World Bank Group

01/10/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/10/2023 06:34

Improving Learning Outcomes through Social Accountability and Performance-based Teacher Allowance Payment in Indonesia

Results

The World Bank's impact evaluation found that all three models improved learning outcomes. The model that tied social accountability with teacher pay-for-performance based on teacher presence was the most effective and sustainable. Compared to the control group this model significantly improved the presence of teachers whose allowance was tied to this indicator and student learning outcomes as evaluated by the project.

It took 12 months for the control schools to complete the one-year curriculum, as opposed to 8.5 months for the most effective KIAT Guru model. The effect persisted one year after the end of the project. The project improved human capital in targeted schools and the capacity of local governments to establish performance-based teacher pay to improve education services.

  • Between 2017 and 2019, community evaluation of teacher presence improved from an average score of 65 to 95, while the score for teacher service performance improved from an average score of 56 to 97; three rounds of unannounced teacher absence surveys found that the percentage of classrooms with teachers present increased from 75 to 87 percent;
  • The impact evaluation surveys found improvement in parents' satisfaction with education quality, from a baseline of 28 percent in 2016 to 64 percent at the end of the project in 2018;
  • The project trained and coached 1,843 (45 percent female) community members and 203 (26 percent female) village-level facilitators on conducting monitoring and evaluating teacher service performance indicators. Their improved capacity affected 2,621 (48 percent female) school providers (principals and teachers), and benefitted 25,942 (47 percent female) students with improved support for learning at school and at home and improved learning outcomes.

KIAT Guru intervention which combined social accountability with teacher pay based on presence improved student learning outcomes in remote schools. (Photo: Fauzan Ijazah/World Bank)

From the Beneficiary

"Over the last six months, there have been quite a lot of changes. First, there's been change in the fulfillment of [the teachers'] duties. Before, they were maybe less effective in delivering teaching materials, but now that there are indicators for foundational skills, they're right on target." - A school leader in SDN Engkangin.

World Bank Group Contribution

The World Bank provided funding through trust funds in the amount of $5 million for the project implementation and $1.2 million for the impact evaluation studies.

Partners

The Ministry of Education and Culture and the National Team for Acceleration of Poverty Reduction provided national policy direction and support. The governments of Ketapang, Landak, Sintang, West Manggarai, and East Manggarai led the project district implementation. National, district, and village governments contributed $1.6 million for implementation, and $5.1 million indirectly through performance-based teacher allowances that were made performance-based by the project. The World Bank provided a grant for implementation to Yayasan BaKTI, a national NGO, and technical and analytical support to the government. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) financed the trust funds[1], amounting to $6.8million and $2.5million, respectively, including for supervision and analytical works.

Looking Ahead

Following the first phase of KIAT Guru, the government requested World Bank support to expand the most effective intervention to 410 schools in the same five districts. KIAT Guru Phase 2 simplified the social accountability approach and tested two scale-up pathways and institutional arrangements. The first model kept the appointment of user committee by village government, while reducing the involvement of the project facilitators, while the second model strengthened the school committee appointed by school principal and trained school supervisors.

Phase 2 also digitized the social accountability and performance-based teacher pay processes into the government's management information system. When Phase 2 ended in 2020, the government decided to sustain the project independently, and adopted a few aspects of the project's innovation into national programs and policies. The KIAT Guru diagnostic student learning assessment tool was adapted to support schools nation-wide.

In 2020, a ministerial decree was issued to provide additional operational funds for 55,000 schools that were geographically remote or serving a higher proportion of disadvantaged schools.

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[1] DFAT provided $4.99 mil grant for implementation of KIAT Guru Phase I, and a total of $1.8mil for analytical works and supervision; while USAID provided $1.3mil for Phase II and a total of $1.1million for analytical works and supervision.