COST METHODOLOGIES - EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

education planners to develop methodologies for analyzing costs of education projects that employ modern educational technology. This final evaluation covers the period 6/30/76-3/31/79 and was conducted by AID/W personnel who reviewed previous project documentation. Edutel Development and Communications, Inc., was contracted to prepare manuals providing methodological guidance in cost analysis of technical education systems and in cost effectiveness/benefits of alternate systems, as well as to perform other activities addressed below. The cost analysis manual was submitted three months after an extended due date of 9/77, granted to incorporate into the manual experience gained from the the Edutel Technology Cost Conference held in 3/77. The manual was then criticized as being unsuitable for field use, of questionable use as an A.I.D. seminar text, and requiring extensive editing in any case. Efforts to rectify this situation included the preparation of a new cost analysis manual, two state-of-the-art papers on the economics of educational strategies, and case studies for Iran, the Ivory Coast, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Tanzania. A field test of the manual conducted in Indonesia showed that LDC non-economists were still unable to use the manual effectively in education planning. Regarding other project objectives, Edutel reported on a typology of analytic needs and discussed its application to site selection for field testing with A.I.D. through a six page paper. No workshop was conducted under this project as planned, although separate funding was provided for the previously mentioned conference. The evaluators conclude that contractor support was weak, inconsistent, and irresponsible, though many management difficulties are attributable to both A.I.D. and Edutel. Useful application of the manual in training LDC participants was not demonstrated. Failures of this project imply that application of economic analysis to LDC education problems may require skilled economic consultants, strong LDC support, and local training.