Government officials have confirmed the government’s intention to send capitation grant money directly to primary and secondary schools, in order to boost quality of learning.
This was said by the Minister of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT) and the Minister of Prime Minister’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG) at an event on 5 December releasing preliminary results for KiuFunza (thirst to learn), Tanzania’s largest randomized control trial in education. KiuFunza, run by Twaweza and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) with support from the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), has demonstrated that when funds are sent directly to schools they reach there in full and on time, and in a predictable manner, increasing the ability of schools to plan better and purchase essential learning materials.
The Minister of Prime Minister’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG) said “…the process of sending money directly to schools is being reviewed to plan for effective implementation. The government will work with stakeholders , including Twaweza, to see how best to implement the program successfully.”
Sara Mlaki, speaking on behalf of the Minister of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT) and Kassim Majaliwa (MP), Deputy Minister PMO-RALG responsible for education, both emphasized how the Twaweza project had shown how the capitation grant could be administered more effectively. Congratulating Twaweza, the ministers noted that the civil society organization’s approach increased reliability, transparency and accountability. They assured the participants that the government is open to ideas and evidence, and that these measures will be taken up without further delay, including strengthening auditing of use of funds at school level.
Twaweza presented its first year preliminary results at a special event held in Mbweni and Kiumbageni Primary Schools in Dar es Salaam Region the presence of a number of key government personnel and members of parliament. KiuFunza tests the impact on learning outcomes of two ideas – sending capitation grant directly to schools and providing teachers bonuses based on how many of their students pass basic literacy and numeracy tests. The two are also being tested in combination. The project operates in 156 schools in 11 districts of the country.
Initial findings show that after one year, children in schools where the interventions were tested together show significantly better learning outcomes than schools in which no interventions were carried out. In addition, the capitation grant was received in full by all the schools and this has led to reports of fewer shortages of essential materials. However, the capitation grant alone did not lead to improved learning results, at least in the first year.
The bonus only scheme has had some result evidenced by teachers spending more time teaching (extra classes and additional test taking) but has not yet shown significant impact on learning outcomes. However, in early 2014 teachers have responded positively to receiving the bonus for 2013. Many teachers confirmed that in 2013 they lacked trust in the bonus offer, but, having seen Twaweza deliver the bonus as promised, they have expressed belief in the incentive offer in the second year of the project.
During the event, there was broad support for the Twaweza initiative with government officials expressing interest in implementing the local cash on delivery (bonuses for teachers whose children learn) intervention. On behalf of the Chief Executive Officer Of the President's Delivery Bureau (PDB), Omari Issa, Dr Linda Ezekiel stressed discipline and accountability, as well as teamwork in implementing Initiatives, in conjunction with KiuFunza’s incentive payments experiments, which is also a BRN initiative that PDB oversees.
Dr Hassan Mshinda, Director General of COSTECH, emphasized the need for policy to be informed by this type of rigorous scientific research and called for similar initiatives in other sectors.
All participants at the event, which included MPs and donors, were able to observe school premises and KiuFunzatesting methodology. The tests determine teachers’ bonus payments and are based on the national curriculum and developed in collaboration with experts from the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) and endorsed by the Tanzania’s Teachers’ Union (TTU). The tests are for Grades 1, 2, and 3 in Kiswahili, English and Mathematics.
All schools and districts in the trial were chosen randomly and the methodology for KiuFunza conforms to the highest scientific standards. The work of the research team is overseen by Professor Isaac Mbiti of the University of Virginia and Professor Karthik Muralidharan of the University of California in San Diego, international leaders in education research. The entire trial takes place over two years and final results are due mid-2015.
Rakesh Rajani, Head of Twaweza, said “Everyone agrees that we have a quality of education problem in our country. The challenge now is how to improve learning. A lot of things are done with good intentions, but they are not as effective. The fact that the budget for education has tripled in the last decade while quality has gone down shows we need to do something different.
KiuFunza employs scientifically rigorous research methods to generate new ideas and evidence for what works. Although we are only half-way through the trial, we are already seeing positive results in the combination schools. We are pleased that the government is following developments closely and has already acted swiftly to change the way in which capitation grants are disbursed. In mid-2015 we will have new data on what works, and in particular whether the bonus scheme increases teacher motivation and accountability. In the 21st century, the government needs to use evidence and thoughtful ideas to improve education.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment