Project BEST [basic education strengthening] evaluation : report to United States Agency for Development, Honduras Mission

The BEST project, which focused primarily on alternative basic education delivery systems, but also included an educational policy component, was successful in the majority of its components, but had mixed success in the Advisory Center for Human Resources Development (CADERH) component. EDUCATODOS (formerly ABEDS), an interactive radio instruction program, has successfully built an extensive service network, reached its intended target population, met many of its learning goals, and clearly has had an impact on more than 200,000 out-of-school children and young people, as well as illiterate or barely schooled adults. Weaknesses in evaluation methods and a need for updating program methods and materials are detailed in the report. The team recommends a final period of gradually declining assistance, during which EDUCATODOS would receive TA to strengthen its academic and administrative systems, and be slowly absorbed into the Secretariat of Education's regular structure. The CADERH-coordinated vocational education network provides quality training services to low-income youth and young adults. It is currently being expanded through a contract with DevTech, Inc. CADERH itself, however, while its materials development, training, and certifications services represent real value added, continues to have serious management and financial problems unrelated to the project. It is an open question whether it will be able to resolve those problems and become a sustainable, self-funding organization. The evaluation team recommends that CADERH be informed that USAID will provide final, tie-off assistance, provided CADERH is prepared to undertake a series of actions designed to produce sustainability by the end of the grant period. Assuming CADERH qualifies, assistance would be terminated 12/31/02. After Hurricane Mitch, important work was done under the policy component of BEST to lay the groundwork for comprehensive educational reform in Honduras. USAID/Honduras played an active and important role in helping create a consensus in favor of reform, supporting the planning and public discussion of reform plans and supporting it through effective donor coordination. In addition, the Mission assisted several pilot projects, two of which utilize distance learning, to provide inputs to the anticipated reform program. A national educational reform effort has now been launched. The team recommends that USAID give priority to supporting selected components of this effort. (Author abstract, modified)