Independent Evaluation

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Evaluation on the Education Sector Development Program in Mongolia
Completed: 2007

This Program Performance Evaluation Report assessed the performance of the Education Sector Development Program (ESDP) in Mongolia, selected for evaluation to determine lessons from a sector-wide, reform-based program in a country experiencing the early stages of transition to a market economy. The evaluation reviewed the value added of ADB assistance and program performance based on the standard evaluation criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability.

Summary of Findings

Performance of the ESDP was rated "highly successful" because it established strong policy foundations for sector-wide education development in Mongolia.

The ESDP successfully accomplished its targets of establishing

• education development policies appropriate to a market-oriented system,
• models for school rationalization,
• a new curriculum and associated revision and improved publication arrangements for textbooks, and
• in-service and pre-service teacher training.

It successfully strengthened institutional capacity in the education sector, including a new structure and management system within the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science, which enabled the Ministry to fulfill its role as a strategic planning, policy-making, and regulating body.

The ESDP also succeeded in upgrading the quality and relevance of educational content at the general secondary levels. It created an enabling environment that led to significant improvements in education indicators. Enrollment at all levels, which plummeted during the economic crisis, rebounded and increased considerably from 1996 to 2005. The success of the ESDP is most clearly demonstrated by Mongolia's selection for the "Education for All" Fast Track Initiative Partnership, which constitutes the first global compact on education, and which seeks to assist low-income countries to achieve free, universal basic education by 2015.

Key Success Factors

• highly satisfactory ADB supervision-program and project specialists had extensive country knowledge and experience;
• the project implementation unit had good staff, and a director who was knowledgeable, energetic, and efficient, and remained for the duration of ESDP implementation;
• satisfactory performance of consultants; and
• the ESDP was designed and implemented at a time when the Government was highly open to making changes and endorsing reforms. The ESDP also demonstrated that sustainable reforms are best achieved by establishing and promoting successful models that demonstrate what can be achieved.