FINAL REPORT/EVALUATION : FUNDAMENTAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS TRAINING PROJECT

Pilot proj designed to develop institutional capability of Ministry of Educ (MOE) to plan, manage, & eval short-term skills trng courses for unskilled urban & rural Salvadorans. Proj achievement indicators met or surpassed with participant & in-service trng of 10 MOE administrators, 4 supervisors, & 58 instructors; development of 36 new skills trng courses with training of 1712 semi-skilled individuals. Participants in most cases successfully serviced through new guidance system consisting of orientation & job info dissemination. Students enrolled in MOE's entire Occupational Skills Trng Program (OST) tripled & the retention rate improved from 46% to 54%. Despite FESTP resource investment, size & quality of MOE staff is insufficient to sustain expanded OST program; specialized tech & admin units are critically needed. FESTP guidance system was not fully implemented in all pilot schools. Physical facilities & equipment are inadequate to deliver expanded OST courses. The Trade Advisory Council component of FESTP planning & mgmt info system not adequately developed to supply schools with valuable trade info. Occupational surveys & tracing of 60% of course graduates demonstrated relevance of OST courses utilizing job hiring and income level criteria. Eval recommend emphasis & expansion of permanent, rotating, & mobile courses in construction, auto mechanics, sewing & tailoring; deemphasis & confinement to urban areas the offerings of service-industry related courses including cooking, cosmetology, & radio/TV repair. Eval identifies necessary admin & tech personnel needs of MOE's Div of Adult/Permanent Educ (DAPE), recommending filling of 22 positions, and that DAPE take advantage of expertise of other MOE offices. Eval further recommends full utilization of available stock of OST courses; greater support of guidance system; further dvlp of trade advisory council network; more in-service trng of school principals; and dvlp of vital instructional materials. Additional USAID support is not proposed in report.