Dire Dawa Administration

Education Bureau

Assessment on the capacity gap of the education personnel in performing their

tasks towards attaining quality education for all:
The case of Dire Dawa urban kebeles and education bureau.

Education Bureau
Dire Dawa2013
Table of Contents

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 1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………… 3
1.1 Background ………………………………………………………………………. 3
1.2 Statement Of The Problem ……………………………………………………….. 5
1.3 Research Questions ………………………………………………………………. 6
1.4 General Objective ………………………………………………………………… 6
1.5 Specific Objectives ……………………………………………………………..…6
1.6 Scope Of The Study ……………………………………………………………….7
1.7 Significance ….……………………………………………………………………7
2. Literature review …………………………………………………………………………. 8
2.1 Capacity Assessment Framework …………………………………………….….. 9
2.3 Basic Capacities Essential For Implementing Education Sector Plans ……….. 10
2.3 Issues and Challenges In The Education Sector Of Ethiopia ………………….. 10
2.3.1 Current Situation …………………………………………...…………….. 10
3. Methodology……………………………………………………………………………... 11
3.1 Description Of Study Area ……………………………………………………...… 13
3.2 Research Design …………………………………………………………………... 13
3.3 Sources of Data ……………………………………………………………………. 13
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Technique …………………………………………….. 13
3.5 Instrument of Data Collection …………………………………………………….. 14
3.5.1 Questionnaires ……………………………………………………………… 14
3.5.2. Interview …………………………………………………………………... 15
3.5.3. Focus Group Discussion ……………………………………………………15
3.6 Data Collection Procedure. ………………………………………………………. 15
3.7 Methods of Data Analysis……………………………………………………….. 16
4. Work plan ………………………………………………………………………..………. 17
5. Logistics ……………………………………………………………………………...… 18
5.1 Personnel Cost…………………………………………………………………….. 18
5.2 Stationary Cost……………………………………………………………………. 19
6. References ……………………………………………………………………………… 20

1.Introduction

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 1.1Background

Education for All (EFA) is a global issue that ten years after the world conference on education
for all held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990, many stakeholders maintained that insufficient
progress has been made towards its realization. Due to this, a renewed commitment was made in
Dakar, Senegal, in 2000. The world education forum in Dakar adapted a framework for action
focusing on the achievement of six EFA goals by 2015 and reflects on developments both within
and outside the education sphere that has since affected its realization (UNESCO, 2008).

Quality issues have become a central theme in the education over the last few years.
Increasingly, it is being acknowledged that quality must be seen in the light of how societies
define the purpose of education and that quality can influence parents’ choices to invest in
education.

There is considerable debate about the concept of quality of education and how it should be
measured. Several proxy indicators are generally used to measure quality of education; among
them are measures of students’ learning outcomes, which are widely used for this purpose,
particularly among countries at similar levels of development. However, measures of learning
achievement are incomplete, as they do not include values, capacities and other non-cognitive
skills that are also important aims of education (UNESCO, 2004b).

There need be no great mystery about what we mean by quality. In general terms, if we say that
an article or activity has the attribute of quality, then it exhibits some kind of excellence or
distinction that makes it desirable and beneficial. As Deming cited on Temesgen puts it, ‘A
product or service possesses quality if it helps somebody and enjoys a good and sustainable
market’. Schooling, for example, benefits society by helping the student to make something of
him /her (TemesgenMelaku, 2008).

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Schools are set up by society for the specific purpose of teaching/learning and the development
of the society’s youth. But ‘society’ is not something ‘out there’. It is made up of you, me and
the next person. We are society. Schools and the schooling process should rightfully be
experienced as ours-as owned by us. This means that all teachers, students, parents, and other
members of communities in which schools are situated, as well as all members of the society as a
whole, should be involved (David; Sandy and Peliwe, 1997).

How, then, should we determine what constitutes an educated person? We must be clear that, in
the public sector, this is a political question: educational theory is irrelevant if our
recommendation carries no conviction with parents and other stakeholders, not least the students
themselves. This implies the need to consider what the government wants to achieve in the
quality of education (TemesgenMelaku, 2008).

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 1.2Statement of the Problem

Government policymakers and development groups have emphasized the importance of boosting
the quantity of education. Expanding schools yields clear signals of social and economic
progress: Building more school structures, hiring more teachers, and enrolling more children
offer concrete signs of change. Yet the quality of teaching and learning that occurs within this
burgeoning number of schools is highly variable and very low in many developing countries.
Several recent events prompt rising concern over inadequate school quality (Bruce, 1985).

The general education sector of Ethiopia has encountered a number of problems in relation to the
following policy concerns like, Access to general education, Equity in education, Quality and
relevance of education, Efficiency of education and Organization and management of education
(TemesgenMelaku, 2008).

Hence, the main reasons that attracted the researcher to study assessment on the capacity gap of
the education personnel in performing their tasks towards attaining quality educationis that the
assessment on students achievement in regional examination for grade 4 and grade 8 shows that,
the average score of students science subjects is ____ and in mathematics in is____. On the
other hand, similar assessment conducted on students’ achievement in standard examination
prepared by the bureau for grade 4 and grade 8 shows that the average score of students’ science
subjects is ____ and in mathematics in is____ which is less than the minimum passing point.

Therefore, the capacity gap of the education personnel especially those personnel at leadership
position in performing their tasks towards attaining quality educationin primary schools in Dire
Dawa should be assessed for the improvement of education quality.

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 1.3 Research questions

 What are the capacity gaps of school principals in performing their tasks to improve the
quality of education in primary schools?
 What are the capacity gaps of school supervisors in performing their tasks to improve the
quality of education in primary schools?
 What are the capacity gaps of kebeles’ education experts in performing their tasks to
improve the quality of education in primary schools?
 What are the capacity gap of education bureau’s experts in providing support, monitoring
and evaluation for kebeles and primary schools?

1.4 General objective

The general objective of the study is to assess the capacity gap of the education personnel
towards attaining quality education for all in Dire Dawa urban area.

1.5 Specific objectives

 To assess the capacity gaps of school principals in performing their tasks to improve the
quality of education in primary schools.
 To assess the capacity gap of school supervisors in performing their tasks to improve the
quality of education in primary schools.
 To identify the capacity gap of kebeles’ education experts in performing their tasks to
improve the quality of education in primary schools.
 To identify the capacity gap of education bureau’s experts in providing support, monitoring
and evaluation for kebeles and primary schools.
 To develop need based education sector work plan in Dire Dawa unban kebeles based on
the gaps identified.

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 1.6 Scope of the study

In education sector UNICEF supports the basic education program which is delimited to pre-
primary and primary education both in the first and second cycle. Hence, the scope of this
study is delimited to Dire Dawa urban kebelesthat have been mandated to administer, monitor
and evaluate those primary schools under them. Though there are different education
stakeholders the scope of this study will go to teachers, school principals, school supervisors,
kebeles’ and education bureau’s education experts regardless of those stakeholders such as
parents and students.

`1.7 Significance

The outcome of this study is expected to generate useful information to gauge policy strategies
what Dire Dawa Educational Bureau implies and/or requires at various levels, specifically:

 At the community level, for school staff, parents and other community members the
results of the study may serve both as a goal and means for community mobilization
around education and may also be used as tool for localized self-assessment, planning,
implementation and monitoring of outputs in the best interest of children and parents.
 At the national and regional levels, for MoE development partners and civil society, the
outcome of the study may serve as a normative goal for devising policy and program me
responses, leading to child-friendly systems and environments to succeed in achieving the
MDGs. It may serve as a means for enhancing collaborative programming, leading to
greater resource allocation, and it could be used as a key component in staff training
targeted towards quality improvement.

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Capacity Assessment Framework

The Capacity Assessment Framework is composed of three dimensions: the first dimensions is
points of entry: UNDP recognizes that a country’s capacity resides on different levels – enabling
environment, organization and individual – and thus needs to be addressed across these levels. A
capacity assessment team selects one level as its point of entry, and may “zoom in” or “zoom
out” from that level as needed. Capacity assessments at the individual level are generally
conducted within the context of an organizational assessment; as such, they are not addressed in
detail in the Practice Note on Capacity Assessment UNDP, 2007.

The second dimension is core issues: These represent the issues upon which UNDP is most often
called to address. Not all of these issues will necessarily be analyzed in any given assessment,
but they provide a comprehensive set of issues from which a capacity assessment team may
choose as it defines its scope: 1) leadership; 2) policy and legal framework; 3) mutual
accountability mechanisms; 4) public engagement; 5) human resources; 6) financial resources; 7)
physical resources; and 8) environmental resources. The issue of a human rights based approach
serves as an “overlay” on any capacity assessment (it can either overlay all selected cross-
sections or act as a stand-alone core issue)UNDP, 2007.

The third dimension is cross-cutting functional capacities: Specific functional capacities are
necessary for the successful creation and management of policies, legislations, strategies and
programs. UNDP has chosen to prioritize the following functional capacities, which exist at all
three points of entry and for all core issues: 1) engage in multi-stakeholder dialogue; 2) analyze a
situation and create a vision; 3) formulate policy and strategy; 4) budget, manage and implement;
and 5) monitor and evaluate UNDP, 2007.

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 2.2 Basic capacities essential for implementing education sector plans

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) described capacity, as ‘the ability of
individuals, institutions, and societies to perform functions, solve problems, and set and achieve
objectives in a sustainable manner.’ This definition offers a starting point from which to
investigate and make judgments about the processes, people and activities of the National
Department of Education and its partnersUNDP, 2009.

Each education system is different, yet the literature on Education for All, 2008, suggests that
there is a basic list of capacities that are essential for implementing education sector plans. These
are capacity for:Pre-service training of teachers, supervisors and other pedagogical staff,
Supervision and pedagogical support at both student and teacher levels, including assessment of
learning outcomes, teaching performance measurement and in-service training, Supporting
school-level governance for decision-making, funds use, teacher appointment or review,
Designing curricula, textbooks and other didactical material, Physical supply: school design, site
selection and negotiation, contractor selection,construction supervision, community based school
building, and quality assurance, Data use, IT, database management and indicators, Planning and
monitoring and evaluation, including decentralized and consolidatedplanning exercises, mid-
term expenditure frameworks, and joint annual reviews, Financial management: budgeting,
budget tracking, financial transfers, financialsupervision and audit, and efficient use of resource
at decentralized levels, Quality assurance, quality supervision and support, Communication and
awareness-raising campaigns around education and schoolingand/or education sector
plansUNESCO, 2008.

2.3 Issues-and challenges in the education sector of Ethiopia

The failure of schools in addressing children’s right to quality education has become manifest by
the scores of the national learning assessments conducted in 2000, 2004 and 2008. When
compared to the 2000 baseline, academic achievement of students in Grade 4 shows a slight

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improvement, from 47.9 per cent in 2000 to 48.5 per cent in 2000 to 48.5 per cent in 2004,
whereas achievement scores for Grade 8 deteriorated, from 41.1 per cent in 2000 to 39.7 per cent
in 2004 (MoE, GEQIP 2007).

A look into the 2008 assessment report also gives a rather bleak picture compared to the previous
two assessment results. Only 13.9 per cent of students scored more than 51 per cent – the
standard to pass the national examination – 24 per cent of students scored 51 per cent, and the
majority, 62.1 per cent, scored below 51 per cent. The key factors attributed to low student
achievement included: poor school organization and management, inadequate teacher training on
subject mastery and instructional materials (USALD and the Government of Ethiopia Quality
Assurance and Examination Agency 2008). These issues have been widely acknowledged by all
partners, including the Government.

Furthermore, from a review of the available literature and observations of the consultants, the
following could be added to the problems plaguing the quality of education in Ethiopia: large
average class size, at a 1:64 class-student ratio; high average number of students per teacher, at
1:59, in contrast to the national standard of 1:51; low motivation of teachers and students; lack
of and/or non-use of teaching-learning aids; insufficient provision of reference materials; weak
capacity to correctly interpret, plan implement and monitor policies and programmers; and
programmers; and inadequate resources for operations. The MoE has clearly noted the challenges
facing the country with regard to education quality, stating, “The achievements in enrolment
have not been accompanied by sufficient progress in the quality of education – in fact, in some
areas, quality has deteriorated, at least partly as a result of rapid expansion” (MoE, GEQIP
2007).

The net enrolment rate has not yet reached the target set for education, especially among the
pastoralist communities in the Afar and Somali regions. Furthermore, addressing the geneder gap
in national primary school enrolment requires a 1 per cent reduction per year to achieve the
second millennium Development Goal (MDG 2), universal completion of primary education.

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High drop-out rates across the system, especially at Grade 1 (20.1 per cent), and low completion
rate in primary education of 44.2 per cent at grade 8 (MoE 2008) have also been considered as
challenges to be addressed (MoE, GEQIP 2007). Factors leading to non-enrolment and dropout
include seasonal and household child labor, indirect and forgone opportunity costs, socio-
economic and cultural barriers to girls’ education, ill health, hunger in drought-prone areas and
parental dissatisfaction with children’s learning achievement.

A major challenge identified by the MoE in its effort to meet the ESDP III targets set for 2009/10
is the inadequacy of education financing. Trends in education expenditure generally show that
teacher salaries consume more than 90 per cent of the recurrent budget. If this trend continues,
other inputs critically needed for quality improvement- such as textbooks and supplementary
reading materials, classroom furniture and equipment, maintenance and training – may fall short
the required budget.

2.3.1 Current Situation

In response to the Dire Dawa Education scenario, the MoE and its development partners have
placed a high priority on improving the quality of education during the years to come. In 2007,
the MoE developed a new package of interventions to remedy identified weaknesses of
education at both the primary and secondary levels. This reform package, the General Education
Quality Improvement Program (GEQIP), encompasses four key areas of intervention – (i) the
Teacher Development Program, (ii) curriculum improvement, (iii) leadership and management,
and (iv) the school improvement program – and two complementary packages, ‘Civics and
Ethical Education’ and ‘information communications Technology’.

Within the GEQIP framework, SIP focuses on four key domains: the teaching – learning process;
instructional leadership and management; conducive and attractive learning environment; and
community participation.

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Table 1, on the following page, summarizes the major statistical data pertaining to the primary
education system of Ethiopia.

Table 1: Primary education statistics or Ethiopian – Selected proxy indicators (Grades 1-8),
2006/7

Indictor Status 2006/07

Share of education budget from the total government budget 24.6%
Kindergarten grosses enrolment 3.1%
Primary Gross enrolment rate 91.3 % (girls 8.5%)
Primary net enrolment rate 77.5% (girls75.5)
Primary net intake rate 62.6 % (girls 60.9%)
Primary gender parity index 0.87
Primary pupil-teacher ration 59:1
Share of primary teachers qualified 74.5%
Primary pupil-textbook ratio 1:5
Primary drop-out rate, 2005/06 12.4 % (girls 12.1%)
Primary repetition rate, 2005/06 6.1% (girls 5.7)
Completion rate for Grade 5 66.6%
Completion rate for Grade 8 44.2%

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3.METHODOLOGY
3.1 Description of Study Area

There are nine urban kebelesand four rural clusters in Dire Dawa administration where each
kebele and cluster administers one to fourteen schools. There are 71 primary and secondary
government schools in the administration of which 31 are in urban and 40 are in rural. Among
the 31 urban schools the 27 are primary schools which are under the administration of the 9
kebeleswhere the study will undergo.

3.2 Research Design

The purpose of this study is to assess the capacity gap of the education personnel towards
attaining quality education for all in Dire Dawa urban area to improve the quality of education in
primary schools. Hence, descriptive survey method that is a research method which provides
information about conditions, situations, and events that occur in the present will be used.

3.3 Sources of Data

In order to strengthen the credibility and validity of the study, mixed methods of data sources will
be utilized. The primary data will be collected from three different levels of the target groups,
those are the first level is school where department head teachers and school principals will be
respondents, the second level is kebele education desk educational experts and the third level is
education bureau expertise using open ended and closed ended questioners and interview.

3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Technique

The sample will be drawn from education bureau, all nine urban kebeles, and all urban
government primary schools population. However, the number of participant will be selected
using simple random sampling to avoid bias of representation. From the kebeles a total of 27
experts including supervisors, from primary schools 27 school principal and 108 department
head teachers as well as 20 experts from education bureau will participate in the study. The

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 following table demonstrates the number of respondents selected from each school, kebele and
education bureau.
Table 3: Sample of the study from the total population.

Percentage
Total Sample of the total Sampling
population size population techniques
Organization Population size
size

Primary schools School principals 27 27 100% The available

Department head 108 108 100% Purposively

teachers the available

Kebeles Education experts 18 18 100% The available

School supervisors 9 9 100% The available

Education Bureau Core processes’ 33 16 50% Simple random

experts

Support processes’ 6 4 66% Simple random

experts

TOTAL 0 201 90.5%

3.5 Instrument of Data Collection

In this study data will be collected with the help of mixed method of data collection instruments. The
closed and open ended questionnaires, structured and semi-structured interview and FGD questions will
be applied to collect the data.

3.5.1 Questionnaires

In the study quantitative data will be collected through questionnaires from the above mentioned
respondents. Three different types of questioners will be developed, the first type of the
questioner will be responded by the principals and department head teachers, the second type
will be developed for kebeles’ experts and supervisors and the third one will be developed for the
education bureau experts.

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3.5.2. Interview
In this study because of the small sample size of supervisors’ and bureau expert interview will be
employed as data gathering technique. This instrument will help the researcher to gather data
related to views and opinions of supervisors about capacity of principals and department heads.
In the interview questions both structured and unstructured items will be included. The interview
questions focused on principals and department heads capacity gap.

3.5.3. Focus group discussion

In this study, because of the small sample size kebele experts and education bureau expert focus
group discussion will be conducted and will be used as data gathering instrument. The instrument
will help the researcher to gather data related to capacity of principals and supervisors and
kebeles experts. This focus group discussion will be employed as qualitative data gathering
instrument.

3.6 Data Collection Procedure

The researchers will obtain approval and notification from education bureau. After approval, 18
data collector will be required to collect the data. The data collectors will be given orientation on
the questionnaires items and inform the importance of their continued cooperation in the study.
They will inform the participants that this study is based on voluntary and all information
collected will be kept confidential..
The researchers will give each data collectors for the participant an envelope in which to place
the questionnaire, and all data collected excluded any identifying information such as names of
teachers and/or principals.

The researchers will also summon the education bureau and kebele experts heads in one of
centrally located hall to conduct the FGD meeting to collect qualitative data. Before the
discussion held, orientation about the study will be delivered by the research.
The researchers will also interview supervisors and education bureau experts. The researchers
and education bureau officials will administer the data collection, encoding and data analysis and
report writing.

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3.7 Methods of Data Analysis

The collected data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics as it helps the researchers to
describe the nature of a particular group observed. Inferential statistics were also employed to
arrive at generalization.

The quantitative data gathered though closed ended questions will be analyzed by using simple
descriptive statistical tools such as percentage, frequency distribution, table, mean and standard
deviation. On the other hand, the qualitative data collected through open ended questions will be
analyzed in such a way that the data will be recorded, transcribed, coded, and arranged in a manner
to extract as much adequate information as possible and then described and interpreted through
conceptualization and explanation.

Finally the results from qualitative and quantitative data analysis of the study combined with the
statistical applications will help the researchers to summarize findings, to draw conclusions, and
to make recommendation with regard to the objectives of the study.

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2 WORK PLAN

Table 1. Schedule of the project

Time duration in G.C

No. Activities June July Augus Septe. Octob. Nov. Dec.

1 Discussion and decision on

the road map of the study
2 Preparation of questionnaire,
check lists and other
materials
3 Selection of sample and data
collection
4 Data coding, editing, entry
and analysis
6 Interpretation of results and
report writing
7 Completion of the study and
developed need based
education sector work plan

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 5. LOGISTICS
5.1 Personnel cost
Table 2: Personnel cost
Unit Total
No Personnel activities Units Quality Price(Birr) Price(Birr Description
)
1 Payment for data Person 20 6,250 125,000 For each data collector 500
collectors for a total of birr/day for 10 days which is
10 days less than thatis paining by
other development partners
such USAID for similar task.
2 Payment for Person 7 10,000 70,000 For 7researchers 500 birr/day
researchers for the total for 20 days.
of 3 months
3 Supervisor fee Person 5 5,000 25,000 For 5supervisors 500 birr/day
for 10 days.
4 Mobile phone pre-paid Person 12 200 2,400 Pre-paid 100 birr mobile card
card for the researcher. 2 card for 7 researchers and 5
supervisors.
5 For secretarial service Person 2 2,000 4,000 For 2 secretaries who should
during the whole thesis expected to write the whole
preparation study including data feeding to
the SPSS 2,000 birr for each of
them.
6 Payment for Person 10 2,000 20,000 There will be an administration
administration tasks during the study such as
facilitators procurements, arranging
vehicles, driving, payment….
For such administrative tasks
will performed by 3 drivers, 4
finance officers and 3
peoplefrom support staff 2,000
birr/person.
Sub total 0
Budget source:UNICEF.

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5.2 Stationary cost

Table 3: Stationary cost

No Items Units Quantity Unit Total Description

Price Price
1 Note book and Numbe 30 20 600 30 notebooks and
Pan r pen for 25 data
collectors and 5
supervisors
2 Printing paper Carton 50 600 3,000
3 Printer toner Numbe 2 2500 5,000
r
4 CD-RW Packet 10 15 2,500
5 Fuel litter 1,000 22.5 22,500 Three cars for data
collection
6 Contingency 10% 28,000
Sub total 0
Grand total 308,000
Budget source: UNICEF.

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7. REFERENCES

David D.; Sandy L.And Peliwe L., 1997. ‘Educational Psychology in Social Context: challenges
of development, social issues and special need in South Africa’. Cape Town: Oxford University
press.

Ministry of Education, ‘Education Sector Development Program III (ESDP-III) 2005/2006-

2010/2011 (1998 EFY-2002 EFY): Program Action Plan (PAP)’, Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 2005 (Unpublished).

Ministry of Education, ‘General Education Quality Improvement Program (GEQIP) 2008*09-

2012/13 (2001-2005 E.C.) Program Document’, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopa, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, 2007 (Unpublished).

Temesgen, Melaku., 2008. Education Policy Formulation, Implementation and GEQAP in

Ethiopia: Module two, Packages and Frameworks. Behir Dar, Behir Dar University.

UNESCO, 2004b. The Primary Completion rate: feasibility as an international indicator.

Montreal/Paris, UNESCO Institute for statistics. (Processed)

UNESCO, 2008. Education for All Global Monitoring Report. Education for All by 2015 will we
make it? Oxford University Press, New York.

United Nations Development Programme, 2007.Capacity Assessment Methodology User’s

GuideCapacity Development Group Bureau for Development Policy.

United Nations Development Programme, 2009.Overview of UNDP’s Capacity Assessment

Methodology, Capacity Development Group Bureau for Development Policy.

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