water), poor governance and lower income are all correlated with

vulnerability so it is important to narrow down the particular dimension of vulnerability and

disadvantage with clear indicators to assess these dimensions

To what extent were outputs suited to cater for disadvantaged children and

disadvantaged areas such as ARMM and their context?

The basic education component of UNICEF’s CPC-7 aims to reach the hard to reach and

disadvantaged groups of children in the Philippines. For this purpose, UNICEF has focused its

outputs and activities in 36 of the most vulnerable LGUs in the country, with a particular

emphasis on ARMM. Evidence from the quantitative and qualitative evaluation indicates that the

BE outputs are suited to the needs of indigenous populations, and conflict and disaster prone

communities.

National level respondents suggested that UNICEF encouraged equity across disadvantaged

groups (including gender) in their programmes, and specifically targeted disadvantaged

communities such as indigenous communities, in ARMM and Region 12. The quantitative

analysis also supports the BE programmatic focus on indigenous communities, and a

subsequent focus on gender equity within certain groups. The MIS data indicates that, whilst the

participation of girls and boys in each region was reasonably well balanced nationally, there

were equity issues in the participation of different language and ethnic groups and gender

dimensions to participation within each language/ethnic group (see Section 6.2 for further

details). Therefore, plans to support the contextualising of the curriculum and mother tongue in

particular resonated with national level respondents.

The EBEIS data illustrates that BE programmatic focus on the disadvantaged children within

ARMM is relevant due to the education conditions – as is the case with ECCD. Using data from

EBEIS 2013-2014, the Education Programme Brief indicates moderate improvement in school

completion rate, with the drop-out rate at 4.58% at the national level. Upon disaggregation, the

data shows that drop-out rates are as high as 18.64% in the disadvantaged and conflict-affected

ARMM region, where nearly one in five grade one student leave or do not proceed to grade two,

with boys disadvantaged (UNICEF, 2016b).

At the local level, UNICEF focus schools were in some of the most vulnerable LGUs – although

a small minority of LGUs that had been selected were not entirely appropriate because they did

not need additional support. This was particularly the case with provision of manipulative

21 http://go.worldbank.org/KDPWET43E0

http://go.worldbank.org/KDPWET43E0



material in highly urbanized LGUs, where the needs at the local level were starkly different from

those in rural localities. When asked about the needs of the school in an urbanized LGU, one

respondent mentioned that the majority of teachers have laptops, but now require projectors to

encourage interactive teaching in the classrooms. This need identified was starkly different from

the needs at schools in rural communities.

Furthermore, UNICEF BE programme components have adapted to remain relevant in the face

of disruptions to the education system. Various factors cause disruption in schooling and

learning for long stints, these are often related to disaster, civil conflict and urban poverty and it

has been recognised that there is need to safeguard children against such disruptions. UNICEF

recognises these factors in its approach towards basic education by engaging directly with

conflict and disaster prone communities and in areas with high incidence of urban poverty.

Philippines is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. During the lifetime of the 7th

CPC, the country faced various natural and man-made shocks including but not limited to

Typhoon Haiyan, Typhoon Melor, Bohol earthquake and the Zamboanga siege. While

UNICEF’s DRRM efforts are not the focus of this evaluation, the evaluation team briefly

explored UNICEF’s response to Typhoon Melor, also called Typhoon Nona in the Philippines,

which disrupted the lives of residents of central Philippines in late 2015. Respondents in our

selected LGUs in Luzon and Visayas were affected by the typhoon and reported fluctuations in

attendance and enrolment due to the harsh conditions created during the typhoon. UNICEF’s

efforts in strengthening emergency preparedness and response played a pivotal role in reducing

the disruption caused by the typhoon in these communities. Moreover, the additional disruption

caused by Typhoon Nona demonstrates the challenging circumstances within which UNICEF

operates its programmes.

In Bobon, the impact of the recent typhoon was significant, as all houses in the barangay visited

had been either completely or partially destroyed. There were no fatalities, and this was credited

in large part by local level respondents to the disaster preparedness supported by CDRC

(community disaster reduction committee) and UNICEF. We found that the CDRC and UNICEF

had provided seminars to the community about disaster preparedness, and schools and day

cares have monthly drills to ensure that children are fully prepared to act if needed. Some

educational institutes also had informational posters about response in emergencies. The day

care centre and elementary school have been assigned as the designated evacuation centre in

case of typhoons. In the barangay visited in Aroroy, the impact of the typhoon had been lower,

though typhoon Nona had flooded away learning material from schools and deemed the schools

inoperable for some time. In this case, UNICEF provided temporary learning spaces, such as

tents, which reduced the disruption time due to the typhoon.

To what extent are the objectives of the Education Country Programme still valid?

The overall objectives of the basic education programme are still valid as the programme fully

supports the elementary education priorities of the K-12 reform. It is also clear that further

efforts are needed in building capacities and systems, strengthening evidence base, and

catering to the vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.



UNICEF’s BE focus on strengthened capacity, systems, processes and structures for achieving

UPE with equity and gender parity with focus on remote and disadvantaged areas is still valid

because communities continue to face equity challenges in accessing education. Based on local

level observations, we find that there are several schools and barangays around the country

that are underfunded, and lack basic resources such as water and electricity; require

capacitation to improve school based management and inclusive practices (see implementation

challenges of MTB-MLE below); and have systems that are vulnerable to disasters and

conflicts. This scarcity of physical and financial resources poses a significant challenge in

providing basic education. On the budgetary front, the Government has increased budgetary

allocation for basic education but various challenges persist to make UNICEF’s support

continually relevant. Internationally, a measure of sufficient education funding has been pegged

at 4-6% of GDP (UNESCO, 2015). The national spending on education in the Philippines was

3.4% of GDP in 2013, an increase from 2.4% in 2005 (World Bank, 2017). Although the

increase in the allocation of resources to the sector is not sufficient by international standards, it

is a step in the right direction in improving the quality of education. However, the low utilization

rate of the government budget by DepEd is a priority concern of the current administration, such

that financial management reforms is now being pushed.

With a changing national policy and programme environment, there is some room for more

focused programming for UNICEF objectives to be even more relevant to key stakeholders in

the Philippines, particularly with the priorities that will be introduced by the new administration at

the national level. National level informants indicated that while there is still full support for the

K-12 reform from the new administration, the government is increasingly prioritising Alternative

Learning Services (ALS), girls’ pregnancies, drug education, climate change adaptation, and the

hiring of more teachers, especially in the subjects of maths and sciences. There will be

additional challenges that emerge from these new priorities, for instance, national level

informants felt it would be difficult to find sufficient numbers of qualified teachers to hire as a

result. New government priorities could impact education goals in the country.

It is important to note that UNICEF’s programmes being relevant require UNICEF not only to be

aligned to government priorities but also to align with local and national priorities. Any

refocussing of programmatic areas would need to be considered in light of both national and

local priorities and needs – which may not align with each other.

Another area with increasing need of focused programming by UNICEF is the operationalization

of the MTB-MLE policy. National and local level respondents indicated that there is a growing

need for contextualization of the implementation of the mother tongue based- multi lingual

education (MTB-MLE) curriculum and that UNICEF’s support in the future would be most

relevant in this area.22 Currently, there are several challenges in the implementation of the MTB-

MLE policy. These challenges provide UNICEF further opportunity to contribute significantly to

improve MTB-MLE in the Philippines, contributing to greater equity in education in the process.

22 UNICEF has provided some support in curriculum contextualization for selected IP communities, even though this was not the focus of this evaluation, as agreed with UNICEF at inception. Nonetheless, this evaluation has focused on conducting a formative assessment of the implementation of the mother tongue based-multilingual education (MTB-MLE) policy in elementary schools in general, and the findings will be presented in further discussions throughout this report.



Local level informants noted a number of these implementation challenges which could inform

UNICEF’s programmatic focus. Respondents noted that the Philippines is an extremely diverse

country, so classrooms are not monolithic and students speak a number of different languages

as their mother tongue. In effect, then, teachers have to use the major local language as a

substitute for the various mother tongues there. The variations in dialect are usually not

captured by MTB-MLE in its current form either. Not all teachers and parents are intimately

familiar with the local language, causing difficulties in the implementation of the programme.

The translation of books and other school resources also pose further challenges. For instance,

the translations are often literal rather than functional, so children find it difficult to understand

the meaning of complex terms, especially in technical subjects such as Math and Science.

There were also issues with the availability of licensed IP teachers, as the qualified people to

teach in mother tongue often did not have the right certification to teach these multilingual

classes. Although the use of mother tongue is lauded by most stakeholders, its implementation

faces severe challenges at the local level.

Furthermore, quantitative analysis suggests that most parents believe it is better for their

children to learn in their mother tongue. Most parents read with their children at home and most

assist children with their homework and studies. Only a small proportion of parents believe girls

should be educated in favour of boys but this does not capture those who believe in equality for

boys and girls. In all cases there were large differences amongst LGUs indicating that there is

substantial work remaining to alter parental attitudes and practices in many focus LGUs. We

note that:

80% of parents surveyed believed their children will learn better if taught in their mother

tongue. However, opinions varied depending on the ethnicity of the respondent. 75% of

parents of Iranon children disagree that children should be taught in their mother tongue

(only 25% agree) whilst at the other extreme almost all parents of Bikol (94%) agree.

Large discrepancies were also evident in different LGUs. ARMM had the lowest

percentage of parents agreeing with this statement including parang (27.3%), Cotabato

City (41.7%) followed by Maguindanao including South Upi (45.9%) and Upi (53.5%).

Most children read with their parents at home. In total, 72% of parents read with their

children (aged 3-8) at home. There was large variation between LGU with only 40% of

parents reading to their children at home in Siasi compared to almost all (96%) in

Aroroy.

87% of parents of children aged 5-11 assisted their children with homework or in

difficulties with their studies. However, there were large variations across LGUs. In Siasi,

where only half (50%) of parents assist their children with studies, there is also a

comparatively low enrolment in elementary education of 87.0%. This is also the case in

Parang where 63% of parents assist children and enrolment in elementary education is

97% and also Languyan where 56% of parents assist children and enrolment is 86%.

This highlights the disparity in parental involvement in regions under the programme as

of 2016.

The MIS survey asked parents whether it was more important for girls to be in school

than boys. This is a leading question and possibly flawed because as a parent, it would



be incorrect to prioritise one child over another because of gender and moreover, admit

it to a third party. A better question may have been whether parents believe it is equally

important that girls be in school as well as boys. However, the MIS asks parents whether

they have a bias towards girls’ education. Only 20% of parents believed it was more

important for girls to be in school than boys. As noted, this does not mean that 80% of

parents believe it’s more important for boys to be in school than girls. Response rates

varied between LGU from 8% of parents in Mapanas to 37% of parents in Mamasapano,

as shown in Annex K.

Therefore, the development and translation of the curriculum, production of classroom materials

to facilitate MTB-MLE, and support and training to teachers and school officials to administer

them will together determine the success of the programme. This is where UNICEF can focus

its next programmes to remain most relevant. According to UNICEF, the recent focus on

supporting the national level policy development for improving the delivery of multi-grade

education also aligns with equity objectives, as most multi-grade schools are located in remote

and poor communities (see Annex I for more details on the challenges of MTB-MLE).

6.1.2 Effectiveness

To what extent were the objectives achieved/are likely to be achieved?

There is evidence that the UNICEF’s basic education programme was effective at the local

level, and they also played a supporting role in enhancing the policy and programme

environment, particularly for enhanced education planning; strengthening capacity, systems,

process and structures towards facilitating universal primary education; and strengthening

education delivery in ARMM. This sub-section assesses the evidence with regards to the

effectiveness of CPC-7 in achieving its objectives, particularly through associated activities

planned for each objective. Note that we cannot make definitive statements due to the on-going

nature of CPC-7 with the two year extension of the programme.

UNICEF’s support contributed to the enhancement of the new E-SIP guidebooks such that they

were easier to understand and implement, thereby improving education planning through

enhancing policy and programmes. At the barangay level, several respondents reported that the

E-SIPs – which are based on the new E-SIP guidebook – were simpler to draft and, therefore,

easier to implement. District and divisional level respondents noted that ‘it’s now thinner and the

contents of E-SIP are now made simpler’ than the previously implemented SIPs.

The E-SIPs provide schools and communities with the opportunity to develop together a plan to

address the needs of the school. This participatory process is crucial to engage different relevant

people (including representatives from indigenous communities) and organisations to support

basic education at the local level. Through the qualitative component of the evaluation we find

that the E-SIPs were, in fact, more collaborative, participatory, and transparent, compared to the

previously used SIP process. This is corroborated by the fact that barangay officials, Parent

Teacher Associations (PTAs), and School Planning Teams (SPTs) were closely involved with the

mapping exercise and other activities associated with developing the E-SIPs. In particular, the E-

SIP can only be ratified upon approval from the SPT, whereby one of the first steps of endorsing

the E-SIP is for ‘the members of the SPT to put their signatures in the E-SIP on the endorsement



page’. PTA and SPT members include parents from indigenous communities. Barangay level

officials recognised that E-SIPs would not be as inclusive without the collaboration of different

members of the community. Nevertheless, there are still several community level stakeholders

who were not aware of and involved in the development of the E-SIP, and this collaboration was

challenging to achieve and posed an additional burden on already demanding jobs of the school

heads and teachers.

UNICEF’s support helped achieve the objective of strengthening education delivery in ARMM,

particularly through improved education planning in selected LGUs. As such, the effect of

UNICEF’s support on the implementation of E-SIP guidelines is most clearly visible in ARMM. In

the ARMM region, few schools (other than those in UNICEF supported LGUs) have been able

to submit their E-SIPs because E-SIP development process was found to be difficult, the

schools lacked funds to complete this process, and security concerns limited mobility required

for door to door mapping. Some of the challenges associated with the development of E-SIPs

are mentioned in the next sub-section.

Unlike other parts of the Philippines, in ARMM, UNICEF directly provided trainings in the

sampled LGUs to school staff, and Notre Dame University provided extended mentorship

support to complete the development of E-SIPs. The repeated UNICEF trainings and the

continuous mentorship arrangement with Norte Dame University were identified as pivotal

factors in enabling the development of E-SIPs in the supported ARMM schools. Additionally,

UNICEF’s direct support on the E-SIP in Magindanao influenced positive changes to the

process. Particularly, UNICEF’s support was associated with an increase in parental ownership

of the E-SIP process.

The good thing now with the (enhanced) SIP is the parents become our partners in

doing it. Before approving the SIP it should be ratified by the assembly of the parents…

The parents are the ones who identify the problems and solutions, the school will just

mediate/ facilitate.

This quote also indicates the successful implementation of the collaborative efforts for the

development of an inclusive and equitable E-SIP in ARMM.

Respondents noted that the LAC orientation sessions, conducted through the partnership

between UNICEF and COLF, had been beneficial in achieving the objective of strengthening

capacity, systems, processes and structures for achieving equitable UPE by enhancing in-

service training of school staff on child development principles. The achievement of this

objective can mainly be measured by the change it has produced in the pedagogical

approaches adopted in classrooms. Evidence from the qualitative research suggests that LAC

sessions played an instrumental role in increasing the use of participatory, inclusive and flexible

teaching styles, thereby resulting in performance based and hands-on teaching (see 6.1.4 for

additional details). A district supervisor noted that due to the UNICEF LAC orientation session,

‘the teaching strategies adopted are cooperative and not traditional. It is an activity-based

teaching, which we call hands-on’. A head teacher reported that, as a result of the orientation

session, teachers moved away from rote-learning practices:



We are applying the child centred strategies, where the learning is through class

activities. Teachers mainly play the role of facilitators. Now instead of focusing on

memorization, we focus on activities or interactions.

Through informal observation, researchers noted that there was still room for improvement, as

teachers had not yet completely incorporated play-based learning in schools.

As in the case of ECCD, informants largely agreed that downstream activities should continue in

alignment with the upstream activities. UNICEF has worked closely with DepEd and other key

actors to try and strengthen evidence based advocacy and provision and distribution of

resources, while the upstreaming activities have seen success, the outcome of these efforts has

not been as successful as the downstreaming activities. Some respondents suggest that LGUs

were implementing UNICEF supported activities more widely within their jurisdiction, however,

these were isolated incidents and on the whole we found evidence to suggest that a smaller

group was benefiting from UNICEF’s support.

The dire situation of schools and communities with few resources and access to technical

support has provided fertile ground for UNICEF to implement specific components of different

programmes in these particular sites. However, more work will be necessary to ensure that key

stakeholders, including government officials, take further ownership of the gains from these

projects to ensure that these can be consolidated and extended further at the local, regional and

national level – thereby aligning downstream and upstream activities.

What were the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the

objectives?

The major factors that determine the level of effectiveness of enhancing the policy and

programme environment, and strengthened capacity, systems, processes and structures for

achieving equitable access to education through E-SIP are related to motivation of teachers,

strength of local leadership, resource availability and financial autonomy, and support from local

stakeholders.

The child mapping exercise was a crucial first step to the development of E-SIP, the

achievement of which relies heavily on motivated human resources, and appropriate incentive

structure. Motivation to conduct mapping was low due to the burden it placed on local officials,

and the lack of proper incentives to perform the additional task. The extensive mapping and

planning exercise placed a high burden on the time and resources of school and local officials,

with the highest toll on school teachers. Teachers are primarily responsible for conducting child-

mapping, often perform the task during school holiday period, often travel long distances to

reach households in remote sitios, and are only compensated through non-monetary service

credits from DepEd for the additional responsibility. Several stakeholders still felt that teachers

are not appropriately compensated for this additional mandate, and therefore feel demotivated

when conducting this strenuous task. This problem was compounded by security concerns in

conflict affected areas, such as ARMM, where it was unsafe for teachers to conduct door to

door surveys. Other officials, including school principals, also found the mapping and E-SIP to

be an additional responsibility which increased the burden of their jobs.



The effective completion of E-SIP and SRC depends on the level of support provided by local

leadership. However, significant work pressure has meant that the role of district and divisional

officials on E-SIP is not being implemented fully. E-SIPs and SRCs undergo a process of quality

assurance, endorsement and approvals from various stakeholders before ultimately reaching

completion. District and division officials, such as the SBM Coordinator and Division Supervisor,

make the final checks before approval, which offers district and division officials the opportunity

to provide direct assistance to schools that may be lagging behind. These responsibilities

substantially increase the already high workload of the division officials. For instance, this is a

burden for SBM Coordinators because covering a large number of schools in the district can be

time consuming, particularly when they also have a host of other monitoring responsibilities

attached to their role, which limits the capacity of local leaders to perform their role in E-SIP

effectively.

In some schools, respondents noted that UNICEF’s contributions are directly linked to the timely

and successful completion of E-SIPs, and that additional funds from UNICEF enabled the

school to develop the E-SIPs in a timely manner, such that it became one of the few schools in

the locality to fully develop and submit the E-SIP on time. Although some of our respondents

were convinced that UNICEF had provided this support to facilitate the successful

implementation of E-SIPs, we were able to confirm with UNICEF that they did not actually

provide funds to schools to implement E-SIPs. Thus, there were two important lessons here.

First, as discussed earlier, the possibility of being able to attribute impact or even activities at

the local level to a particular organisation is very low. Second, it appears that schools even in

target LGUs remain deprived of resources to implement the programmes (such as E-SIPs)

supported by UNICEF and government agencies. The effectiveness of UNICEF supported

programmes thus depends on the wider context as well. Since the selection of these LGUs has

been made on the basis that they are vulnerable and capacity constrained, these contexts are

expected to be challenging almost by definition.

Once E-SIP plans are prepared, the implementation of priority improvement areas identified in

the E-SIP plan depends highly on the availability of funds. According to a World Bank policy

note which assesses School Based Management in the Philippines based on the PETS-QSDS

study, a lack of discretionary funds has been identified as a major impediment to the school’s

ability to implement the activities identified in the SIPs. The PETS-QSDS study finds that school

management has control over a small amount of their total revenue. On average, 80% of school

funds are devoted to the salary expenses of centrally hired government teachers and a smaller

percentage of funding is devoted to infrastructure development (World Bank, 2016). To a large

extent, these expenses are outside the control of a school principal.

The policy note finds that, on average, the school principal only has control over 7% of a

school’s funding. The Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) is a primary source

of this discretionary funding and is allocated by DepEd. There are restrictions on what the

MOOE can be spent on. Schools are expected to spend the MOOE on recurring maintenance

and operating expenses and cannot use it for items such as learning materials. To a large

extent, it has been difficult for schools to utilize the MOOE to cover all of the expenses identified

in the E-SIPs (more on this below). The policy note finds that schools also generate their own

funds through parent contribution and income generation activities (World Bank, 2016). We

found evidence of this in our evaluation, where schools rely on vegetable garden or small



coconut plantation produce, from where they sell products in the local market. The amount of

own funding generated depends on the socio-economic composition of the school, therefore,

schools in poor communities often generated little income through these means. In our

fieldwork, we observed that school expenses were also covered from the teachers own pockets

in very few cases.

With limited discretionary funds, such as the MOOE, school administration can turn to local

government resources as a viable source of funding for the E-SIP. This includes barangay, city

and municipal governments. Funds from the barangay governments could be used to increase

the discretionary pool, therefore, effectively implementing E-SIP priority improvement plans. A

majority of the city and municipal government funds are provided to school as in-kind

contributions through the designated local school board (World Bank, 2016). There is clear

recognition that the E-SIPs should be integrated with the Barangay Annual Plans and budgets

such that school administration’s access to discretionary funds is increased. If the barangay

budget is not in line with the school’s plans, the barangay would not be able to cater to the

school’s needs and plans – either through funds or other means of support. A divisional official

noted:

The E-SIP should be included in the barangay annual budget because the barangay

should provide for the needs of the school (which would be easier to do if the E-SIP and

Barangay plans are integrated). As such, the barangay should provide basic facilities like

the water system and electricity, because those are basic needs of the children from the

same Barangay.

Schools with discretionary funds from the barangay office would enable the implementation of

certain activities identified in the E-SIPs. As such, barangays provide support to schools in

many ways, and this was stressed by school officials, teachers, parents, and barangay officials

in all the elementary schools we visited. However, integration between barangay and school

planning tools and budgets (Barangay Annual Plans and E-SIP) is limited and in cases where

there are signs of integration, it does not happen in a systematic manner. This limited

integration implies that it can be difficult for schools to receive funds from the Barangay office in

a systematic and planned manner.

The effectiveness of the in-school LAC session depends on the peer to peer sessions that are

conducted in school to further the learnings from the UNICEF and COLF LAC orientation. In a

majority of the sampled schools, in-school LAC sessions were held regularly on weekdays. The

frequency and timing of the meeting varied across schools, with some conducting it on a

fortnightly basis, while others conducting them every quarter. In some highly populated schools,

in-school LAC sessions were held separately for teachers for each grade. However, we find that

teachers find it challenging to allocate time for these sessions because of various reasons. For

instance, students have to be sent home during LAC sessions, teachers have multiple

responsibilities, and LAC can be an additional burden due to conflicting schedules of attendees

or personal commitments.

Low attendance, transfer of school officials, and lack of timely communication have reduced the

scope and effectiveness of the LAC orientation. The main attendees of the UNICEF LAC

orientation included school teachers from kinder to Grade 3, head teachers, kinder coordinators



and district supervisors, though not all stakeholders (identified here) were able to attend each

orientation. The orientation attendees were expected to inform and teach other teachers at the

local level. However, in some cases, some of the attendees had been transferred from the initial

school, so the learning from the training could not be passed as effectively to others in the

school. Additionally, lack of timely communication has meant that main attendees have not been

able to attend the orientation which reduces the effectiveness of the orientation. For instance, a

head teacher mentioned that they were not able to attend the UNICEF LAC orientation session

because they were not informed about the session in a timely manner. The teacher further

requested that UNICEF should not only coordinate with division and district officials but also

explore avenues to contact potential beneficiary schools and head teachers directly, so that they

do not miss out on any of the opportunities available to them. This was especially crucial for

rural schools that are not easily accessible, as communication and contact with even the

division could be constrained under such circumstances.

UNICEF’s support in providing temporary learning spaces (TLS), such as tents, in typhoon

affected areas helped reduce the disruption time of education but is accompanied with reduced

quality of education. While students returned to school faster after a disaster due to UNICEF

provided TLS, it was noted that schools ended up using these TLS for a long period of time, and

in some cases schools were still using them. Additionally, the classrooms in these temporary

learning spaces were not conducive to learning, especially due to high levels of humidity. This

adversely affected students’ performance.

Handwashing was also prescribed in UNICEF’s programme, but schools with limited water

accessibility conducted these activities with reduced frequency. In fact, the biggest challenges

with WASH support have been the availability of reliable water sources, ability to store such

water on site, and abundance of required resources to maintain sanitation and hygiene

standards.

6.1.3 Efficiency

Were the UNICEF Basic Education activities cost-efficient?

As in the case of ECCD, an allocation of resources for each budget line or result area for each

LGU was not available for basic education. This data would have allowed the evaluation team to

draw an in-depth LGU level costing analysis. Overall, budget information by objective was

available for BE, which enabled analysis of financial efficiency i.e. an analysis of over and

underspend on each component. A summary of the total programme budget for the BE

component is shown in Annex M.

DepEd is the main counterpart for UNICEF’s BE programme. Through the annual work plan,

UNICEF and DepEd agree to a list of planned activities each year, and UNICEF’s planned

budget is derived from these annual agreements. Overall, UNICEF covers the cost of activities

(such as trainings) in a limited number of schools within the 36 focus LGUs, and DepEd covers

the cost of wider replication nationwide, hence UNICEF’s contributions are small compared to

that of DepEd. DepEd also provides counterpart support for UNICEF funded activities in the

form of staff time, travel cost, and per diem of DepEd staff and other training attendees, and use

of field office facilities. However, data on counterpart funding from DepEd has not been



collected and utilised for this evaluation. UNICEF funding data was made available for the

efficiency analysis.

According to UNICEF financial data, US$ 6.2 million of the total planned budget of US$7.4

million has been utilized through the lifetime of the CPC-7 between 2012 and 2016. For each of

the four main objectives of the UNICEF BE programme, we find that funds have been

underutilised, and this speaks to potential efficiency concerns in the BE programme, though

some transfer of fund allocation can be attributed to changing circumstances.

Figure 6 indicates the breakdown of the underutilisation of each of the four objectives. Activities

included under each of these objectives are discussed in detail in Annex D. As the figure shows,

the utilisation rate varied greatly based on UNICEF objectives, with the use of funds for

Objective 1 at 81% for Objective 1, 70% for Objective 2, and 61% for Objective 3. Out of these,

a significant share, US$1.9 million, of UNICEF’s total planned contributions was aimed towards

achieving Objective 2, which was to strengthen capacity, systems, processes, and structures for

achieving Universal Primary Education, and smaller shares were allocated to objectives 1 (US$

0.48 million) and 2 (US$ 0.39 million). Financial data shows that out of the US$ 0.42 million

allocated for Objective 4 of strengthening education delivery for disadvantaged children in

ARMM, only 9%, of the planned budget has been utilised. According to UNICEF, part of this

underutilisation of Objective 4 happened because separate objective milestones for ARMM

were developed in 2015.

Figure 6: Percentage budget utilization by BE objective

Source: UNICEF

Overall, the underutilisation of funds has been attributed to delays in implementation due to

various reasons such as prioritisation of disaster response, conflict and security concerns in

ARMM, delay in issuance of DepEd prerequisite authority to conduct the activity, and delays in

81%

70%

61%

9%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Objective 1: Enhancedpolicy and program

environment for achievingUPE with equity and

gender parity

Objective 2: Strengthenedcapacity, systems,

processes and structuresfor achieving UPE with

equity and gender paritywith focus on remote and

disadvantaged areas

Objective 3: Strengthenedevidence-based advocacyand resource leveraging

for basic educationthrough quality assurance,

research anddocumentation

Objective 4: Strengthenededucation delivery for

disadvantaged children inARMM



liquidation of previous direct cash transfers to DepEd, causing the non-release of next tranches

of programme funds. According to UNICEF, planned activities have been carried forward to the

following year, so the budget could still be utilised.

It is important to elaborate that there was no funding planned for disaster response activities.

However, due to the large-scale typhoons encountered in the Philippines during CPC-7, and the

adverse effect of the typhoons on education systems, funds had to be reallocated from

milestone activities to cover cost of response to typhoons. This is the primary reason for the

underutilisation of budget across the planned milestones. During CPC-7, US$ 4.8 million was

reallocated to harmonise disaster emergency preparedness and response.

Were the UNICEF Basic Education programmes efficient in terms of working with the

government programmes and systems?

Several national and regional level informants were of the opinion that UNICEF is perceived as

having a good working relationship with partners, where, ‘there is an exchange of ideas and

mutually beneficial learning’. However, some government agencies have mixed views on how

well UNICEF engages with individual agencies. One such example is how UNICEF has

engaged officers from National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Some

respondents noted that UNICEF officers only provide NEDA with work and financial plans for

CPC-7 but NEDA were not informed on actual outputs and deliverables. There used to be a

coordination committee in CPC-6 but this was reported to be non-functional during CPC-7 and

respondents noted little direct interaction with NEDA.

UNICEF programme support is seen as efficient at addressing local needs. Local respondents

see UNICEF’s role as providing materials, technical assistance, and capacity building of DepEd

and LGUs. UNICEF works with local partners to achieve the objectives of its country

programme and pursues a participatory approach when working with local governments. Local

government officials appreciate UNICEF’s efforts. For instance, a division official reported that

UNICEF is ‘instrumental in involvement of our communities’ and ‘at times they tell us what the

barangay and parents need’. The engagement is based on demand, and mainly involves

provision of technical support. LGU demands are often matched with civil society organisations

that can help with implementation as well. At the LGU level, many school, barangay and

municipal officials were in contact with UNICEF staff members and felt they could contact

UNICEF directly when needed. A municipal officer mentioned having two-way ‘direct

communication through emails and calls’. This shows the close relationship between UNICEF

and local stakeholders, and that the UNICEF programming is efficiently embedded into

government systems at the local level.

Were Basic Education objectives achieved on time?


adjusted and some indicators re-defined in the face of several implementation challenges (as

mentioned above). Assessing the timely achievement of objectives was thus beyond the scope

of the evaluation, as this evaluation was focused on the formative assessment of the BE

programme components. See section 2.6 on the challenges around implementation



Was the Education programme and Basic Education component implemented in the

most efficient way compared to alternatives?

Similar to ECCD, in BE, UNICEF aligned its programmes closely to government programmes

and systems, and UNICEF supported activities are clearly aligned with national priorities. In

particular, UNICEF support to E-SIPs and SRCs, LACs, WASH, and curriculum

contextualisation resonates with the Government of Philippines’ activities on improving

education access, quality, and governance. Most downstreaming activities such as training

sessions were conducted in collaboration with DepEd. UNICEF’s strategic advantage is in

supporting DepEd through technical input and advice, particularly in the design and

implementation of various trainings targeting key stakeholders at all levels of the schooling

system. To accomplish this, UNICEF has partnered closely with other organisations such as

Plan International, Notre Dame University (NDU), and COLF to maximise output and deliver

high quality support to DepEd and municipalities.

Since the implementation of numerous BE programmes were ongoing, and since alternative

activities and programmes were not assessed, it has not been possible to analyse the efficiency

of the programme in relation to alternatives in this evaluation.

6.1.4 Impact

What has happened as a result of the Basic Education component of the country

programme?

UNICEF’s support in basic education has contributed to the enhancement and effective

implementation of school based management tools and policies, which also triggered the

increase in enrolments due to the mapping exercises. UNICEF’s support on the development of

the SIP-SRC Guidebook culminated in the issuance of DepEd Order No. 44 in September 2015,

thereby formally adopting the enhanced School Improvement Process (SIP) process and School

Report Card (SRC) (UNICEF, 2016c). This created the platform for the national level roll-out of

E-SIPs. As discussed earlier, the possibility of being able to attribute impact at the local level to

a particular organisation is low. Here we present the evidence of the impact of implementation

of UNICEF’s BE components in the UNICEF supported schools in convergence barangays. As

mentioned above, however, we found limited evidence to suggest that a wider group was able

to fully benefit from UNICEF’s support.

E-SIPs have carved a unique place in school based management and planning. E-SIPs are

being seen and utilized as the primary planning tool in schools upon which ‘all of the school

plans are anchored’, as noted by a divisional official. In most cases, head teachers saw the E-

SIPs as guides for the schools, which help each school set its own direction and several

respondents including head teachers, district supervisors, and SBM coordinators described the

E-SIP as the bible of the school. E-SIPs have helped local officials identify the problems in their

barangays and find reasonable solutions to those problems. Some of the solutions that were

developed through the E-SIP include but are not limited to enrolling youth into ALS programme

and holding advocacy sessions in the community for enrolment drives.



The potential impact of E-SIP on out of school children was hindered by lack of financial

resources, not the inability to produce E-SIPs. The PETS-QSDS study indicates that in 2014,

almost all schools had school improvement plans in place, however, in many cases they did not

have the financial autonomy and leeway to implement these plans (World Bank, 2016). Our

research corroborates these findings. Through our fieldwork, we learnt that the lack of available

funds is a major hurdle in the implementation of priority improvement areas identified in schools’

E-SIP. This is not to say that no priority improvement area had been implemented by schools.

Instead, the implementation of these priority improvement areas was lagging behind the E-SIP

plans. For instance, some schools have identified innovative ways of implementing the priority

improvement areas identified through E-SIP in a low-cost or subsidized manner. In one school

they encouraged students to remain in school by making ‘lessons more creative and interesting

for students’, providing the ‘feeding programme through funding secured through a private

company’ and ‘teachers sponsoring certain students’ transportation to and from school’.

Therefore, there is evidence of positive implementation of E-SIP, however, as identified there is

room for improvement.

While the programmatic outcomes of the school improvement plans may be limited, they still

facilitate the enrolment of out of school children through community outreach. The SPT identify

out of school children – particularly those belonging to IP communities or remote areas – during

the mapping exercise and utilize this opportunity to enrol out of school children. A head teacher

described this as an opportunity to conduct ‘early enrolment’ into their school. However, some

students continue to drop out of school due to factors such as low student motivation, and

seasonal demand for child labour. Low student motivation may be linked to factors pertaining to

the overall access and quality of schooling, along with personal preferences. The seasonal

demand for child labour was described by one district official as follows:

Enrolment increases during mapping but gradually falls during the schools year. This is a

problem during harvest time in particular, where students help their parents harvest so

most children aren’t in school for a couple of weeks at least.

Additionally, out of school youth and adults who missed out on formal education are also

identified during mapping and enrolled in the ALS (Alternative Learning System) through

teacher’s community outreach. A barangay official corroborated that the mapping is ‘effective in

identifying out of school youth’ in their barangay, and once identified they are ‘encouraged to

enrol in ALS’. Furthermore, the SRC is an important tool that allows a school to take stock of its

performance and report to the community and other stakeholders to improve communication,

awareness, and transparency. District and divisional respondents identify SRCs as useful

because they help secure funds from external stakeholders who require transparency from the

school. This was particularly relevant in ARMM, where MOOE funds were limited. Local level

respondents mentioned that SRCs help develop deeper partnerships and keep stakeholders

informed.

For the UNICEF supported Learning Action Cells, as a result of the orientation sessions,

teachers in most LGUs emphasised that they were able to incorporate play based learning

practices by developing their own games. This was achieved through both the training and the

guides and material provided to teachers after the trainings. A kinder teacher noted that the

children ‘Play bingo or memory games in classes to practice children’s memory in picture and



colour’. LAC orientation sessions are to be followed by in-school peer to peer sessions, a

teacher described this as a ‘venue for the exchange of ideas among teachers to improve the

delivery of education to our students’. Local level respondents note that this has resulted in a

shift in pedagogical approached. One district official stated:

There are changes in teaching strategy, like they have new approach for teaching,

because they share ideas among themselves like what are the new interactive materials

or what are the new trend for teaching.

Moreover, due to LAC orientation, teachers reported that they had started utilising participatory

and interactive approaches in lessons, and focussing on students based levels of competency

in subject matter. As one example, teachers would dedicate more time towards students who

had not understood a subject matter. Teachers strategically paired students with different

competency levels to increase learning of slow learners. This practice has included pairing

students within the same grade and between different grades. Moreover, teachers reported that

they gained deeper understanding of the curriculum and ways of implementing it in practice

through the LAC orientation sessions.

As mentioned above, UNICEF’s efforts in strengthening emergency preparedness and response

played a pivotal role in reducing the disruption caused by typhoon Melor in these parts of Aroroy

and Bobon. Due to the training provided by UNICEF, community members, including children,

were aware of what to do upon hearing disaster warnings. The barangay council does not have

to go from one house to another to remind the house owners anymore. This time, when the

community hears the warning sign they would immediately go out and look for a safe place. For

instance, upon hearing a disaster warning, children were aware that they must head to the

identified evacuation centres.

UNICEF’s support on WASH activities has resulted in improved handwashing and oral hygiene

behaviour in children both at school and at home. In a few sampled schools, UNICEF had

provided hygiene kits including soap, toothpaste gel, and toothbrush to children. Some schools

had also received washing stations, and some school teachers had been trained by Action

Against Hunger (ACF) and UNICEF. Head teachers observed some changes in children’s

behaviour as they incorporated hand washing into their daily routine. For instance, they noted

that they had seen children had been washing their hands before eating without being

prompted. In a few cases, this was also believed to be associated with reduction in sickness.

Parents recognised the benefits of regular WASH activities for children, some of the benefits

mentioned included learning ‘the importance of cleanliness and proper hygiene’ and learning

how to brush their teeth to ‘not experience tooth ache’.

Additionally, parents have reported that children practice proper sanitation and hygiene

behaviours on their own initiative at home as well. Whereby children conduct activities like:

‘wash their hands before eating and then they brush their teeth after eating’. Parents reported

that children encourage the rest of the family to follow suit and reported that children were the

ones to inform them about appropriate hand washing practices in some cases. In this way, the

impact of the WASH programme is also felt beyond the walls of the school as well.

What real difference has the basic education model made to the beneficiaries?



The key intended beneficiaries of UNICEFs BE programming are students. UNICEF is reaching

them through supporting their teachers, parents, community members, school principals,

barangays, regional officials, and central officials. To the extent that UNICEF programmes have

been implemented at the grassroots level, they have had a direct impact on the intended

beneficiaries at that level. There are certain challenges that remain (lack of resources,

shortcomings with trainings, continued complexity of the situation), but the immediate impact on

those who have felt the programmes has been positive.

However, this impact has largely remained localised to the immediately intended, limited

beneficiaries. It was noted through discussions with local level respondents that even in the

selected barangays, parents, community members and even school staff were often unaware

and unaffected by UNICEF’s direct support in their community. Significant challenges, including

resource constraints, will make it difficult for UNICEF to reach a wider range of stakeholders, so

greater effort will be needed at the central and regional levels to ensure that the gains and

learnings from UNICEF programmes will be consolidated further at the national level.

Whilst it is difficult to claim causal impact in the absence of a counterfactual, an assessment of

impact can be made by looking at changes in some key indicators, in particular those relating to

attitudinal changes. These indicators are stated in the BE evaluation framework. We note that it

is difficult to attribute the efforts made by UNICEF to gains in basic education indicators. This is

compounded by inconsistency in indicators between the years 2012 and 2015, as systems for

recording and reporting data throughout Philippines changed. For instance, nationally apparent

intake rates (AIR) decreased substantially but net intake rates (NIR) increased by 5%, indicating

a normalisation of age 6 pupils in grade 1. We note some of the main trends we see in the

quantitative analysis in Annex K.

Owing to issues with existing datasets and time limitations, attitudinal questions were only

assessed for 2016 MIS data to better understand discrepancies between regions. Indicators

such as participation rates and attendance rates and changes to parental attitudes could be

responded via the MIS Survey, however, data with which to evaluate the impact of many

initiatives was not available. For example, UNICEF has implemented E-SIP in many schools,

however there is no data on how this has impacted schools. The evaluation team requested

data on these schools but this was not available. Any progress made at the individual school

level would not be evident in LGU or regional aggregated data. In order to properly evaluate the

impact of this initiative, data on school finances would be required as well as data which related

to the objectives of the new SIP. For example if the objective was to reduce dropout rates, then

that schools dropout rates would be required. Quantitative data required for the assessment of

the impact on participation or quality in these schools was not available. This indicates that

more attention needs to be given to the monitoring and evaluation strategy in future country

programmes to ensure progress towards objectives and goals can be assessed at the school

and individual level (see Section 8 for more details).

Quantitative analysis of the Enhanced Basic Education Information System (EBEIS) show some

progress in terms of the provision of elementary education at the national level throughout the

period of CPC-7. However, we note that attribution to UNICEF is difficult to establish.



Elementary survival rate from Grade 1 to Grade 6 increased nationally by 13.1%, from

74.24% (GPI 1.11) in 2012 to 87.30% (GPI 1.07) in 2015. This demonstrates large

improvements in participation. However, there were large disparities between the

elementary survival rate in ARMM and other regions of the Philippines. Data analysis

indicates that the survival rate in ARMM was much lower at 40.9% (GPI 1.16) in 2015.

This may be due to poor data, which is common in conflict regions, or it may be owing to

the conflict itself, or a combination of factors.

Trends show that the national Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) for elementary education

decreased by 7.2%, from 113.5% (GPI 0.98) in 2012 to 106.3% (GPI 0.98) in 2015. In

addition, the Net Enrolment Rate (NER) for elementary education decreased by 4.1%,

from 95.1% (GPI 1.02) in 2012 to 91.1% (GPI 1.02) in 2015. This indicates significant

improvement in age appropriate enrolment, which may be linked to an increased

awareness of ECCD and kinder age among teachers, parent and communities. However

it also indicates a decrease in participation rates in elementary education. This may be

due to corrected data in the EBEIS.23

Nationally, the average elementary promotion rate (G1 to G6) increased 1.15%, from

95.1% (GPI 1.03) in 2012 to 97.2% (GPI 1.02) in 2015. The average elementary

repetition rate (G1 to G6) decreased 1.85%, from 2.47% (GPI 0.51) in 2012 to 0.62%

(GPI 0.45) in 2015. The average elementary Dropout rate (G1 to G6) increased 0.22%,

from 0.95% (GPI 0.55) in 2012 to 1.18% (GPI 0.57) in 2015. Although dropouts

decreased, there was an increase in the efficiency and retention of the education

system.24

Nationally, the average elementary transition rate to intermediate increased 1.69% from

95.8% (GPI 1.02) in 2012 to 97.5% (GPI 1.02) in 2015, demonstrating improvements in

efficiency and beneficial outcomes. The average elementary transition rate in ARMM

increased to intermediate level by 3.4% from 79.3% (GPI 1.05) in 2012 to 82.6% (GPI

1.04) in 2015. This increase is well above the national average. However, the transition

rate in ARMM, at 82.6%, still remains well below the national average and below all

other regions, the lowest of which is Region IX with 96.4%.

6.1.5 Sustainability

What were the major factors which influenced the achievement or non-achievement of

the sustainability of the Education component of the country programme?

A number of UNICEF-supported programmes are ongoing, and CPC-7 has also been extended

for two years through a bridging programme. Given that a number of BE programmes are at an

early stage of implementation, such as the support to improve the delivery of multi-grade

education, development of planning tools for teacher hardship incentives, and the support to

learning assessment through the participation of Philippines in the SEA-PLM in 2018, it is not

23 As noted in 2012, EBEIS recorded enrolments as aggregate totals from schools. In 2015, individual pupil data was recorded. This transition may lower country enrolment figures as every pupil must be accounted for in the system. 24 Efficiency gains mentioned here refer to reduced wastage, that is, the reduction in dropout, repetition and increases in promotion rate.



yet possible to attest their sustainability. However, some analysis can be done on whether

UNICEF’s programme is perceived to be sustainable and if activities supported under the

programme are likely to continue once programme funding is ceased.

According to national level respondents, sustainability is more likely to be achievable for

UNICEF BE programmes when they are embedded into government systems, policies, and/or

plans. UNICEF’s support in SBM tools and policies is deeply embedded in government systems

and processes, therefore, even if funding ceased, it may not adversely influence sustainability.

Programmes embedded into government systems may also benefit from the increase in the

government budget allocation to education.

In instances where UNICEF support is not embedded into the system, the long-term

effectiveness of the current support influences the resulting sustainability. In the case of LAC,

several local level stakeholders were of the opinion that the LAC support was sustainable

because it had a long lasting impact on the competencies of teachers who had undergone the

UNICEF LAC training. At the same time, at the grassroots level, we found that people who had

attended LAC trainings had often forgotten the training content and were not able to provide

details about what they had learned. In several cases, LAC orientation attendees were only able

to identify the name, location, or trainer’s name for the orientation, but could not clearly

articulate what they had learned or what had been covered during the training. School principals

mentioned ‘having attended a lot of trainings’ due to which they may have difficulty in recalling

the content of the LAC orientation. The evidence is thus mixed regarding the expected

sustainability of UNICEF’s LAC support. To some extent, this also speaks to the effectiveness of

the LAC training and its implication on the sustainability of UNICEF support.

On a related note, lack of ownership and continuity at the local level are major challenges for

the sustainability of UNICEF’s support to BE at the LGU level. Transfer of staff at all levels of

government, including school, barangay, and municipal level, is a major hindrance to the

continuity of the programme at the local level. The evaluation team observed that there had

recently been a lot of transfers in schools and divisional DepEd offices, which was also a result

of recent reorganisations from national, regional and division levels. With the transfer of officials

to other locations, learnings accumulated through trainings had been partially lost. This was

particularly problematic if the official who had attended the trainings directly and responsible for

spreading the knowledge and exchanging ideas had been transferred. Furthermore, as

mentioned above, transfer of teachers or municipal staff trained on LAC meant that school and

even municipalities lost some of the knowledge gained through LAC orientation sessions.

Moreover, the example of WASH support demonstrates the complexity of assessing

sustainability, because UNICEF support has clearly helped change attitudes and behaviours

among learners (and even parents) but the lack of continued resources threatens to reduce both

the immediate and long term gains from this programme. A school principal articulated this point

in this way:

I want this handwashing and tooth-brushing to be implemented regularly. One thing I

regret is the sustainability of the toothbrush because the UNICEF and ACF has provided

us but only for a few months. I want that to be improved, if possible, (to be provided)

school year round.



School teachers as well as parents reported that the children in their school are very poor, and

so cannot afford to buy these hygiene products without external support. According to DepEd

policy, schools can explore other means to support WASH activities, including through the E-

SIP or external funds, however, the evaluation team did not observe many instances of this at

the local level. Even when they get used to the practices, then, they are unable to continue them

when supplies finish. The evaluation team observed this as well, as some classrooms had

specially designed wooden cupboards to hold pupil toothbrushes, but the students did not

actually use them anymore, as supplies such as toothpaste had already been used and were no

longer available. Therefore, the sustainability of the impact of WASH support was diminished at

the local level because of a lack of resources.25

6.2 Gender and equity in BE

Quantitative analysis of MIS data also indicates that there remains considerable work to achieve

equity in the focal areas. Whilst the participation of girls and boys in each region was reasonably

well balanced, there were equity issues in the participation of different language and ethnic

groups and gender dimensions to participation within each language/ethnic group. There are

variations between regions in access to textbooks indicating inequalities in access to quality

education. Children with disabilities have lower rates of participation than other children and are

not identified or tracked well. In particular, we note:

Participation figures for boys and girls indicate that equality of participation was not a

significant problem at the start of the programme, and that remained the case at the end

as well. However, this may mask quality issues concerning access and provision. In

2016, there were also almost equal proportions of girls and boys aged 6 to 11 attending

school, with a Gender Parity Index (GPI) of 1.01. The gap widened significantly in favour

of girls in two LGUs, Mamasapano, Maguindanao (GPI 1.14) and Parang, Maguindanao

(GPI 1.11), although it was not possible to assess the reasons behind this result

because of the sequencing of the evaluation activities (as the qualitative fieldwork had to

be carried out before the quantitative data had been collected and analysed. This

suggest the need for UNICEF to closely monitor and address the disadvantaged

situation of boys in conflict affected areas. In all other cases, the final GPI was within 5

points of parity.

Elementary participation levels were generally high, but there were variations for

different ethnic groups. Sama children only have an 83% attendance rate and Tausug

are at 92%, whilst other ethnic groups were closer to the mean participation rate of 97%.

Local access to education and poverty could be responsible for such disparities, and

they highlight the gaps that remain to achieve equity.

Closely related to ethnicity is the language spoken at home. 42 language groupings

were identified. There are large variations in access to elementary education based on

language spoken at the home of the child. Many language groupings have almost 100%

enrolment but there are a number that have low enrolments. Most notable are the low

25 Note here that the evaluation was not focussed on studying other modalities of implementing the WASH in schools component, so we cannot comment on the sustainability of the full extent of BE WASH programming.



attendance rates of children from homes where the languages Sama (Samal)/Abaknon

82.6%, Tausog 91.5%, Iranon 94.4%, Subanen (Sicon,Zambo.Norte)/Subaben (Zambo.

Norte & Sur) 94.8% and Maguindanao 95.1% are spoken. This closely reflects the

enrolment rates of the different ethnic groups associated with the languages. This will

also be related to factors such as local access to education and poverty and highlights

the gaps that remain to achieve equity.

Whilst most language groups have a balanced representation of girls and boys enrolled

in elementary schools, there were notable exceptions in which either boys or girls were

excluded. The exceptions are Sama (Sama Bangengeh) (GPI 0.67) with more boys

proportional to girls enrolled, and Subanen (GPI 1.10), Iranon (GPI 1.13) and Tagakaolo

(1.15) with more girls than boys.

In total, 82% of children have access to textbooks in class (boys 81%, girls 82%, GPI

1.01). However, there is significant variation between regions in terms of access to

textbooks. For example, in Cotabato only 64% of pupils attending school have access to

textbooks, compared to 93% in Cawayan. In addition, there still remains a gap within

regions with 18% of pupils not having access to textbooks. Likely as a result of the

shortage of textbooks, 29% of parents reported their children had to share a textbook

with others in the class (boys 28%, girls 30%, GPI 1.05). However there are large

regional variations. For example, only 9% of pupils shared textbooks in Kalamasansig

but over half of the pupils (53%) in Labo shared textbooks.

Children with disabilities have lower rates of participation, and they are not identified or

tracked well. There is no standard method, such as the Washington Standards, for

identifying and classifying a child with disabilities. The number of children with disabilities

aged 6-11 identified through the survey is very small, typically ranging from 1 to 13

children in each LGU, the highest being Arakan. Therefore, it is difficult to make robust

claims regarding participation of children with disabilities.

The quantitative analysis of MIS data corroborate some of the key gender and equity related

findings of the qualitative data. At the grassroots level, we did not find any strong evidence

reporting of gender inequality in terms of access to education. However, school staff – including

principals and teachers – mentioned the difficulty IP communities, particularly those living in

remote areas, face in regularly attending school. The analysis indicates that the equity concerns

may be shifting and one needs to adopt a more nuanced approach to identify those who are

disadvantaged in education access.



7 Conclusion and lessons learned

7.1 Conclusion

The GPH- UNICEF education programme has operated across 36 vulnerable LGUs which vary

significantly in socio-economic characteristics, and have different capacities to implement

programmes through local partners (such as DepEd, DSWD, and BLGUs). This is not an

uncommon feature of donor programmes, and must be recognised when evaluating programme

performance over time. Furthermore, as noted in earlier sections, the implementation of this

programme has seen negative events such as typhoon Haiyan or conflict (most notably in

Mindanao), as well as positive events such as the government’s K-12 reform. The negative

events have impeded UNICEF’s ability to implement some activities on time, for instance by

diverting attention and resources towards emergency response programming. This has also

resulted in a change of some indicators and associated targets along the way. At the same time,

positive changes in government legislation and commitment towards ECCD and BE have

provided an enabling environment for UNICEF’s programme activities. UNICEF’s performance,

therefore, must not be assessed in isolation or purely measured through changes in indicators

stated in the Evaluation framework. Our evaluation has attempted to consider these external

factors and our findings present a nuanced analysis of achievements and non-achievements

over time.

The selection of vulnerable LGUs and the explicit focus on equity and disadvantaged

communities are key strengths of the CP. The contexts within which UNICEF has provided

support have been very challenging intentionally, and this focus is noteworthy.

Overall, the ECCD component of the 7th CP was designed to be relevant to country priorities

and despite significant progress in ECCD investment and outcomes, at least two of the three

initial objectives remain relevant for future programming (quality and institutional strengthening).

The intended outcomes of this programme were ambitious and far reaching: improving ECCD

quality, stimulating demand, and strengthening policy formulation in focus vulnerable 36 LGUs.

There are numerous activities or programmes within the 7th CP that speak to one or more of

these outcomes. Similarly, UNICEF’s BE support has been relevant, activities have largely been

effective, and they have produced a positive impact in local communities and national thinking.

We do note that some BE components have been embedded into government systems and

operations; national respondents suggest that this may enhance the sustainability of UNICEF’s

support.

The M&E framework designed to assess performance for this programme is weak, both by

design and in implementation (for instance, an important omission is any indicator measuring

‘quality’ of ECCD and BE services). This means that evaluating performance over the last five

years and attributing impact to UNICEF is methodologically challenging. The concern with

attribution should not be considered to be a problem in and of itself, because meaningful

partnerships and effective collaboration between organisations is critical to achieving lasting

impact. However, the contribution of UNICEF’s specific support should be understood to

institutionalise successes and generate learning for the future, both for UNICEF and other

stakeholders.



This evaluation has adopted various approaches to overcome some of these methodological

issues. Bearing in mind methodological caveats, we find that UNICEF’s programme overall has

largely been relevant, most activities were effective, and fund utilisation has been efficient.

UNICEF’s technical support is valued at the national and sub-national levels, and the

organisation is seen as a consultative partner by government and other stakeholders. Most

UNICEF activities have been implemented through established government service delivery

channels, and this has enhanced the capacity of government bodies to implement education

services. Several upstream and downstream activities have been conducted by UNICEF under

this component, and our findings suggest that the programme has been relatively more

successful in implementing downstream activities as compared to upstream activities. This

relates to UNICEF feeding back lessons learned through support of downstream activities to

stakeholders at the national level. There is limited evidence to suggest that UNICEF’s

experience from the field has been consolidated and communicated at the national level to

influence DepEd or DSWD’s education programming, either in more areas within the focus

LGUs or in additional LGUs. Although UNICEF has conducted numerous upstream activities

(under Output 3 of ECCD and Objective 1 and 3 of BE), national level stakeholders

demonstrated little recognition of significant policy influence at the central level.

Our findings suggest that UNICEF’s downstream support in provision of high quality learning

and wash materials, training of trainers, development of national guidebooks, and ECCD

checklist has been critical in the majority of focus LGUs. The provision of this support was

essential to the basic functioning of many schools, day care centres, SNPs, and Kindergartens.

Whilst attribution of impact was difficult, evidence gathered from a sub-sample of focus LGUs

suggest that end line beneficiaries saw a positive impact of UNICEF supported education

services, especially at the local level. In the focus LGUs where the 7th CP operates, participation

rates for ECCD have generally risen. Nevertheless, dropout rates have also risen and attitudes

of parents of out of school children have declined, although there are variations across LGUs.

Gender differences continue to exist, again with variation across LGUs. Similarly for BE,

national indicators show gains in access and participation, with gender parity largely achieved.

Therefore progress in improving access to education has been mixed and this calls for further

in-depth research in understanding the reasons behind such trends.

Moreover, at the grassroots level, UNICEF’s BE support has been largely effective at achieving

the specific targets of each component, albeit with some challenged. We find that UNICEF

support has strengthened local level collaboration on school-community planning processes

through the E-SIP. Particularly in ARMM, UNICEF’s support has been linked directly to the

increased capacity of local government and schools in enhanced planning processes. The

strength of UNICEF’s support in LAC has been in the shift in pedagogical practices. Local

officials noted a number of improved teaching practices adopted in classrooms.

A key conclusion arising from our findings is that the 7th CP overall is focussed on improving

access to ECCD rather than improving quality of service delivery. Furthermore, there is no

indicator or data source measuring quality of ECCD services in the evaluation framework.

Although the ECCD checklist is an important tool for child assessment, it is unclear if data from

these checklists is stored and analysed at an aggregate level to provide meaningful estimates

on learning outcomes. We also find little discussion of quality, especially in child learning



outcomes, in earlier assessments and reviews. Programmes supported by UNICEF such as

SNP, day care, KCEP and tahderiyyah are designed and implemented primarily to fill in supply-

side gaps and aim to reach children in remote, disadvantaged regions. Focusing on access

alone is understandable in certain contexts where UNICEF operates, for instance, in ARMM

where supply of basic ECCD services is inadequate due to persistent conflict and violence.

However programming as it stands largely contradicts the stated ‘quality’ objective of the 7th CP,

and programmes should have an explicit quality focus if improving quality is a priority for the

next country programme.

7.2 Lessons learned

Measuring the effectiveness and impact of training activities is challenging for a number of

reasons. Given the high levels of turnover of ECCD workers, training sessions split over a

number of months may not be effective as attendees change. Furthermore, roll out trainings that

rely on training the trainers are less effective than direct training sessions in ensuring the correct

transmission and retention of knowledge imparted in trainings, even if they are less resource

intensive.

Despite the change in legislation and almost universal awareness of the importance of ECCD,

day care and kindergartens still receive less attention in resource allocation and planning at the

municipal and barangay level. This is evident in the nature of recruitment, which often relies on

poorly paid volunteers for day care and SNP, as well as the use of untrained senior-grade

teachers in KGs. There is also reportedly a shortage of skilled staff to serve in these positions.

Regular and high quality provision of ECCD services would require structural changes in the

process of recruitment done by DSWD and DepEd, as well as department policies around

training of volunteer teachers.

Certain activities like contextualisation of curriculum for Tedurays and tahderiyyahs in ARMM

would not have taken place without UNICEF’s support. However, these activities should have

been conducted in greater collaboration with DepEd and DSWD at the central and regional

level, from the beginning and throughout the leadership changes in government. This could

have prevented issues around transition of students from alternative ECCD programmes (SNPs,

KCEP and tahderiyyah) to kindergarten. Having said that, any programming in the ARMM using

non-state actors is challenging, and UNICEF is in a unique position to support the delivery of

crucial ECCD services in conflict affected areas. UNICEF’s support to the tahderiyyah

programme has supported peace building, and advocacy efforts have reportedly contributed to

better relationship between DepEd ARMM and BDA over time.

Programmes that place a high burden on local resources require additional support to be

successful. UNICEF’s support is weakened by the high burden it places on the local level

officials and school staff. Multiple UNICEF supported programmes in BE place a burden on the

time and resources required from local level officials, (including head teachers, teachers, SBM

coordinators, and District supervisors). For instance, teachers devote a significant amount of

time and resource in the door to door mapping exercise carried out for the E-SIP without

additional remuneration. It is important to recognise teachers and head teachers’ efforts in

mapping and E-SIP by providing appropriate incentives for the activities. The involvement of

teachers in LAC sessions also places a high burden on their time outside schooling hours.



Despite having to balance a heavy workload against these extra commitments, their

involvement in these activities has not been well recognised or compensated. Moreover, limited

school-level funds for operationalization of E-SIP plans has dampened the impact of the support

as well. This weakens UNICEF’s support, as it reduces local officials’ capacity to implement the

programme, and threatens the effectiveness of these nationally driven programmes in the poor

and disadvantaged schools focused by UNICEF.

An important lesson for the future is that even programmes designed at the outset to ensure

sustainability may not achieve intended outcomes in the face of extreme capacity and budgetary

constraints, especially at the local level. UNICEF’s support to WASH exemplifies this. As with

most distribution activities, one-off provision of materials such as oral hygiene kits, checklists,

furniture, and learning materials is helpful but not sufficient for sustained impact. In most

instances, schools are unable to continue with activities because parents are too poor to afford

the purchase of these materials. In instances where these activities resume, parents or teachers

have to incur out of pocket expenses to purchase these materials. This is problematic in areas

where the majority of parents are extremely poor, especially those not enrolled in the 4Ps

programme. UNICEF staff are aware of these shortcomings, including a clear awareness of the

difficult circumstances within which they work. They have also taken a multi-faceted approach to

provide resources, attempted to change attitudes, and influence policy at the sub-national and

national levels to improve the provision of WASH in ECCD centres and schools. Nonetheless,

the situation in many rural areas remains dire, so UNICEF will have to continue to engage

meaningfully with wider actors at the regional and national level to create a facilitating

environment and infrastructure within which their programmes can work.

Given methodological constraints of this evaluation (described in detail in Annex D), the

foremost being attribution of impact for several activities implemented non-uniformly, the M&E

framework for this programme is not ideally designed nor well-suited for a ‘clean’ evaluation.

Certain indicators assigned in the evaluation framework are not reliable and/or valid. In addition,

quantitative data sources used, such as the MIS and EBEIS, have several quality issues. The

M&E framework assessment could have benefitted from ‘smart’ indicators with clear targets

defined across time. Furthermore, parallel qualitative research could have supplemented

existing data sources to uncover in-depth issues such as reasons for drop-outs, parental

perceptions, and causes of gender bias.



8 Recommendations

Having discussed the key findings in the last chapter, we present our prioritised

recommendations for UNICEF as well as the Government of Philippines and other relevant

stakeholders below. These recommendations should not be understood as discrete and

separate, but instead in relation to each other, as the integrated acceptance of these

recommendations in conjunction is necessary to improve the success of future UNICEF

programmes.

Recommendations for UNICEF at the macro level

1) UNICEF should design, develop, and implement its Planning and M&E frameworks

at the start of the country programme.

a. The evaluation framework should include process evaluations to assess the design

and implementation of ongoing activities, and provide course corrections as

necessary. In addition, the impact evaluation should also allow for a baseline at the

start of the CP, a potential midline, and then an endline to ensure a systematic and

rigorous methodology for the evaluation. Such an approach would help address a

number of issues that have come up during this evaluation. (Also see

recommendation 2.)

b. The evaluation framework should also include more relevant quality indicators so

that the focus is not only on access and participation.

c. M&E assumptions should be clearly stated at the outset so attribution and

contribution of the programme can be determined, especially as the education sector

gets external support from multiple partners.

d. The M&E framework should be designed with government partners, including the

oversight agency, NEDA, to ensure that commitments are systematically monitored.

e. UNICEF should also develop its Communications for Development Plans early in the

CP to avoid communication and coordination issues.

2) UNICEF should make explicit the link between each programme/activity pursued

within a CP and the objectives of the CP.

a. Each activity and programme should be linked to the broader Theory of Change

of the CP, with specific references to how each activity links to UNICEF goals.

The logical framework for each of the programme sub-components and its

relationship to UNICEF’s stated goals should be made clear from the start of the

programme.

b. This would also allow clarity in assessing whether (or not) and how UNICEF is

achieving its targets against its stated objectives. Since the evaluation will be

carried out against the OECD-DAC criteria, explicitly stated statements at the

planning stage about the expected relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact



and sustainability of these programmes should be prepared to provide clarity to

the implementation teams about how each programme contributes to the overall

goals of the organisation.

3) Acknowledging the difficulties of attribution, UNICEF should set targets and

design internal assessments accordingly.

a. UNICEF provides targeted support to particular programmes, and many other

organisations, including government agencies, play a critical role in the success

of these programmes. In addition, the wider context also affects the impact of

UNICEF supported activities. As such, UNICEF should develop indicators and

set targets that explicitly focus on the contribution they can make towards ECCD

and BE access and quality.

b. The implication of this recommendation should not be misunderstood to mean

that UNICEF should not work in partnerships; indeed, this is one of the greatest

strengths of UNICEF’s country programme. Instead, the targets should be

designed to be mindful of these partnerships, so that they are achievable and

can be assessed accordingly.

4) UNICEF should prioritise key areas where the organisation has comparative

advantage, to maximise its impact through the next CP.

a. UNICEF has carried out a broad range of activities across a very diverse country. The

ECCD component of the evaluation alone has assessed seven components of three

different programmes, for instance, and the organisation runs the risk of spreading itself

too thin. As such, we strongly recommend that UNICEF carry out a detailed mapping of

its priorities in relation to its comparative advantage, and pursue a limited number of

programmes to achieve its objectives. According to our analysis, some of the areas

where UNICEF has comparative advantage include:

i. The context within which UNICEF works in the Philippines is unique, given its

focus on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. UNICEF’s expertise and

experience in working with rural and urban poor, children with disabilities, and

indigenous populations is both timely and noteworthy, and this work should be

prioritised in the future as well.

ii. In terms of geography, UNICEF has comparative advantage in ARMM, especially

given their good contacts not only with DepEd and DepEd-ARMM but also MILF

and BDA. UNICEF has developed these relationships over a long period of time,

and maintained them through its local presence as well. This area should remain

a key focus for UNICEF, especially considering the significant challenges there.

a. UNICEF’s current approach to work in 36 LGUs should also be reassessed.

In addition to thematic spread, the vast geographic breadth of UNICEF’s

activities limits the depth to which these activities can be implemented in

each target area.



iii. UNICEF have a global reputation for high quality research, which is not always in

the agenda for either government institutions or international organisations. This

could be a key area for UNICEF Philippines to commission and carry out rigorous

research to inform debates and influence evidence-based policy at the national

level.

5) In order to strengthen the link between its downstreaming and upstreaming

activities, UNICEF should explicitly establish clear links between the two and

secure commitment from government stakeholders in advance.

a. Most UNICEF programmes are extremely relevant, and have had significant

impact at the local level. UNICEF should prioritise the expansion of these gains

to the national level in the next CP. For instance, the support to SNPs has

revitalised the provision of alternative day care services in some of the most

disadvantaged areas of the country, but the impact of UNICEF’s support could be

exponentially increased if various government bodies such as DSWD were to

ensure the provision of similar support to other areas which do not currently

benefit from effective SNP services.

b. Before UNICEF rolls out various programmes or support to existing downstream

activities, there should be a clear plan in place for how the learnings and gains

from these activities can be scaled up effectively to ensure effective upstreaming

as well. This plan should be detailed to include the terms under which these

programmes will be expanded, the responsibilities for UNICEF and partner

organisations, and the timeframes for assessment (of success and failure) and

scale up.

c. UNICEF should secure agreement and buy in from key government institutions

during the planning stages itself to ensure the replicability and sustainability of its

activities beyond the reach and lifecycle of their programming.

6) UNICEF should maintain current focus on vulnerability, but review its selection

mechanism regularly and communicate this effectively, especially to local

stakeholders.

a. UNICEF’s selection of LGUs based on vulnerability is largely relevant and

effective, as UNICEF support to programmes is reaching some of the most

difficult areas in the country. However, UNICEF should review the selection of

both LGUs, constituent barangays, and day care centres and schools regularly to

ensure that these selections reflect UNICEF’s concerns about equity and

vulnerability.

i. The selection criteria could benefit from clearly defining ‘vulnerability and

disadvantage’ and using more up to date and micro level data to sample

at the LGU level instead of province level (an example could be using

micro estimates of poverty and inequality). Conflict, exposure to natural

disaster, lack of natural resources (such as water), poor governance and



lower incomes are all correlated with vulnerability so it is important to

narrow down the particular dimension of vulnerability and disadvantage

with clear indicators to assess these dimensions.

b. Since UNICEF’s support is limited to select day care centres, kindergarten

programmes, barangay’s and LGUs, there is a lot of anxiety and concern at the

local level about the selection mechanism, with understandable frustration

among stakeholders who might not be beneficiaries. UNICEF should develop

and implement a clear communication plan to continually inform and update key

stakeholders (which includes both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries) about its

selection mechanism, so that the equity and vulnerability agenda remain

understood and appreciated at the local level.

c. The development of an integrated downstream-upstream agenda, as

recommended earlier, could also be useful to appease potential beneficiaries

who are not benefitting directly from UNICEF support yet.

Recommendations for UNICEF at the programme level

In addition to these macro level recommendations, we present below a few specific programme

level recommendations, which arise from our analysis of the ongoing activities so far.

7) UNICEF should ensure the official acknowledgment of tahderiyyahs and

tahderiyyah graduates into the system.

a. A number of tahderiyyahs continue to face difficulties in receiving accreditation

from local governments. UNICEF should continue to support tahderiyyahs to

facilitate their accreditation, but at the same time advise government

stakeholders to ease the accreditation process to account for the challenging

contexts and realities within which tahderiyyahs work. This can be done through

direct advocacy and facilitating dialogue between BDA and LGUs.

b. A number of tahderiyyah graduates also face difficulties in taking the validation

assessment required to receive a Learner’s Reference Number, which affects

their ability to transition seamlessly into the DepEd system. UNICEF should

support tahderiyyahs in conforming to the accreditation requirements, for

instance by providing classroom materials and learning resources in order to

ensure quality of education, and could also facilitate dialogue between BDA and

BLGUs so that they can better understand operational requirements.

8) UNICEF should support MTB-MLE at the local and national level by mapping

mother tongue languages, piloting implementation models, and developing guides

for transition at Grade 3.

a. UNICEF should develop detailed mapping of mother tongue languages used

within priority schools and LGUs to provide a comprehensive overview of the

language needs in these areas. If such mapping activities are already taking

place, UNICEF should support those efforts.



b. Teachers face challenges in the appropriate use of mother tongue in education

because many elementary school teachers involved with MTB-MLE do not have

the necessary skills or training to teach in mother tongue, particularly if the class

consists of multiple mother tongue groups. UNICEF should pilot different

implementation models which could help develop the appropriate pedagogical

practices to face these challenges. UNICEF should also provide support to

DepEd and other relevant partners to help implement the implementation models

identified through this process.

c. UNICEF should support the development of guidelines for the transition from

mother tongue instruction. After Grade 3, the medium of instruction changes from

mother tongue to Filipino and English. The implementation of the assessment

test in grade 3 in English, as well as the sudden transition to more national and

international languages thereafter, cause significant problems to school students

to transition from their mother tongue (or the locally dominant language) to other

languages. UNICEF could focus its resources based on its global experiences to

provide support to DepEd as well as partner schools to plan a successful

transition building on mother tongue education.

9) UNICEF should re-examine its strategies in sustaining the WASH programming

given the observed lack of resources and provisions for continued

implementation of the WASH activities once UNICEF provisions ran out.

a. There are observations that suggest that the WASH strategy can effect changes

in hygiene behaviour, but the lack of continuing resources constraints the

sustainability of hygiene practice in ECCD centres and schools.

b. The lack of resources indicates that the LGUs have not been able to effectively

implement the sustainability mechanisms set up by the WASH program. There is

a need to understand why the mechanisms, which harnessed the institutional

mandates and instruments of LGUs, have not worked to ensure the sustainable

delivery of the WASH services. This should delineate solutions to easing the

bottlenecks constraining WASH service delivery.

c. If financial and logistical constraints prevail, UNICEF should endeavour to design

programmes which are not resource intensive so that they can be followed in

poor schools and communities that cannot afford investing in resources. A

specific study to explore potential activities that are less resource intensive could

be the first step towards this.

10) UNICEF should commission targeted research on out of school children,

including reasons for non-enrolment, transitions, and dropout from ECCD, the

factors that impede the implementation of E-SIP, and the effect of variations in school

days on child’s development preparedness to inform future targeted interventions.



a. The emphasis of this evaluation has been on ECCD provision, but to fully

understand the role of ECCD, it would be helpful to have comparative information

for those who attend ECCD and those who do not.

b. There is a need to evaluate why implementation of E-SIP plans is challenging at

the school level. E-SIP plans are being developed widely, however, the areas of

improvement identified are often not implemented. Our evaluation finds that lack

of MOOE may be a key reason behind this.

c. We find that there was variation in school timings and attendance days across

the tahderiyyahs, which may be a result of school capacity and teacher

availability. UNICEF should conduct a comparative study to determine whether

the number of school days have a significant effect in the child’s developmental

preparedness for kinder or grade one learning (using the ECCD Checklist

Results).

Recommendations for government stakeholders

The impact, and success, of UNICEF programmes depends significantly on the wider contexts

within which UNICEF operate. As such, we present some broad recommendations for the

consideration of government stakeholders, including but not limited to DSWD.

1) Ensure that the basic conditions required for the success of UNICEF

programmes are in place.

a. A number of issues need to be addressed to allow for UNICEF, and other

governmental and non-governmental organisations, to conduct and support

effective programming. For instance, although UNICEF’s activities have been

instrumental in helping parents, teachers, and students to learn about good

attitudes and practices, the lack of availability of water facilities and safe

drinking water have severely limited the scope for these programmes. The

Government of Philippines might consider prioritising learnings from partner

organisations to help address the challenges faced in the implementation of

key programmes that support the government’s explicit goals and targets.

b. The government could also create a database on the day care and school

age population that is readily available for local, regional and national level

stakeholders, in order to inform the planning process (including E-SIP) and

identify out of school children.

2) Develop a clear downstream-upstream-downstream action plan with partner

organisations, including UNICEF.

a. UNICEF works closely with government institutions to design and implement

key activities and programmes in focus LGUs. Consistent with

Recommendation 5 for UNICEF, the government could also outline and

agree a plan of action not only for how these downstream activities will be

implemented at the local level, but also how organisations will use the



learnings from these programmes to influence policy and practice at the

national level (upstreaming) and then roll out wider programmes

(downstream, again) based on the gains from these programmes. Right now,

UNICEF support might be filling some gaps, but government actors might

want to have concrete plans in place to ensure that these gains are

institutionalised across LGUs and national agencies.

3) Provide and ensure a reasonable and standard salary package for all ECCD

workers.

a. Although some LGUs have begun to make provisions to provide honorariums

and salaries to SNP and day care workers, almost all SNP workers and many

day care workers do not receive a regular salary yet. Even those who receive

regular payments do not get paid adequately, as numerous DSWD officials

themselves confirmed.

b. Most of the 36 vulnerable LGUs where UNICEF work represent some of the

most challenging work environments. It is therefore important for the national

and local government to quickly provide regular honorariums and salaries to

attract and retain good workers.

c. Allocation of budget at the national level to finance ECCD workers

compensation will help create a standard salary package for each ECCD

worker.

4) Translate the ECCD checklist to local languages and provide trainings to child

development workers and KG teachers to use them effectively.

a. The ECCD checklist has been a useful tool to understand and improve

kindergarten services, but the impact of the current support has been limited

because of language concerns and lack of adequate training.

b. The government should continue to provide regular trainings to child

development workers and KG teachers, and might also consider providing

technical support to translate the ECCD checklist to local languages that can

be easily understood by those expected to use the checklist.

5) Provide learning resources as well as human and material resources to

improve the impact of ECCD and BE services.

a. UNICEF’s work in some of the most vulnerable LGUs has provided proof of

concept for the need for learning materials and resources at the grassroots

level. The value of providing these services is obvious, so government

institutions (including DSWD and LGUs) should now focus on prior allocation

and expansion of the provision of resources to reach all centres as soon as

possible.



b. Day care workers in many LGUs are already having to use their own personal

funds to prepare ECCD checklists for their classes, which places an undue

burden on them. The government could urgently explore funding mechanisms

to provide all ECCD centres with the requisite materials to ensure that the

gains from the use of ECCD checklists are maximised and institutionalised.

c. District and division officials already have a high work load, so even if

UNICEF and the government agree that added responsibilities are important,

this could be further supported and incentivised through the provision of more

staff and/or additional stipends to carry out the additional tasks. Without such

support or incentives, these officials are unlikely to carry out additional BE

activities successfully.

6) Recognise tahderiyyah graduates and allow them to continue their education

at the primary level

a. Many tahderiyyah students still face difficulties to continue their education

after they graduate from their programme. DepEd and DepEd ARMM could

liaise with formal and informal institutions as well as tahderiyyahs to ensure

that school age children do not face additional burden to enrol in basic

education, regardless of the type of ECCD centre they attend.

7) Provide appropriate incentives and budget to local, district and divisional

officials to perform additionally assigned tasks, including but not limited to

child mapping for E-SIP.

a. Child mapping for E-SIP is a highly time intensive activity prescribed to

teachers as an additionally assigned task for school staff. We find that

motivation often runs low when performing child mapping due to the lack of

financial incentives to performing these tasks in what would otherwise be a

holiday period. In order to sustain this activity – upon which the development

of E-SIP hinges – and the morale of school staff, it would be important for the

government to provide remuneration for this and other such additional tasks.

b. More generally, the government could put in place an incentive scheme to

boost morale of school officials by acknowledging the role of head teachers

and teachers participating in time intensive exercises such as LAC and the E-

SIP.

c. At the district and divisional level, quality assurance of E-SIP is an additional

burden for officials, such as the SBM Coordinator, who already have a high

work load. The government could also ensure that the district and divisional

officials have enough support and resources to perform these tasks

effectively.



8) Enable equitable allocation of government budget at schools, such that

disadvantaged schools have enough budget to implement programmes such

as E-SIPs and LACs.

a. Schools in rural and less served areas are often underfunded. Funds

available at the discretion of the head teacher are also limited, which

hampers their ability to implement priority areas of improvement identified in

the E-SIPs.

b. Government stakeholders at the national, regional, and local level could

consider ensuring that schools have equitable and sufficient discretionary

funds to be able to not only plan but also implement E-SIPs. Mechanisms

should be developed to ensure that underfunded schools can systematically

reach out to barangay and higher level government to access education

funds.



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Annex A Terms of reference

See separate document.



Annex B Theory of change and results framework




Annex C Object of the Evaluation (Details)




Annex D BE programme (Details)




Annex E Evaluation Purpose, Objectives and Scope (Details)




Annex F Evaluation Methodology (Details)




Annex G Data collection Instruments




Annex H ECCD Qualitative Data Analysis




Annex I Basic education qualitative data analysis




Annex J ECCD Quantitative Data Analysis




Annex K Basic Education Quantitative Data Analysis




Annex L ECCD additional tables for quantitative analysis




Annex M Efficiency analysis (details)


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