NGO "ANOTHER WAY" (STICHTING BAKENS VERZET), NETHERLANDS, SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATED SELF-FINANCING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGIES

Health clubs in section 2 social structures : analysis of this block 4 of the course provides full details of hygiene education courses for women and in schools.

Integrated development projects do not substitute for the obligations of the state.

It is not a main purpose of integrated development projects to substitute the state's obligations for the supply of proper scholastic structures and teaching services in the project areas, except for safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, and, eventually PV lighting for evening classes. The project will cooperate with the Ministry of Education to promote full education in the project area to fully meet all the education-related Millennium Goals. Where the Ministry of Education is unable to supply equipment and teachers’ services, the project will take over responsibility for them.

Formal currency investments in school structures are not susceptible to the rapid interest-free recycling at the basis of self-financing development projects. For these investments, contributions by the Ministry of Education are considered necessary.

Where, however, local school systems are mostly to the charge of the parents and there is an acute lack of:

a) Building infrastructure
b) School furniture
c) Didactic material
d) Teachers

the problem of lack of educational structures in the project area will be solved by taking advantage of the possibilities offered by:

a) The local tank commissions
b) The local money LETS systems
c) The local gypsum composite products factories

d) Locally available materials

In practice any goods and services which are locally available can be paid for under the local money systems. These goods and services can include:

a) Gypsum composite elements, including load bearing structures, for school buildings
b) Gypsum composite school furniture
c) Use of traditional and locally available building materials

d) Services of teachers willing to work under the local money systems with salaries paid in the local LETS points
e) Reproduction of didactic material through PV television systems and/or through documentary reproduction by local consultants set up under the micro-credit systems.

Groups of parents and or groups of tank commissions can take initiatives under the local money systems and distribute their costs (expressed in LETS points) amongst the groups directly involved. In this sense the groups involved can be registered under the LETS systems in the same way as clubs or other social groupings.

Primary schools.

Once the local money system is in place, steps can be taken to rapidly build as many primary schools in the project area as may be required, taking existing school facilities into account. The schools will be built under the local money system using local labour and materials. While formal-money contributions from the Ministry of Education are expected and welcome, they schools can be paid for and owned by the inhabitants served by the school. Legal title to each school will in that case be vested in the Tank Commission in whose area the school is built. The local town or rural council will make communal land available for the schools free of charge, according to traditional practices.

Basic school facilities including drinking water, eco-sanitation facilities, rainwater harvesting for general school use, and solar photovoltaic lighting are automatically covered under the project. Where a school is built, it can take over the function of the PV powered study room already foreseen in the project, which is already foreseen in the project budget.

Primary schools should where possible be placed close to pupils’ homes. They should be kept small, with one class for each grade. Small schools may have more than one grade In (host country) there are (number) primary school grades. Primary education starts at (years) for grade 1 and finishes at (years) at grade (number).

A reasonable target for the size of each class (excluding allowances for mentally handicapped children) is 18..

The number of classes multiplied by the reasonable standard class size (18) provides the local primary school population.

Each tank commission area in the project area has, on an average, about 60 children of primary school age.

This means that individual primary schools will typically have three classes. Several tank commission areas may form a single primary school. The school size in that case should not exceed the number of grades times 18. Seven grades would produce an ideal school population of 126, offering coverage for two tank commission areas.

The number of schools to be built in each project area may therefore reach 200. Obviously full use would be made of existing school structures. Construction of the schools is subject to the availability of primary school teachers which is the key issue in expanding educational facilities under the project.

In many developing countries students having completed high school qualify automatically as primary school teachers. Many such students from individual project areas go to larger towns to seek some form of employment. The general increase in the quality of life in the project area as a result of project execution should be sufficient to entice them back to their villages of origin, especially where the project can offer them appropriate accommodation free of charge.

It is expected the Ministry of Education be willing to pay teachers a salary where a school facility is built and paid partly or wholly by the local inhabitants together with accommodation for the teachers. Or at least a part of the primary school teachers’ salaries. The (eventual) balance can be paid by the local community or by the pupils’ parents under the local money system. In case of total or partial default by the Ministry of Education teachers willing to work entirely under the local money system can in any case be paid by the local community or by the pupils’ parents.

Teachers’ training courses will be made available to young primary school teachers moving back to the project area. These courses should be supplied by the Ministry of Education. In case of failure of the Ministry to act, the Project will seek the help of international NGOs specialised in the field of educational training. In case of failure to find support from international NGOs, the project will nominate and pay (under the local money system) the most experienced and best qualified teachers in the project area to train their younger colleagues.

Secondary schools.

One secondary school can be foreseen for each well commission area. There are usually 35-45 well commissions to be set up in the project area. So 35-45 secondary schools have to be set up in the area. Full use will of course be made of existing facilities.

Construction of the schools is subject to the availability of teachers which is the key issue in expanding educational facilities under the project. They will need to be available for the moment pupils pass over from the last primary school grade to secondary education.

In many developing countries students having completed higher education (level of education) qualify automatically as secondary school teachers. Many students from project areas are in larger towns looking for some form of employment. The general increase in the quality of life in the project area as a result of project execution should be sufficient to entice them back to their villages of origin, especially where the project can offer them appropriate accommodation free of charge.

It is expected the Ministry of Education be willing to pay teachers a salary where a school facility is built and paid partly or wholly by the local inhabitants together with accommodation for the teachers. Or at least a part of the teachers’ salaries. The (eventual) balance can be paid by the local community or by the pupils’ parents under the local money system. In case of total or partial default by the Ministry of Education teachers willing to work entirely under the local money system can in any case be paid by the local community or by the pupils’ parents.

Teachers’ training courses will be made available to young primary-school teachers moving back to the project area. These courses should be supplied by the Ministry of Education. In case of failure of the Ministry to act, the Project will seek the help of international NGOs specialised in the field of educational training for secondary school teachers. In case of failure to find support from international NGOs, the project will nominate and pay (under the local money system) the most experienced and best qualified secondary school teachers in the project area to train their younger colleagues.

It is not expected that local public transport be provided expressly for secondary school students. Standard local public transport facilities will have become available under the project. The schools should normally be within 2-3 kilometres of students’ homes.

The project may decide to set up cooperative purchasing groups and/or provide subsidies for the purchase of bicycles to enable the children to go to school. The presence of bicycles in the project area increases the potential mobility of other family members too.

Further education.

Children (girls and boys) from the project area who have secondary school certificates have the right to proceed with further education.

This cannot normally be done at project area level.

The nearest technical schools are at (places).

The nearest universities are at (places).

Promising students have the right, where necessary, to be supported by the community they come from. The extent of this support depends on formal-money scholarships and services provided at regional and/or national level.

For students from the project area, the scholarships and services provided for further education are:

(described the scholarships and services)

The people in the project area have a direct interest that young people qualify in their various fields and return to practise their professions in the project area itself. For this purpose, formal money scholarships and local money scholarships will be set up.

Formal money scholarships are paid out of the Cooperative Education Fund. Communities can contribute to this fund at well commission level and, eventually, at project level. Members will make a small monthly formal money contribution to the Cooperative Education Fund (scholarships). The funds will provide for higher education subsidies for each of the well commissions. The well commissions will decide how the subsidy available to them can best be distributed amongst qualifying students and their families.

The project will try to establish a Propadeuse Institute in the project area to offer one- our two-year courses in preparation for more advanced University studies. The Institute does not fall within the autonomous capacity of the project because it calls for levels of formal money investment outside the possibility of the Project. The Institute could only take form with the participation of one or more Universities and of the Ministry of Education. At the same time the Project could supply interesting incentives to those investors. Many of the Institute’s daily duties could be covered under the local money system set up by the Project. Some examples of this are the availability of free land, supervision and guarding the Institute buildings, maintenance of structures and gardens, cleaning the buildings, simple administration and canteen services, and the transport of students. The costs of these services, or part of them, could be borne by the local populations, thereby reducing the on-going cost load on University and Ministry.

Trades and crafts school.

A high school for trades and crafts at project level is foreseen.

It is hoped that this school can be set up by the project entirely under the local money system. Teachers are expected to come from the project area. They will be paid under the local money system. The school is expected to be built under the local money system.

Students or their families will be expected to pay a small monthly formal money contribution into the Cooperative Education Fund (trades) towards the formal money costs of materials and equipment which cannot be produced locally.

Farmer field schools. (Source : F.A.O. Farmer Field School.)

Farmer field schools are schools without walls. A group of farmers gets together in one of their own fields to learn about their crops and things that affect them. They learn how to farm better by observing, analysing and trying out new ideas on their own fields. FAO and other development organizations have been promoting them to improve land and water management. Unlike traditional approaches to agricultural extension, farmer field schools enable groups of farmers to find out answers for themselves and develop solutions to their own problems.

Group leaders need supportive materials to illustrate good soil and water management practices that can be tested through participatory technology development and demonstrations, and to help in identifying the most appropriate options for different farm types and contexts. They also need information to highlight and understand aspects of decreasing soil productivity and its improvement.

The farmers in each group usually meet every week from planting to harvest, to check on how the crops are growing, look at the amount of moisture in the soil, count the numbers of pests and beneficial creatures such as earthworms and spiders. They do experiments in the field.

The facilitator of a farmer field school is normally an extension worker or another farmer who has graduated from another field school. The facilitator guides the group, helps them decide what they want to learn and think of possible solutions, and advises them if they have questions. The farmers draw on their own experience and observations, and make decisions about how to manage the crop. The groups hold field days to show other farmers what they are doing.

Education provided under integrated development projects and the Millennium development goals.

Refer to parts 02. Achieve universal primary education and 03. Promote gender equality and empower women in section 2 of block 2 of the course where the Millennium Goals are related to the services for a good quality of life.

Integrated development projects meet all education- and gender-related millennium development goals in each project area. Several projects together forming a District Level development plan meet all education- and gender-related millennium development goals in the district. Several district plans together forming a regional plan meet all education- and gender-related millennium development goals in the region. Plans in all the regions forming a national plan meet all education- and gender-related millennium development goals at national level.

Millennium Goal 2 : Achieve universal primary education.

Target 03 : Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling.

Sub-target 06 : Net enrolment ratio in primary education (UNESCO).

The issue is the number of children who actually go to school. Children may be enrolled, but for one reason or another be unable to attend classes.

In principle ALL children in the project area will enjoy a full course of both primary and secondary education. The project can use the local money system to build new schools near users’ homes, furnish them, and supply them with drinking water and sanitation facilities. The local population can contribute to or pay all of the costs of these activities, provided labour and materials used come from within the project area itself. Qualified teachers or students with qualifications enabling them to take up teaching activities and who are willing to work entirely or in part under the local Money system set up by the project can take up service rapidly. In that case full primary education in the project area can be implemented within two or three years.

Full exploitation of the system depends however on the availability of teachers. It may also depend, at least in part, on the willingness of the Ministry of Education to pay the teachers at least part of their salary in formal money where they are unwilling to work entirely under the local money system created..

Since the population in each project area is just 50.000, the effect of full primary education there is unlikely to be immediately visible on a national level where just one project is executed To cover the entire population in the host country, about 20 such projects would be needed for each 1.000.000 people. As these projects are executed, the percentage of children in the host country who are going to school would become graphically visible.

Measurement : Compare statistics for child enrolment in the project area after the introduction of the project structures over a period of 24 months and thereafter with statistics for the project area before the start of the project.

Sub-target 07 : Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 (UNESCO)

In principle ALL children in the project area will enjoy a full course of both primary and secondary education. The project can use the local money system to build new schools near users’ homes, furnish them, and supply them with drinking water and sanitation facilities. The local population can contribute to or pay all of the costs of these activities, provided labour and materials used come from within the project area itself. Qualified teachers or students with qualifications enabling them to take up teaching activities who are willing to work entirely or in part under the local Money system set up by the project can take up service rapidly. In that case full primary education in the project area can be implemented within two or three years. This means that in principle ALL children in a project area who start at grade 1 will complete grade 5.

Since the population in each project area is just 50.000, the effect of full primary education there is unlikely to be immediately visible on a national level where just one project is executed To cover the entire population in the host country, about 20 such projects would be needed for each 1.000.000 people. As these projects are executed, the percentage of children in the host country starting at grade 1 who complete grade 5 would become graphically visible.

Measurement : Compare statistics for pupils reaching grade 5 in the project area after the introduction of the project structures over a period of 24 months and thereafter with statistics for the project area before the start of the project.

Sub-target 08 : Literacy rate of 15-24 year olds (UNESCO)

In principle ALL children in the project area will enjoy a full course of both primary and secondary education. This means that in principle the literacy rate of 15-24 year olds in each project area will after some years automatically reach 100%.

A 100% literacy rate amongst young people who are already in the 15-24 age group at the moment the project starts cannot be guaranteed as participation of adults in (further) learning is not compulsory. The project provides for 200 solar-lit collective study rooms near people’s homes and for solar lighting in schools to make evening classes possible. General reduction of the work-load on women is an important result of project application. This should encourage women’s participation in evening classes.

Full exploitation of the potential offered by the project depends on the availability of teachers. It may also depend, at least in part, on the willingness of the Ministry of Education to pay the teachers at least part of their salary in formal money where they are unwilling to work entirely under the local money system created.

Since the population in each project area is just 50.000, the effect of full secondary education there is unlikely to be immediately visible on a national level where just one project is executed To cover the entire population in the host country, about 20 such projects would be needed for each 1.000.000 people. As these projects are executed, the improvement in the percentage of literate 15-24 year olds in the host country would become graphically visible.

Section 05.16 Creation of the social security structure of the project describes a three-tiered safety-net system designed to make sure that even the children of the poorest families go to school.

Measurement : The number of schools and classes in each project area. The number of teachers working under the formal Money system (salary paid by the Ministry of Education), partly under the formal Money system and partly under the Local Money system, and those working under the Local Money system set up. Statistics on the use made of the three-tiered social security system built into the project structures.

Goal 3 : Promote gender equality and empower women.

Target 04 : Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005 and at all levels by 2015.

Sub-target 09 : Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education (UNESCO)

All children in the project area, girls as well as boys, receive full primary and secondary education, with a ratio of 1 : 1. Most tertiary education is excluded from the project, which has little influence on policies of acceptation of girls and their participation in courses at tertiary level. However, the ratio of girls to boys who are prepared in each project area for tertiary education is expected to be 1 : 1.

This project provides for the institution of a trade school in the project area. An attempt will also be made to reach agreement with a tertiary institution to set up a first year university preparatory course (propedeuse) in the project area.

Since the population in each project area is just 50.000, the effect of full participation by girls in education there is unlikely to be immediately visible on a national level where just one project is executed To cover the entire population in the host country, about 20 such projects would be needed for each 1.000.000 people. As these projects are executed, the improvement in the ratio of girls to boys at primary, secondary and tertiary education in the host country would become graphically visible.

Measurement : the number and sex of children actually attending primary and secondary schools and university propedeuse courses in the project area and those from the project area following tertiary education elsewhere.

Sub-target 10 : Ratio of literate women to men 15-24 years old (UNESCO)

In principle ALL children in the project area will enjoy a full course of both primary and secondary education. This means that in principle the ratio of literate women to men amongst 15-24 year olds in each project area will after some years automatically reach 1 : 1.

Apart from full participation in formal primary-, secondary-, and tertiary education levels, all women participate in hygiene education courses.

Since the population in each project area is just 50.000, the effect of women’s literacy there is unlikely to be immediately visible on a national level where just one project is executed To cover the entire population in the host country, about 20 such projects would be needed for each 1.000.000 people. As these projects are executed, the improvement in the ratio of literate women to men in the host country would become graphically visible.

Measurement : The number of people (especially women) attending evening classes. Comparison with statistics before and after project implementation.

1. Opinion.

The formation of three levels of three levels of anthropologically justified structures provided by integrated development projects fits in well with modern structures in industrialised countries. On one page explain the reasons for this, and, if applicable, your doubts, and then draw your conclusions.

2. Opinion.

To create the planned education structures quickly in each project area there must be an adequate reserve of sufficiently qualified young people available, some of whom will have migrated to larger towns. You are the Central Committee delegate responsible for education. You meet a group of qualified young people to convince them to return the your project area to teach there. Write your one-page plea to them.

3. Opinion.

You are a woman and President of a tank commission which has decided to build a primary school with three classrooms for the 60 children aged between 5 and 12 in your community. You need three teachers.. You have to find a piece of land.. The school has to be built. Water supply and sanitation facilities must be organised, and a photovoltaic system for evening classes has to be purchased. On one page, write your business plan.

4. Opinion.

You are young. You have finished your secondary school studies. You have gone to the capital city of your country to look for work. You manage to find the odd short-term job but you have no permanent employment. You receive a communication from the well commission which serves the village you come from, asking you to return there to teach at the secondary school. Write a one-page reply to the invitation.

◄ ►

◄ Fourth block : Section 5: Services structures.

◄ Fourth block : The structures to be created.

◄ Main index for the Diploma in Integrated Development (Dip. Int. Dev.)

◄ List of key words.

◄ List of references.

◄ Course chart.

◄ Technical aspects.

◄ Courses available.

◄ Homepage Bakens Verzet

"Money is not the key that opens the gates of the market but the bolt that bars them."

Gesell, Silvio, The Natural Economic Order, revised English edition, Peter Owen, London 1958, page 228.

“Poverty is created scarcity”

Wahu Kaara, point 8 of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, 58^th annual NGO Conference, United Nations, New York 7^th September 2005.

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