Midterm performance evaluation of USAID/Macedonia"s interethnic integration in education project

Instead, separation and division threatens to reduce accurate information flow across ethnic lines and to perpetuate stereotypes about "other" groups. The Interethnic Integration in Education project (IIEP) acts to build broad public understanding of the benefits of an integrated educational system in Macedonia. It works with a variety of actors to create "the political, social, and economic environment needed for Macedonia to achieve sustained interethnic integration in schools, in other educational institutions and eventually all of society." The project is implemented through four interrelated components that target all primary and secondary schools across Macedonia and build the capacity of the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), the Bureau for Development of Education (BDE), the State Education Inspectorate (SEI), and the Vocational Education and Training Center (VETC) to support IIE activities. This evaluation provides answers to two types of questions: (1) determining if the project has met its objectives and (2) recommendation questions aimed at improving the current project implementation and informing future USAID efforts in interethnic educational integration. Evaluation questions are: (1) what are the progress and the effectiveness of the project"s interventions to date on the project objectives; (2) how well is the project communicating with beneficiaries, the Government of Macedonia, other donors, and NGOs in the area of ethnic integration; (3) does the project approach need to be modified in order to reflect the reality of current ethnic relations [and] if so, how; (4) which selected actions and/or cross-cutting themes and corresponding activities should be further emphasized, modified, or eliminated, and why; (5) what should the implementer do to ensure sustainability; and (6) what existing alternative approaches could lead to better results? An overall conclusion follows the detailed project component analyses. Considering the size and complexity of the issue that the project seeks to address -- the interethnic integration of all schools at the primary and secondary level -- the project is performing remarkably well. The project is relevant and responsive to the context and ethnic realities present in Macedonia today; however, the disruptive influence of politics in school life, limited financing and opportunities for fundraising for activities, the segregating nature of the education system, and the lack of concrete professional and/or financial incentives to continually motivate teachers threatens the project"s sustainability in the long term. (Excerpt, modified)