Audit of ASEAN participant training program, project number 398-0287

Audit covers the period 1980-1987 and focuses on the countries of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. The audit found that there is virtually no basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the ASEAN scholarship program, since more than half of the 276 graduates from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand could not be located by the audit team and the A.I.D. ASEAN regional development office (RDO) had never established a participant follow up program. Millions in training costs have been spent with no assurance that the participants have returned home or have effectively utilized their training. Further, the majority of students who were located by the audit team were unaware that A.I.D. had financed their training. The audit recommends that participant follow up procedures be implemented immediately, as per A.I.D. Handbook 10 guidelines. In addition, the project has trained 48 persons at a cost of about $550,000 from Malaysia and Singapore, developed countries which do not qualify for A.I.D. assistance. The audit recommends that financing for students from these countries be reconsidered. The ASEAN RDO contests the conclusion that there is no method in place to evaluate the program"s effectiveness, and denies that there is a problem with brain drain in the program. It does, however, concede the value of additional documentation of participant activities after graduation, and will discuss the possibility of compiling periodic special reports on participants with implementing institutions. The recommendation to drop Malaysian and Singapore students from the program is unfeasible, the RDO states, since it is contrary to established ASEAN policy and A.I.D. objectives to build regional economic cooperation. Finally, the ASEAN RDO does not believe that A.I.D. Handbook 10 guidelines are intended to apply to regional training programs.