BASIC EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PRIMARY TEACHER TRAINING SUBPROJECT

Evaluation, attached to a progress report (PD-AAI-210-B1), covers the period 9/79-9/80 and is based on committee meetings, a review of files, and interviews. The project"s first year was a qualified success. Thirty-five PTTI instructors are receiving M.S.-level training at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). An additional 35 instructors are undergoing preparatory training in Yemen. There have been shortfalls, however, in several areas. Only 8 months were available to prepare participants for EMU. This situation, while foreseen and approved by USAID to permit immediate implementation, was aggravated by the lack of indigenous instructors qualified to teach English as a second language. An EMU field staffing shortage was also a problem, although this situation was also approved by EMU and AID/W. The Ministry of Education (MOE) could not provide EMU with qualified Sana"a University graduates. Applications for this training were few and limited the MOE"s ability to exercise selectivity. A major setback was the failure to initiate an inservice training program to teach underqualified teachers and develop education models. The MOE has suggested postponing this component pending UNICEF support. The primary education management and evaluation system was not established. Research on the retention of students in primary schools was not conducted, nor was a timetable for its implementation drafted. Primary school teacher training has been delayed until the project"s third year. The project has taught that logistical problems and lack of local staff heavily affect project transferability; and that USAID"s should facilitate a contractor"s entry into a country and avoid adversary-type relations with the contractor"s field staff. A detailed life of project implementation plan should be prepared as specified in the project paper (PP), and all activities postponed from the first year should be undertaken during the second year. Also, the project must be immediately and fully staffed in accordance with the PP.