End of Term Evaluation: Improvement of Rural Primary School Facilities (IPREF)

Detailed description of project Back

PNG’s remote primary schools are unable to deliver effective primary education to a reasonable standard. The underlying cause is geographical remoteness. Others causes identified include; lack of accessible medical facilities and clean water, frequent non-payment of allowances and salary, poor communication,… The Improvement of Rural Primary Education Facilities (IRPEF) was signed in 2003 under 8^th EDF. The purpose of the IRPEF project is to improve the educational provision, and consequently, increased student participation in selected primary schools.

The overall objective of the end of term review is to provide decision makers in GoPNG and the European Commission with sufficient information to make an informed judgment about the performance of the programme, whether it archived the planned results, and to document lessons learned.

The mission will assess the efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability and relevance of the programme in the context of the stated objectives in order to assess the rationale behind the programme, and whether its components were correctly chosen priorities in the light of the education reform process, and whether any other needs were omitted.

The expected results are:

• An assessment of the effectiveness of the management of the programme with reference to overall programme purposes and a critique of the original programme design, logical framework and available budget;
• A review of GoPNG’s contribution to the programme and particularly whether the Special Conditions of the Financing Agreement were met;
• An evaluation the actual performance during the period of implementation under review as measured against the programme’s logical framework;
• A critical examination of the appropriateness of the inputs, and an assessment of the effectiveness and sustainability of the design solutions.

Type of services provided

PROMAN provided the services of a primary education expert who:

• Studied reports and relevant literature;
• Held consultations and discussions with different stakeholders at Port Moresby/Waigani;
• Travelled to Madang, East Sepik and Western Highlands Provinces to visit a selection of schools – and their communities – visited the University of the Divine Word in Madang and consulted Provincial and District Education officials, other PSC members, Head Teachers, Teachers and BOM members;
• Discussed findings with representatives of the Delegation, the Office of the NAO, and the NDOE;
• Drafted an evaluation report, including useful recommendations.