myanmar: the management process for constructing...

Acronyms

APM Agency Project Manager (UNESCO head of project)ATEO Assistant Township Education Officer (DBE)CGI Corrugated galvanized sheet steel (roofing material)CLC Community Learning Centre (adult education center)CR ClassroomDBE Department of Basic Education, MOEDEPT Department of Educational Planning and Training, MOEGI Galvanized sheet steelHDI Human Development InitiativeKG KindergartenMOE Ministry of EducationMOP Memorandum of Partnership (between community, project, and MOE)MYA Myanmar (UN code)NPD National Project Director, DEPTPLP Promoting Effective Learning in Primary EducationPTA Parent Teacher AssociationTPA Township Project Assistant (DBE)TPO Township Project Officer (Project staff educator at township level)SMC School Maintenance CommitteeSRERC School Repair, Extension or Reconstruction CommitteeTEO Township Education Officer, DBETPE Township Project Engineer (Project staff)UNDP United Nations Development Program (Project funding source)UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (implementing agency)UNICEF United Nations International Children’s FundVEDC Village Education Development CommitteeZE Zonal Project Engineer (Project staff)

Credits

Cover drawing: My school garden by Sabei Thinn3rd grade, Kyauk Ku Hti State Primary School, Ywangan Township

Cover photos: Community participates in erecting the framework of a school buildingby Nilar Swe, Ms. (Township Project Engineer)

Primary school children entering into a newly built schoolby Me Me Lwin, Ms. (Township Project Engineer)

Standard materials recommended by the project are used for school buildingsby Aung Toe, Mr. (Zonal Project Engineer)

Selected school were provided with school furnitureby Aung Htun, Mr. (Information, Education and Communication Specialist)

Photos: Figure 15 by U Aung HtunFigures 6, 7, 8, 12, 14 by John H. Beynon

Exchange rates

Exchange rates fluctuated rapidly over the period in Myanmar.For this document, the average UN official exchange of US$1 = Kyats 387.57 was used.

Contents

Acronyms

I. Introduction

1. The setting .................................................................................... 12. The UNDP Human Development Initiative

and its educational component ..................................................... 13. The Infrastructure component ...................................................... 3

II. Construction: the Management Process

1. The policy document .................................................................... 62. Negotiation stage .......................................................................... 73. Implementation stage .................................................................. 144. Completion ................................................................................. 165. Maintenance ................................................................................ 176. Principal achievements as regards construction ......................... 17

III. Furniture Provision: the Management Process

1. Setting the objectives .................................................................... 212. Designing the process ................................................................... 223. Application of management procedure......................................... 224. Principal achievements as regards furniture ................................. 30

IV. Toward Future Improvements ................................................................ 31

Bibliography .................................................................................................... 36

Annexes

A. Memorandum of partnership for school construction ................ 37B. Bill of quantities ......................................................................... 40C. Monthly school site progress report ........................................... 41D. Database: monitoring indicators ................................................. 43E. Work plan .................................................................................... 44F. Furniture process checklist ......................................................... 47

Contents (cont’d)

Tables

1. Number of primary schools receiving HDI infrastructureassistance ...................................................................................... 3

2. International comparisons of community contributionsfor school construction ................................................................. 4

3. Total trainees for construction works, HDI-E and HDI-3 .......... 104. Construction cost trends ............................................................. 185. Myanmar primary school furniture dimensions ......................... 246. Furniture costs

Figures

1. Project townships .......................................................................... 22. Staffing structure .......................................................................... 53. Information flow and decision making for construction .............. 84. Drawing for a 3 classroom school building .................................115. Drawing for a CLC ..................................................................... 126. A repaired school building .......................................................... 137. A new school building ................................................................ 138. A site supervision visit ................................................................ 149. International comparisons of primary school buildings ............. 20

10. Information flow and decision making for furniture .................. 2311. Mobile library on display ........................................................... 2512. Furniture drawings type A .......................................................... 26

Furniture drawings type B .......................................................... 2713. Children testing prototypes for correct dimensions .................... 2814. Prototype furniture semi knock-down elements ......................... 2915. Classroom furniture items .......................................................... 3316. Classroom layouts for formal and non-formal teaching ............. 3417. Classroom layouts for multi-grade teaching ............................... 35

Introduction 1

One

Introduction

1. The setting

In rural Myanmar, basic primary education buildings are usually the responsibility of eachcommunity. In locations where a large percentage of the population lives in agrarian villages, schoolpopulations tend to be small and resources for education limited. Given this heavy reliance onindividual communities to support their schools, communities struggle to provide adequate teachers,teaching materials, and infrastructure.

The Education Sector Study (UNESCO 1992, 1993) estimates that half of the school buildingsare made of non-durable materials. This includes low-grade wood, bamboo, thatch and other materialsthat the communities can gather without having to make a heavy investment. Should the villagehave mobilized resources to build a school of longer-lasting materials such as timber or brick noggingwith corrugated metal roofs, they are not always successful in maintaining it to a high standard.

The furniture provided to the schools is made by local artisans who are not familiar with theinternational standards for school furniture that have been developed of the last decades.Consequently, the furniture that is provided is not suitable for modern teaching and is not comfortablefor the children. A significant number of children have no furniture at all.

Very few rural primary school buildings are in good condition. The better ones may requireminor repairs. Those that are overcrowded need to be expanded. Many need to be leveled andreplaced with more educationally suitable and more durable structures.

2. The UNDP Human Development Initiativeand its educational component

Since 1994 the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has been assisting localcommunities through grassroots development operations in the fields of health, food security andenvironment, water and sanitation, HIV/AIDS, micro-credits and education. The United NationsEducational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the implementing agency of thislast component. This programme, known as the Human Development Initiative has been extendedover three phases; HDI-1, HDI-E, and HDI-3. These projects have focused on a limited number ofneedy townships. HDI-3 deals with 11 townships located in three zones: Delta, South of Yangon;Dry, near Bagan; and Shan, situated in a hilly region, East of the Ayerwaddy River near Inle Lake.Completion of HDI-3 is scheduled for February 2002.

This management case study has been prepared on the basis of experiences gained in theUNDP-funded and UNESCO-implemented project Improving Access of Children, Women and Menof the Poorest Communities to Primary Education for All (MYA/99/004) which is a part of HDI-3.

As regards the educational activities, all 2,393 schools situated in the HDI area benefit fromteacher training and the provision of educational materials including standard textbooks and wallposters. A portion of the schools received further assistance in the form of libraries with supplemental

Myanmar: The Management Process for Constructing Primary Schoolsand Providing School Furniture2

Figure 1: Project townships

Introduction 3

reading materials, and income generation activities. The 71 CLC villages, each one with somesatellite communities, receive assistance in adult education and in training for income generation.

3. The Infrastructure component

In the HDI area, there are 3,721 villages. Two out of three have a school. The ones withoutschools do not necessarily need one, given the size of their population and the proximity of anotherschool. Some 1,925 villages were chosen to receive assistance in school building, 37 for theconstruction of a Community Learning Center (CLC) and 273 to receive assistance in school furniture.The objectives of the school repair, extension or replacement component of the project are:

� To improve the physical environment of primary schools to facilitate improved teachingand learning processes,

� To increase the physical space to enable increased enrolment and reduce dropout ofnon-admission resulting from over crowding of classrooms, and

� To provide improved classroom spaces for kindergarten (this means Grade 1 of primaryeducation) children.

Project results are achieved through generating community ownership and participation.Communities have the choice of accepting assistance for physical facilities or not, depending ontheir needs and on their ability to mobilize the resources needed to participate.

The infrastructure component of the HDI-3 education project (MYA/99/004) has beenimpressive both in terms of the quantity of school buildings repaired, extended or replaced and inthe efficiency of its implementation. These impressive achievements are due in large part to thelessons learned in the two previous projects. Table 1 indicates the number of schools assisted.

Table 1: Number of primary schools receiving HDI infrastructure assistance

Project Repair Extension Replace/New Total

HDI-1 1,218 35 35 1,288

HDI-E 142 78 158 378

HDI-3 135 35 89 259

Total 1,495 148 282 1,925

Under HDI-1, cement and CGI roofing sheets were provided to seven townships. Therewas no cash grant, and technical support was given by DBE.

HDI-3 completed the 378 schools started under HDI-E, initiated and completed additional259 schools, thus making the total of 637 school buildings actually worked on under HDI-3. UnderHDI-3, 30 new CLC buildings have been erected.

To put the results achieved in a global context, the results of the primary school constructionof project MYA/99/004 have been compared, to the extent possible, with similar projects in othercountries. Two of these projects are located in Myanmar while others are in Nepal, Bangladesh,


Laos, Cambodia and Mali. The table below compares aspects of community participation in each.(UNESCO 1984, 1988, 1995, 2000a, 2000b).

Table 2: International comparisons of community contributions for school construction

Country, Donor Cash Labour Material Transport Management

MYA/99/004, UNDP X X X X X

Nepal Seti, UNDP X X X

Cambodia, EC ▲ ▲ X

Laos, WB ▲

Bangladesh, NGO X

Mali, AfDB X X NGO

Myanmar, UNHCR Paid in rice NGO

Cambodia, UNICEF Annual payments

Burma PSIP, UNICEF X X X X X

Note: ▲ indicates assumed but unconfirmed community contribution

This table indicates that two of the Myanmar projects involved communities in all aspectsof participation. What it does not show is the degree of ownership of the school building process bythe community. In the HDI-3 project, communities are the construction managers of their schoolbuildings. If a village qualifies for assistance, the community may decide to go for construction ornot. If it does, it elects a management committee that, under community control, contracts skilledworkers and labour and manages the whole construction process, including its financial aspects.The details of the management arrangements will be examined in Section 2, but what should beunderstood from the beginning is that schools are built by the communities themselves, and not bya contractor or by the project staff.

The resulting building and furniture designs are relevant for study by other persons andorganizations working on educational infrastructure throughout Myanmar. More widely applicable,however, is the management process that has been developed. This will be useful not only in Myanmarbut also to other countries involved in rural school construction programmes that rely on communityparticipation. Unusually successful aspects of construction management are described in Part II,while furniture provision management is reviewed in Part III.

The project field staff behind this success story is the team of 13 civil engineers working attownship level, 5 of whom are women. Moreover, each of the three zones has a Zonal Engineer(ZE) who supervises the team of Township Project Engineers (TPE). Figure 2 gives the staff structureof the project as a whole and the assignments of each of the engineers. The engineering staff hasshown an ability to work in an interdisciplinary team and to collaborate effectively with the villages.They spend about one quarter of their time on community development aspects of this project.

Introduction5

MYA/99/004 as of August 2001

Delta U Saw Win Aung Zonal S.I. Sp. U Ye Myint Zonal C.L.D. Sp. U Kyaw Tint Zonal Eng. DeltaBogalay Daw Si Si Myint TPO U Khin Maung Swe CLCo U Neng Lam Sing TPE Bogalay

Daw Khin Mya Mya TPELaputta U Khin Maung Htay TPO U Zaw Win Si CLCo U Ko Ko Win TPE Laputta

U Kyaw Than TPEMawlamyaing Kyun U Tin Tun TPO U Win Maung CLCo U Khin Maung Lay TPE

Daw Tin Mar Swe TPE Mawlamyaing KyunU Myo Kyaw Oo TPE

Dry Zone U Aung Tin Zonal S.I. Sp. U Kyaw Thaung Zonal C.L.D. Sp. U Ko Ko Aung * Zonal Eng. Dry ZoneChaung U U Kap Za Lyan TPO U Myo Myint CLCo U Ko Ko Aung * TPE Chaung UKyaukpadaung Daw Myint Myint Shwe TPO U Aye Htut CLCo Daw Naw Naw TPE KyaukpadaungMagway U Khin Maung Kyaw TPO U Than Aung CLCo U Min Min Tun TPE Magway

Shan Zone Daw Khin Saw Nyunt Zonal S.I. Sp. U Thein Aung Zonal C.L.D. Sp. U Aung Toe Zonal Eng. Shan ZoneKalaw Daw Mie Mie Thwe TPO U Myat Thu CLCo Daw Nilar Swe TPE KalawNyaung Shwe Daw Nang Sam Phoo TPO U Sann Htay CLCo U Myint Oo TPE Nyaung ShwePindaya U Thawng Lwe TPO U Htay Aung CLCo Daw Tin Mar Lwin ** TPE PindayaPinlaung U Htay Linn TPO Daw Khin May Yee CLCo Daw Me Me Lwin TPE PinlaungYwangan Daw Mar Mar Thwin TPO Daw Khin Thi Thi CLCo Daw Tin Mar Lwin ** TPE Ywangan

School Programme Improvement

Project EngineersCommunity Learning Centres & Income Generating Activ.

Agency Project Manager Baudouin Duvieusart

Secretary U Ngwe Hla

School Program Dev. Sp.Daw Angelyna Gyi

Inf., Ed. & Com. Sp. U Aung Htun

Project Assistant Daw Khin Hnin Hlaing

Admin. Finance Off. Daw Aye Aye Kyaw

Administr. Assist. U Aung Kyaw Than

Administr. Assist. Daw Myint Ngwe Mon

Project DriverU Soe Htay

Project DriverU Myo Myint Tun

Project Driver DryU Myat Min

Project Driver Shan U Saw Tin Aye

Figure 2: Staffing structure


Two

Construction:The Management Process

The process covers four distinct stages: negotiation, implementation, completion, andmaintenance. It also involves a variety of participants from villages up to the headquarters of UNDPand UNESCO as well as the Director-General of the Department of Educational Planning and Training(DEPT) in the Ministry of Education (MOE).

The flow of information and the level of decision-making at each step are shown in Figure3. The chart shows how the project relies heavily on action at school and township level with onlypolicy and budgetary decisions made in Yangon. Technical control is assured at zone level.

1. The policy document

One of the underlying principles of the Human Development Initiative is that all projectactivities should be done at the initiative of the community. This means that community participationis a key aspect of all the projects, be they in education, health, agriculture, water or sanitation. Toensure that this principle is followed, the construction and furniture components in MYA/99/004each has its own policy document.

The document Policy for Primary School Repair, Extension or Replacement Activity(UNESCO 1999) provides a guideline on how this part of the project is to be implemented. Thisdocument has been prepared in such detail that technical implementation decisions have beendecentralized to zone and township level. The contents of the document are summarized below.

Nature of school construction work The principle of a linear architectural design to whichadditions can easily be made is prescribed for use in new construction and extensions. The need toadapt each building to its location is stressed, as is the need to make buildings that will resistearthquakes and strong wind. Use of local materials is encouraged for walls, but CGI sheet on woodtrusses with a hung ceiling is set as a requirement for roofs. Design innovations that are cost effectiveand replicable are encouraged.

Selection of schools The main criteria for selecting schools are; (1) that they be in poorvillages, (2) the size of school-age population requires such a school, (3) the buildings are in poorcondition, (4) that there is commitment on the part of the community to support building improvementand (5) that the teachers are committed to provide good education. Schools that received supportfrom the HDI-1 project were in principle disqualified.

Community participation and inputs The document specifies how community participationin school construction should begin with initiatives by the Village Education Development Committee(VEDC), and defines the responsibility of various other community entities. It lists the inputsexpected from the villages, the communities and the project.

Implementation Stress is laid on the Total Work by Community Participation implementationmethod. Responsibilities of the SRERC are laid down including their responsibility for finances. It

Construction: the Management Process 7

makes clear that stage payments will be made on a Payment by Result system that requires thecommunities to accomplish specific tasks before becoming eligible for cash contributions from theproject.

Reporting and monitoring Reporting responsibilities of the SRERC, the VEDC and theTPE are laid down. The monitoring roles of local, township and central bodies are defined.

Maintenance The importance of maintenance is drawn out and responsibilities assigned tothe PTA.

Annexes to this policy document include the MOP, a bill of quantities, job descriptions ofthe SRERC members and report forms for creating the SRERC and SMC, negotiations with thecommunity, school site monthly progress reports, release of payment as well as school site completion.

2. Negotiation stage

The key to translating the community participation principle into a construction programme,is the signature of the Memorandum of Partnership (MOP) between the community and the project.Orienting communities to the meaning of their signature on this document requires extensivenegotiation.

To get from the stage of identifying that a community needs assistance for its educationinfrastructure to the commencement of construction is a matter of bringing together the communitiesand the project and matching the needs of the communities to the resources and constraints of theproject.

At the village level, the challenge is to get the right size school in the right place within thetime frame and budget that the TPEs propose for the MOP. At central project level, the challenge isto be sure that resources are going to the neediest schools and to know that the villages chosen aresufficiently engaged to carry out their obligations.

At central level, within his annual budget allocated by UNDP, the Agency Project Manager(APM) allocates a budgetary envelope for school construction and furniture to be committed withina fixed time period and informs the ZEs. They in turn decide on the share to be assigned to each zoneand township. This is primarily based on making sure that the neediest schools are taken care offirst, but it also takes into account the workload of their TPEs. Given the substantial differences inthe time required to reach individual sites, and the differing amount of construction at each site,defining the workload is more complex than simply assigning each TPE the same number of sites.

In order to master this complex process, the APM may release several budgetary envelopesover the fiscal year. A batch of buildings is assigned to each envelope. This facilitates financialmanagement and also helps the TPEs to rationalize their work as they are beginning similar tasks ona number of sites at the same time. In the project, these batches of schools and CLCs are called“phases”.

The TPE works closely with the other project staff and with MOE staff who are working toimprove education at township level. Together they develop a rational way of identifying thoseschools that serve the “poorest of the poor”.

Data collected from the communities is analyzed and weighted bythe following categories: poverty of village, condition of school building,size of school-age population, educational initiatives of the teacher, andinitiatives from the community in making the request for assistance. For regional planning and

See Figure 3Line A

Myanm

ar: The M

anagement P

rocess for Constructing P

rimary Schools

and Providing School F

urniture8 Figure 3: Information Flow and Decision Making for Construction

LevelAgencies

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Village�/�school Agency DonorUNDP

ZoneZPE APM�/�UNESCO NPD�/DEPT

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Figure 3. INFORMATION FLOW & DECISION MAKING FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

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Employs�workers

Attends�bookkeeping�training

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educational aspects of the project, the engineer calls on the project’s township staff including, fromthe project side, the Township Project Officers (TPO), and on the MOE side, the Township EducationOfficer (TEO) and assistant (ATEO) as well as the Township Project Assistant. A numerical rankingof schools is then drawn up which identifies the most deserving ones.

In order to be considered for assistance, a community must demonstrate its enthusiasm toimprove teaching and learning conditions in their village. They must also make a formal request forassistance.

Once the project receives a request from one of the schools pre-determined by the projectand the Township Education Office as a most deserving school, the TPEs assisted by townshipcounterparts convene a village mass meeting to start negotiations. At this“mass meeting” (which must be attended by at least 80 percent of the adultpopulation) a School Repair, Extention or Replacement Committee (SRERC)of 8 persons is chosen by popular vote. Four of the members are to be female; and all are to beknown for their honesty, commitment to education development, and dedication to completing theconstruction work on time. At the same time the community commits to maintain the school afterthe project is completed and elects four persons to serve on a school maintenance committee (SMC).

The TPE then prepares a sketch of the work to be done and draws up a bill of quantities. Fornew construction, the design used is based on the standard plans prepared by the Department ofBasic Education (DBE) adapted to take into account the following:

� Enrolment� Number of teaching staff� The nature of work to be done (repair, extension, replacement or a newly sanctioned

school)� Community desires for building materials (based on resources they can make available)� Community desires for internal space arrangements (e.g. adding a teachers’ room or

proving a flexible partition so the classrooms can be transformed into an open hall forcommunity meetings)

� The local climate� Locally available materials� Earthquake and storm resistance� Regional variations in building materials, technology and architectural styles

Not included in these estimates are the costs of providing safe drinking water and constructionof latrines. These are provided by the parallel UNDP project that is responsible for water andsanitation work in the eleven townships.

The bill of quantities identifies and quantifies contributions by theproject and the community. Project contributions include materials and a cashamount. Materials sent from central purchasing are cement, CGI roofing sheets,flat GI sheets, and some hardware. The cash subsidy may be used to purchase materials not availablelocally and to pay skilled artisans, or to cover costs that the community cannot.

The SRERC agrees on the work to be done and commits to raising the maximum resourcespossible. This amount, which may be given in cash or in kind, is negotiable according to the abilityof each community. The community contribution, however, is expected to cover, at the very least,locally available materials, unskilled labour, materials transport, water and storage facilities. This isrecorded in a report on Community Negotiation.

See Annex BBill of quantities

See Figure 3Line B


See Figure 3Line C

As regards management, commitments are made on both sides. For the financial managementaspects, the project commits to give bookkeeping training to the SRERC treasurer and two othermembers. To support the construction activity, the project agrees to give short-term training to twoartisans for each village (one mason, one carpenter) as well as to one member of the community insite monitoring. It also agrees that the TPE will make periodic site visits.

Table 3: Total trainees for construction works under HDI-E and HDI-3

Phase Sites Carpenter Mason Commun. Total Book Total Member Artisans keeping

Strengthening Construction Capacities

I 246 100 - - 100 738 838

II 132 132 132 88 352 396 748

III 167 167 167 119 453 528 981

IV 92 92 92 92 276 276 552

Total 637 491 391 299 1,181 1,938 3,119

Strengthening Maintenance Capacities

I 246 246 246 246 738

II 132 132 132 132 396

III 167 167 167 167 501

IV 92 92 92 92 276

Total 637 637 637 637 1,911

The villagers engage themselves to meet the agreed deadlines and to handle the day-to-daymanagement of the project, including taking responsibility for financial management. To demonstratetheir engagement and to permit the TPEs to prepare the bills of quantities, they also collect pledgesof contributions from the community members. The SRERC makes requests based on the relativewealth of the villagers according to three categories: wealthy, average, or poor.

These commitments are spelled out in the MOP which is signed onthe spot by the Chairman of the SRERC, the TPE and TEO. The ZE groupsthe MOPs for one phase (batch) of construction and forwards them to theUNESCO Agency Project Manager (APM) at central level. The APM signs each MOP as recognitionthat a specific site has been approved and will be implemented and obtains the signature of theNational Project Director (NPD).

A sample MOP filled out for a replacement three-classroom building may be viewed inAnnex A. The bill of quantities is included in Annex B, and the drawings for the school are shownin Figure 4.

CLCs follow the same process. Drawings for a CLC are shown in Figure 5.

Construction: the M

anagement P

rocess11

Figure 4: Drawings for a 3-classroom school

Myanm

ar: The M

anagement P


rimary Schools


urniture12 Figure 5: Drawings for a CLC


Figure 6: A repaired school building

Figure 7: A new school building


3. Implementation stage

To get started a SRERC needs to have a team of trained persons.First is the bookkeeping training. Once that is completed, the SRERC canopen its bank account for project implementation.

Second is training in construction. The artisan training is done for a number of schools inthe same area. Groups of 16 to 95 carpenters, masons and construction site monitors are formed andundergo on-the-job training for 10 days. The TPE, a skilled mason and a skilled carpenter giveartisan and site supervision training. As often as possible, these skilled craftsmen trainers have beentrained by the project and have demonstrated exceptional work on a construction project.

The training takes place at the site of one of the new two classroom structures to be built.Villagers prepare the foundation trenches and meet their other requirements during the training, butthe trainees provide the skilled labour. Provided that the weather cooperates, a two-classroom structurecan be completed during the 10 days of training.

Once the artisan training is completed and building materials collected, the SRERC cancommence construction. During construction the TPE schedules his/her supervision visits as needed.For problem schools or those needing to urgently advance their construction work, visits may occurseveral times in one week. For remote schools or schools where the SRERC is doing an exceptionaljob of monitoring, these visits may take place only every three to four weeks.Site visit reports are scrupulously prepared and kept for the record. The formatfor the monthly report as prescribed in the policy document is given inAnnex C.

See Figure 3Lines E-G

See Annex CSite report

Figure 8: A site supervision visit


See Figure 3Line H-I

Decisions on implementation issues are resolved at zonal engineer level. Therefore, theZEs keep close watch on progress of all schools in their townships. They visit the schools frequentlyenough to be respected by the villagers. Special attention is given to problem sites.

Once the batch of schools to be constructed has been agreed and thebudgets fixed, the project HQ places the bulk order of materials. During theremainder of the implementation stage, the project HQ follows expendituresand implementation to ensure that the budgets and workplan are respected.

Certain aspects shown on the information flow and decision-making chart require furtherelaboration.

Database The engineering staff working with the TPO, TEO andATEO has developed a substantial database that incorporates socio-economicdata and education needs assessment including the condition of the educationalbuildings. As the project proceeds, implementation data is added to the database. Drawing on thedatabase, the zonal engineers have developed an ingenious set of tables that permit analysis ofprogress, costs, engineer workloads, etc. To carry out their responsibilities, each ZPE needs to beequipped with a laptop computer and skilled in the use of data base software.

Work plans Optimal timing for each new batch is negotiated betweenthe TPEs and their ZE. This is eventually coordinated between the ZE andsubmitted to the APM who endorses a consolidated workplan that becomesthe target for all townships. An example of the workplan for the infrastructure component includingschool construction, CLC construction, and furniture provision is given in Annex E.

Budget control At the level of the individual sites, the TPE keeps a close watch onexpenditures. Should there be an increase in costs during implementation, it is agreed that these willbe shared proportionately by the project and the community, and recorded in an MOP amendment.Should the community change the design to improve quality (e.g. switching from bamboo matwalling to brick), the community agrees to bear the increase.

MOP budgets are entered into the database. As with the workplans,this data is aggregated at township level, zonal level and again at centrallevel. Through quarterly staff meetings, the overall budget and workplanare reviewed and, if need be, amended.

Materials purchases The materials used in the buildings are all produced in Myanmar,though not in sufficient quantity to meet demand. For each batch of school, the project makes bulkpurchases of cement and GI sheet from local importers. Local tenders are called, and UNDP takesan active role by providing an objective tender board. Whenever possible, contracts include deliveryto the townships where they are stored awaiting collection by the SRERCs of the recipient schools.

Stage payments As with the Seti project in Nepal (UNESCO 1995), the villagers were paidon the basis of performance. In this project where buildings rest on foundations laid by skilledartisans who are paid for their labour, it has been found that a large first stage payment is necessaryto get construction off to a smooth start. For this reason, performance for the first payment isdetermined by the preparations for construction, while subsequent payments are based in large parton construction completed. Stage payments are as follows:

See Figure 3Line N

See Annex DDatabase

See Annex EWork plan


See Figure 3Lines O-R

� 1st payment of 45 percent of cash subsidy is released after:

1) SRERC has been established.2) SMC is named and a maintenance fund raising plan is in place.3) Arrangements for collecting the community contribution are in place and 45 percent

of the community cash contribution has been collected.4) A store for construction materials has been arranged.5) Bookkeeping training has been completed successfully.

� 2nd payment of 25 percent of cash subsidy is released after:

1) Building structure is complete.2) Roofing is in place.3) An additional 25 percent of community cash contribution has been collected.

� 3rd payment of 20 percent of cash subsidy is released after:

1) Walls, ceiling, floors, doors and windows are complete.2) Final 30 percent of community cash contribution has been collected.

� 4th payment of 10 percent of cash subsidy released after:

1) Final touch-up work has been done.2) Landscaping is in place.3) Site completion report received.

Payment transparency All transfers of funds including reception of cash subsidies fromthe project and payments to suppliers and workers are made in public meetings with the presence ofwitnesses. This provides transparency and virtually eliminates suspicions about the mishandling offunds.

4. Completion

Completion of work by schools that signed the MOP is exceptionally high. As of June2001, it appeared that of the 637 school sites selected for assistance, only 8 to 11 would fail to carryout their full responsibilities. This will give a completion rate of over 98 percent – a figure not oftenattained in projects where full management responsibility rests with the community.

When a school is completed, the TPE prepares the completion reportwhich includes an evaluation of the quality of work done. The site is visitedby the ZE who approves the work and the final account. The TPE authorizesthe final payment in the same way as with other stage payments. Handing over ceremonies typicallyoccur. As these are often delayed while the village waits for an auspicious occasion, handing over isnot linked to the final payment.

Recognizing when a community is unable to carry out their commitment is problematic.Most villages do not wish to recognize their own shortcomings in meeting the terms of the MOP.Likewise, the MOE feels that only 100 percent completion is acceptable. In community developmentwork, it is normal to encounter the occasional village where work does not get done. In answer tothat reality, an amendment to the policy has been instituted to guide the TPEs and ZEs on how tohandle the situation.


The policy now specifies that once a site is designated as inactive, there should be threevisits by the TPE to encourage resumption. If the site does not show movement, two visits ofencouragement will be made by the ZE followed by a written warning. If that fails to reactivate thesite, the ZE and ATEO jointly visit the site and follow it up with a letter to the SRERC announcingthat they are recommending that the site be dropped from the project. A copy is sent to the Director-General of DEPT. After consulting the National Project Director and UNDP, the APM can ceasegiving further support to the school.

It is worth noting that of the 8 cancelled schools, 7 are self-help community institutions notsanctioned by government. These communities hire the entire teaching staff, a situation that oftenresults in high recurrent costs. A probable consequence is that these schools have fewer resourcesavailable for construction than do villages with State sanctioned Primary Schools.

5. Maintenance

As noted above, each community selects a school maintenancecommittee. Once the construction is complete, the project gives two days ofmaintenance training to two village persons and provides the community witha set of maintenance hand tools worth $25. Training costs total about 62,000 Kyats ($160 at a UNaverage exchange rate of K.387.57) for each school or CLC.

6. Principal achievements as regards construction

Community ownership of education Many communities find it attractive to contribute tobuilding the infrastructure for education as it gives them a tangible result of which they can beproud. One indication of this spirit is the number of villages that upgraded the standard of constructionduring project implementation. Typically, during negotiations they felt they could only contribute aminimum amount to construction of timber frame structures covered with bamboo mats, but oncefunds for that level of quality had been raised, they go on to collect additional funds to upgrade towood frame with brick nogging (infill).

Community cost sharing with the donor Overall, communities covered 28 percent of totalMOP. Of the project share 1/3 was in materials and 2/3 in cash contributions. For individual sites,the community share varied from three to over fifty percent. The townships in the hilly zone had thehighest average participation of 34 percent.

Community management The communities benefiting from assistance to their infrastructurehave all voted to participate in the education activity of HDI. In addition, they have all voted fortheir School Repair, Extension or Reconstruction Committee (SRERC) which takes full responsibilityfor execution of the educational buildings in their village as planned in the MOP. The value ofproject management by the community is very substantial, both in terms of cost and for ensuringquality, timely completion. However, this value has not been calculated.

Skills development By the end of the project, approximately 500 carpenters and 400 masonswill have received 10 days of skill training. Another 300 SRERC members will have receivedconstruction site management training. In addition, 1,938 SRERC members will be trained inbookkeeping. Many artisans who completed training have informed the project staff that they aremore sought after for other work in their villages as a result of this training.

See Figure 3Lines S-U


Improved learning environments As already mentioned earlier, the Education Sector Study(UNESCO 1992,1993) notes that over one half of primary schools in Myanmar are made of non-durable local materials (i.e. bamboo, thatch and wood). In 1996-97, a Socio-economic andEducational Needs Assessment survey was made of 3,705 villages in the 11 townships. Under HDI-1 through HDI-3, 1,925 schools have received assistance to bring the buildings up to an acceptablestandard. The project has been careful to select only schools where buildings were in need of repair,extension or replacement. The end result is that 52 percent of the schools now have new or renovatedbuildings that will have a life expectance of 20 years before major maintenance.

Reasonable costs By applying an average exchange rate over the implementation period,the cost per square meter of construction has been around $36, which is less than the comparablefigures found in nearby countries. Though the rapidly fluctuating exchange rate makes it difficult tocarry out an authoritative cost analysis on the basis of international comparisons, this figure isindicative of an economical project.

The detailed database permits an analysis of certain trends for extension, replacement, andnew schools, all of which have similar structures of two, three, four, five or six classrooms. Table 4below gives a rough picture of cost trends for schools across the three zones. From this table it canbe noted that generally the final cost of the schools is marginally less than calculated in the MOP,unless the community has decided to contribute more for quality improvement. It is also clear thatcosts per unit area are slightly lower for large schools than small ones. The most important variation,however, is the relatively higher construction costs in the Delta area.

Table 4: Construction cost trends (Kyats)

No. of classrooms 2 CR 3 CR 4 CR 5 CR 6 CRTotal places 70 places 105 places 140 places 175 places 210 placesTotal area 111.5 M2 167.2 M2 223 M2 278.7 M2 334.4 M2

Average total cost of a school in MOP

Delta 2,032,405 2,939,827 3,854,528 4,697,136 5,050,617

Shan 1,577,156 2,568,563 2,939,526 - -

Dry 1,629,651 2,392146 2,624,778 3,022,814 4,322,544

Average actual total cost of completed buildings

Delta 1,990,575 2,867,607 3,791,158 4,584,311 5,049,281

Shan 1,620,746 2,769,497 2,778,206 - -

Dry 1,494,640 2,053,478 2,116,700 2,835,664 3,875,544

Average cost per M2 of completed buildings

Delta 17,856 17,149 17,004 16,449 15,098

Shan 14,538 16,562 12,461 - -

Dry 13,407 12,280 9,494 10,175 11,588


Table 4: Construction cost trends (Kyats) (cont’d)

No. of classrooms 2 CR 3 CR 4 CR 5 CR 6 CRTotal places 70 places 105 places 140 places 175 places 210 placesTotal area 111.5 M2 167.2 M2 223 M2 278.7 M2 334.4 M2

Average cost per student place of completed buildings

Delta 28,437 27,311 27,080 26,196 24,044

Shan 23,154 26,376 19,844 - -

Dry 21,352 19,557 15,119 16,204 18,455

A comparison with community participation projects in other countries shows that HDI-3has performed exceptionally well in terms of achieving a low cost per square meter. On the otherhand, it is rather generous as regard the area provided per student. The bottom line for evaluatingschool construction costs, however, is the ratio that combines these two factors, i.e. cost per place.On that score, HDI-3 is one of the lower cost projects reviewed. The graphs in Figure 9 compareeight projects in four countries.

Effective project management This component of HDI-3 has proven to be far moresuccessful than the preceding phases of the project. The end result has been good building quality,achieved at a lower than normal management cost, in record time.

� In a period of 52 months beginning from 16 September 1997 to February 2002, 637Primary schools and 30 CLCs will have been repaired, expanded or fully constructed.This means that, on average each of the 14 TPEs has dealt with 48 sites – an unusualworkload for any civil works undertaking.

� Project management is exceptionally cost-effective. The cost of the TPEs and threeZonal Project Engineers (ZE) will amount to $117,603. The total cost of the constructionduring HDI-E and HDI-3 amounts to $2,905,887. Contracts totaling $102,120 will begiven for furniture. Training costs will total $129,000. Considering that the engineerteam spends about 75 percent of its time on construction activities and the remaining 25percent on community development work, the cost of technical services has been 3.7percent of funds they have managed. That compares to an average of 6 percent in othercountries (UNESCO 2000a).

� Of the 667 villages that signed MOPs, only 8 have had to be cancelled – a number thatcould climb to 11 by the end of the project. This completion rate of over 98 percent ina community managed civil works undertaking can only be described as outstanding.


Figure 9: International comparison of school buildings

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Furniture Provision: the Management Process 21

Three

Furniture Provision:the Management Process

1. Setting the objectives

The need for school furniture is overwhelming. In Bogalay Township, for example, a surveyamong the poorest villages indicated that 89.3 percent of the children do not have a seat and a desk.The available budget was sufficient to provide new furniture to about 6 percent of the children beingserved by the project. The challenge, therefore, was to make sure that the assistance went to thepoorest of the poor villages and that furniture provision is a reward to those schools that promote thePLP teaching methods.

That furniture that is found in Myanmar rural schools is generally built by local artisans.The designs appear to be taken from colonial-era high schools of which sloping tops were the norm.In many cases, laying planks across piles of bricks create desks. Seating may be on woven mats orstools that are only several inches high. In some schools, desks and benches are attached, giving theimpression of cattle stalls. In most schools, furniture seats four to six children abreast.

Given the project emphasis on community development, the original intention was to havethe village artisans make the new furniture under TPE supervision. A detailed examination led to amajor change of direction.

At village level, the only skilled carpenters available were accustomed to making door andwindow frames, door panels and window shutters. These are made of teak using mortise and tennonconnections with pegs. While local carpenters are quite skilled at this, teak for furniture making isnot available in the villages. Nor are the carpenters skilled at making glued and pegged joints thatcan withstand the stresses to which school furniture is put. Most soft wood species are not termiteresistant, and the hardwoods that are not attacked by insects are difficult to work with hand tools.All woods found at village level are unseasoned. Furthermore, the rough assembly techniques, usedfor building components, split and break the small wood pieces used in furniture. Finally, thoughmediocre quality glue is available; the artisans are not accustomed to its use.

At township headquarters, one finds one or two cabinetmaker shops accustomed toassembling small components and using glue. However, power tools are few and power supply isirregular. Thus, they rely on hand tools that cannot achieve the needed close tolerances. Tocompensate for poor workmanship (and the use of green timber that shrinks after assembly) jointsare nailed. The soft steel nails are of a diameter so large that they often split the tennons. Finally,each of these furniture makers’ production capacities is on the order of 100 pieces per month whenthe project required 15,000 pieces to be produced and delivered in a 6-month period.

Given the number of problems to be addressed, it was decided that the only way to providethe amount of furniture needed in the time frame available would be to mobilize the industrializedfurniture makers in Yangon and Mandalay. While they cater to an international market, they haveup-to-date high tolerance machinery, and use sophisticated glues to assemble legally purchased andwell seasoned timber.


In industrialized and semi-industrialized countries, educators define furniture needs andprocurement officers make purchases based on catalogs and showroom samples. This approach isnot applicable for rural primary schools in Myanmar, as the limited school furniture they produce isoriented to well-funded urban schools. The project was obliged, therefore, to work with nationalindustry on a totally new, low cost, durable design.

2. Designing the process

In this situation where there was literally no furniture delivery system in place, it wasnecessary to develop a management approach that covered all aspects of furniture planning, design,production, delivery, and maintenance. The procedures defined by (UNESCO 1979, 2000c) wereadapted to the conditions of Myanmar. The procedure covers 10 major areas:

1) Define objectives2) Collect preliminary data3) Plan4) Design5) Prototype fabrication6) Test and redesign7) Mass produce8) Supply9) Assemble and install

10) Maintain

Each of these areas was broken down into a number of discrete steps to be taken. Theresulting 96 steps necessary to produce functional, comfortable, affordable, durable furniture wereeach assigned to an appropriate project unit (educators, engineers, and management; all had pivotalroles to play) and deadlines for accomplishment of the task set (Annex F).

3. Application of management procedure

Figure 10 presents the information flow and decision making responsibilities. In light ofthe decision to use major manufacturers decisions are largely centralized. Key elements in each ofthe 10 areas above, that are not evident from the flow chart, are described below.

Define objectives The furniture component of the project had toanswer to four different objectives. First of all, the principle of serving thepoorest of the poor had to be respected. Second, the furniture had to beconceived such that it would support the active child-centered teaching methods used in the project(known as PLP). Third, the project objective of involving the community in its production anddelivery needed to be respected. Fourth, the cost of furniture should not be disproportionate tobuilding cost.

These considerations led to parameters that the desks should seat a maximum of three childrenabreast and that the cost of providing furniture for a complete school should not exceed 10 percentof the construction cost of a new building and that communities would be responsible for furnitureassembly.

Data collection Two important issues had to be addressed at thisstage: determining the sizes of children and setting up a data collection schemethat would provide a rational basis for distributing the furniture to the poorestvillages.

See Figure 10Line B

See Figure 10Line A

Furniture P

rovision: the Managem

ent Process

23

Task Level

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Figure 10. INFORMATION FLOW & DECISION MAKING FOR SCHOOL FURNITURE

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ZPE APM / UNESCO

Project

UNESCO UNDPNPD /DEPT

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offers

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UNESCO��MYA�-�99�-�004

Figure 10: Information flows and decision making for furniture


Since reliable current data on the standing heights of Myanmar children was not available,a UNESCO sampling technique of measuring at least 100 randomly selected 10 year olds of bothsexes was applied. In this case, 174 ten-year olds attending project-supported schools were measured.The mean standing height of females was determined to be 128.42 cm and males 129.49cm. Thisdata led to fixing the seating and desk heights for two groups of children; ages 5 to 7 and 7 to 11. (Itis hoped that these dimensions will be accepted as a national standard for kindergarten (KG) throughgrade four. Likewise, the size of desktops can be adopted as a standard for three-place desks.)

Table 5: Myanmar primary school furniture dimensions

Size A Size B Dimensions for KG, Grade I for Grades II, III, IV

Inches Millimeters Inches Millimeters

Desk height 19 1/4 490 21 3/4 550

Desk length 54 1370 54 1370

Desk width 16 400 16 400

Seat height 10 3/4 270 12 3/4 320

Seat length 10 250 48 1120

Seat width 10 250 10 250

To create a rational basis for distribution of the furniture, the following criteria wereset: (1) Poverty (only the poorest communities would be eligible), (2) Need (only for students whohad no furniture available), (3) Adequate physical conditions (flat floor of concrete or wood, non-leaking roof, security, and at least 9.0 square feet per child), and (4) Rewards (schools were ratedaccording to the degree to which they had adopted PLP methods).

Taking into consideration the socio-economic data collected for the Human DevelopmentInitiative as a whole, a consultation was held involving the TPEs and their educational colleagues,the TPOs, and ATEOs. This led to identification of the poorest villages and, after a field visit, thequantification of furniture needs. The field visit also assessed building condition and the use of PLPeducational methods.

Plan A school furniture policy document was prepared which could be used to set down theobjectives of the furniture programme and to assign responsibilities. A special Memorandum ofPartnership for furniture was developed to define the relationship between the community and theproject as regards furniture provision.

Design, prototypes and testing Given the limited time available, the project focused ondesks and seating for children. The only other furniture items provided by the project were displayracks for the itinerant libraries. Furthermore, villages are able to obtain teaching materials storesand teacher desks and chairs from the township furniture shops.

Furniture items provided by the project include a three-place deskfor KG-Grade I accompanied by three individual stools. For grades 2, 3 and4, the seating is a single bench. The design took into account the critical

See Figure 10Lines D-F


dimensions coming out of the anthropometric research, cost limits, and the mass production methodto be used.

A first design (Mark I) was prepared and rejected. The second design (Mark II) wasconsidered suitable to test at full scale.

Thus prototypes were made and evaluated. Children of corresponding standing heights wereseated at the furniture to check the suitability of the dimensions. Stresses were placed on the furnitureto test their rigidity. It was judged that while the furniture was generally satisfactory, several changesneeded to be made. The book shelf needed to be high enough to permit the bench to be stored underthe desk; plywood was deemed unsuitable for the desk top and book shelf; and the small stool hadlegs that would be broken if the stool were dropped.

One special condition of the design was that it could be factory produced in semi-knockdownform to facilitate shipment (Figure 14). This also provided the project with an opportunity to involvethe local artisans in the assembly of the furniture and to introduce them to modern wood furnituretechnology.

Figure11: Mobile library display furniture


Figure 12a: Furniture drawings type A


Figures 12b: Furniture drawings type B


Figures 13: Children testing prototypes for correct dimensions


Figure 14: Prototype furniture semi-knock-down elements

Production and Supply Competitive tendering resulted in the projectbeing offered furniture at a very reasonable price and within a time framethat was ahead of the workplan schedule. Samples were submitted as part ofthe bid.

Table 6: Furniture costs

Furniture type Grade level Cost per piece

Desk A KG-1 $14.00

Seat A KG-1 $ 2.00

Desk B 2-4 $15.00

Bench B 2-4 $ 6.00

This gives a cost per place of $6.67 for Size A and $7.00 for size B. For a 4-classroomschool with 140 places, the total cost would be $956. Considering that on the average, constructionof a 4-classroom building is around $7,471; furniture costs average approximately 12.8 percent ofconstruction, a proportion higher than foreseen, but acceptable when considering the very lowconstruction costs achieved and the 20 year expected life of the furniture.

See Figure 10Lines G-H


The number of pieces ordered was determined by the budget available and the unit costsquoted. The project has ordered a total of 15,452 pieces of furniture that will serve 15,000 children.The producer has agreed to deliver the furniture to the townships in where the PTAs will collecttheir entitlements.

Assemble and Install For each township, one day of local artisantraining will be given by one of the suppliers’ technicians. This will coverfurniture assembly including application and setting of the glues and correctassembly and clamping of the elements provided.

At a later date one day of training will be given to each village that received furniture onhow to arrange it to support PLP education and on how to maintain the furniture to ensure its longlife. Figure 15 gives the basic furniture items used in a classroom from which classroom layouts canbe generated.

4. Principal achievements as regards furniture

Educationally appropriate This furniture is designed around the requirements of theeducators who are introducing modern teaching methods in Myanmar. The designs will be appropriatefor educational innovations being supported by the Ministry of Education with the aid of UNESCO,UNICEF, and other donors.

Ergonomically correct The furniture sizes have been scientifically derived to ensure comfortof the children and ease of doing their studies.

Industrially produced For the first time, Myanmar’s formidable furniture making industryhas addressed the problem of producing furniture for rural schools in Myanmar. This has demonstratedthat high quality furniture can be made in large volumes over a short period of time.

Community participation The project has demonstrated that even though the furniture isfactory made, there is a role for local artisans in its assembly and maintenance. This project willhelp introduce villages to modern wood technology.

Durable The furniture produced will be a good investment, as it should last for at least 20years with good care and basic maintenance.

Low cost Costs for high quality furniture are comparable to costs quoted by local furnituremakers for items that would be expected to last but five to ten years.

See Figure 10Lines I-K

Toward Further Improvements 31

While management of the MYA/99/004 infrastructure component is a major improvementover previous HDI education projects, new lessons have been learned that should benefit futureprojects. To prepare for the future, the project ran a workshop for the technical staff.

The workshop explored the project successes, examined relevant experiences in othercountries and reviewed available technical research. The workshop generated information that canbe used to develop the next generation of primary school buildings and furniture in Myanmar. Itexplores areas where physical facilities need to be improved or increased to support the teaching-learning process. It also explores areas where building costs can be reduced in order to pay for theneeded improvements.

The workshop document, Draft elements for a design guide for primary schools in Myanmar,includes the following:

A. National zoning

1) Natural disasters: Wind and floods2) Natural disasters: earthquakes3) Timber4) Bamboo5) Earth building materials6) Climate by the 4 major zones (hills, coastal, dry, and delta)

B. School sites

1) Building location2) Play area for small children3) Sports area for older children4) Latrines5) Water supply6) Assembly area and flagpole7) School gardens8) School compound security

C. Educational support

1) Chalkboards2) Tackboards3) Moveable partitions4) Furniture layouts for single classes up to 60 students5) Furniture layouts for PLP teaching6) Furniture layout for multi-grade teaching7) Moveable chalkboard and tackboard8) Storage unit cum space divider9) Cost reduction through using 10' high ceilings

Four

Toward Further Improvements


D. Roofs and walls

1) Reducing cost of roof truss2) Reducing cost of plastering3) Reducing cost of wall frame4) Reducing cost of ceiling

E. Verandah and building orientation

1) Reducing verandah costs2) Sun angles and building orientation3) Sun shade design and cost

The conclusion of this workshop is that another project could accomplish even more withinthe same costs. Reallocating resources typically used in each school could do this.

There are a number of additions to be made that could make these buildings more effectiveschools.

Providing some specialized furniture would help teachers to store teaching materials. Allteaching personnel should have their own desk and chair. Many children’s desks need to be replaced.Chalkboards could be of better quality. Wall surfaces for presenting educational posters and children’swork need to be added, as do horizontal surfaces for three-dimensional teaching aids. The technicalworkshop also identified the need for developing partitions between classrooms that can be easilydisassembled and reassembled and yet is effectively used for display and chalkboards. This grouppointed out that many classes in these small schools are multi-grade and proposed that moveablebookshelves be developed that could also serve as space dividers between classes.

Improvements could also be made to the buildings. Niches or shelves to accommodatechildren’s footwear and water pots need to be incorporated into the building design or providedthrough special purpose furniture. The incorrect orientation of the buildings in relation to the sunneeds to be addressed by adding sunshades specifically designed for East, West, North and Southelevations. School sites need to be enclosed and to include latrines and water sources as well asequipped playgrounds and demarcated sports fields

On the other side of the ledger, four areas were identified where costs could be reducedwithout lowering standards of education, comfort or durability. Comparing the area per place in theclassrooms with other countries, UNESCO research shows that these buildings are relatively large.Classrooms could be narrower, thus reducing the total built area by at least 20 percent (possiblelayouts of classrooms serving one, two and three classes are presented in Figures16 and 17). Theroof structures are over-designed. The workshop designed a new truss system that reduced timberuse by half, thus reducing total building cost by about 10 percent. When verandahs are placed onthe North, East, and West of the buildings, they are not functional sunshades. Replacing them withporches to provide a covered entry could save another 2 percent of total building cost. The 12-footwall heights are more than is needed to ensure comfort of the children. Walls could be lowered bytwo feet, thereby reducing total construction costs another 5 percent.

Ironically, future schools need to be, at the same time, more expensive and more economical.By accepting the present costs per student place as a cost limit and reallocating resources betweenconstruction and furniture, markedly better learning environments can be achieved at no extra cost.

Toward F

urther Improvem

ents33

Figure 15: Classroom furniture items

Myanm

ar: The M

anagement P


rimary Schools


urniture34 Figure 16: Classroom layouts for formal and non-formal teaching

Toward F

urther Improvem

ents35

Figure 17: Classroom layouts for multi-grade teaching


Bibliography

UNESCO 1979

School furniture Handbook: Vol. 1 General and Specific AspectsVol. 2 Practical Examples and Illustrations. UNESCO, Paris

UNESCO 1984

Burma Primary School Improvement Program: aide memoire of an in-service training activity.UNESCO, Bangkok

UNESCO 1988

Innovation in Management of Primary School Construction: multi-purpose primary school buildingsin Bangladesh. UNESCO, Bangkok

UNESCO 1992

Myanmar Ministry of Education / UNDP / UNESCO (MYA/90/004 project)Education Sector Study:Phase I Final report (accompanied with 30 working papers)Myanmar Education Research Bureau, Yangon, February 1992

UNESCO 1993

Myanmar Ministry of Education / UNDP / UNESCO (MYA/90/010 project)Education sector study:Phase II Draft Proposal for Education Sector Development

Volume I: Strategy Development (1993-2002)Volume II: Project Profiles

Myanmar Education Research Bureau, Yangon, April 1993

UNESCO 1995

Innovation in Primary School Construction: community participation in Seti zone, Nepal.UNESCO, Bangkok

UNESCO 1999

Policy for Primary School Repair, Extension or Replacement ActivityUNESCO (MYA/96/004 project), Yangon

UNESCO 2000a

Primary Schools Infrastructure and Facilities Database: case studies of Bangladesh, China, India andNepal. UNESCO, Bangkok

UNESCO 2000b

LAO MTT – UNESCO PROAP Infrastructure and Facilities: the preliminary design for communityfriendly schools in Lao PDR. UNESCO, Bangkok

UNESCO 2000c

School Furniture for Education for All. UNESCO, Bangkok

Annex A 37

Annex A38

Annex A 39

Annex B40

SUMMARY COST SHEET FOR ONE 2-CLASSROOMS STANDARD DESIGN WITH ONE (10'X30'X12')

WITH BAMBOO MAT WALL TEACHERS' COMMON, LIBRARY& STORE ROOM

TOWNSHIP : BOGALAY , DELTA REGION

VILLAGE TRACT: MA GUVILLAGE : MA GU ( 6 WARD )

Sr particular unit quantity rate per amount(In Kyats) in US$

A REQUIRED CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS1 cement bags 210 950 bag 199,500 665.00 2 pudlo cement lbs 22 250 lb 5,500 18.33 3 sand cft 1,957 15 cft 29,355 97.85 4 aggregate cft 1,007 100 cft 100,700 335.67 5 brick ( 9''x4 3/8''x2 3/4'') nos 11,475 9 no 103,275 344.25 6 pyinkado wood tons 8.72 95,000 ton 828,400 2,761.33 7 teak wood for doors and windows tons 1.28 180,000 ton 230,400 768.00 8 fine knitted bamboo mat sft 3,721 20 sft 74,420 248.07 9 29 G.CGI roofing sheet ( 7'-0''x2'-3'') sheets 197 840 sheet 165,480 551.60

10 29 G.GI plane sheet (8'x4') sheets 4 1,400 sheet 5,600 18.67 11 2 1/2'' long threaded roofing nail with washer complete. viss 9 450 viss 4,050 13.50 12 assorted wire nails viss 39 400 viss 15,600 52.00 13 assorted wood screws gross 18 150 gross 2,700 9.00 14 3 mm clear glass sft 395 100 sft 39,500 131.67 15 5'' brass or nickle coated handle nos 88 50 no 4,400 14.67 16 4'' butt hinge nos 133 35 no 4,655 15.52 17 6''-9'' tower bolt nos 64 50 no 3,200 10.67 18 6'' hooks and eyes pairs 62 15 pair 930 3.10 19 fanlight hinge nos 28 80 no 2,240 7.47 20 fanlight catch nos 14 50 no 700 2.33 21 5/8'' dia: 15'' long sliding bolt sets 4 250 set 1,000 3.33 22 5/8'' dia: 7'' long bolts and nuts nos 44 50 no 2,200 7.33 23 5/8'' dia: 9'' long bolts and nuts nos 326 70 no 22,820 76.07 24 5/8'' dia: 12'' long bolts and nuts nos 25 90 no 2,250 7.50 25 1/4'' dia: MS rods tons 0.01 150,000 ton 1,500 5.00 26 2''x1/4''x3' long MS post strap nos 22 250 no 5,500 18.33 27 5'' or 6''x14'' thick 20'' long gusset plate nos 24 1,000 no 24,000 80.00 28 2''x2'' galvanized square mesh sft 126 35 sft 4,410 14.70 29 strained lime cft 3 150 cft 450 1.50 30 binder and glue lbs 1 200 lb 200 0.67 31 coltar gals 1 240 gal 240 0.80 32 earth oil gals 52 250 gal 13,000 43.33 33 brooms nos 13 50 no 650 2.17 34 red oxide gals 7 1,500 gal 10,500 35.00

sub total A 1,909,325 6,364.42 B REQUIRED LABOURS

1 skilled laboursa carpenter MDs 334 600 MD 200,400 668.00 b mason MDs 59 600 MD 35,400 118.00 c painter MDs 16 600 MD 9,600 32.00

2 unskilled laboursa workers MDs 417 300 MD 125,100 417.00

sub total B 370,500 1,235.00 C TRANSPORTATION COST

a lorry 5-tonne trips from Yangon to Bogalay 5-ton/trips 3 10,000 5-ton/trip 30,000 100.00 b boat 5-tonne trips in Bogalay township 5-ton/trips 11 5,000 5-ton/trip 55,000 183.33

sub total C 85,000 283.33

Grand total cost ( sub-total A+B+C ) 2,364,825 7,882.75

note: 1. The Exchange rate is 1US$=Ks.300 applied by Yangon during 2000.

2. The construction material cost rates are based on the Price Index available from TPOs & TPEs.

Bill of Quantities

Annex C

41

MONTH:School Name: Type of School: Work started on:Village: V.T. Name: To be completed on (orig.):

Revised completion date:Type of Work: Repair Repair & Extension Replacement Extension

New School Sanction (Check more than one box when neceessary) Actual Community Contribution So Far: Ö../Ö../ÖÖ.. (Date)

Total Primary Classrooms: No of New Classrooms Built: No. of Existing Multigrade Classrooms: . . . . m/day No. of Existing Singlegrade Classrooms: . . . %

Work Progress:

Yes No Yes No prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. nowCompletion in %:Quality of work:Quality = G for Good, S for Satisfactory and U for Unsatisfactory

prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now prev. now Yes No

Quality = G for Good, S for Satisfactory and U for Unsatisfactory

People's Participation:Type

Overall 1 2 3Poorest h/h's 1 2 3Women's 1 2 3

Page 1 of 2Number of monthly progress reports submitted to VEDC:. . . . Times. . . . . . No.

Circle one

PTA/SMC Executive Committee Meetings held so far to discuss project progress: . . . . TimesNumber of meeting with VEDC

KyatsKyatsKyats

CashKindLabourTotal:

Preparatory Stage (45%)

SM

C &

M

ain

tain

ce

Fun

d P

lan

in

Pla

ce

45%

C

omm

unity

C

ash

Con

tri.

Rai

sed

Sto

re f

or

Mat

eria

l C

om

ple

ted

Wal

l P

last

eri

ng

&

Pa

intin

g

Com

plet

ed

Fan

light

C

ompl

eted

Stage two (20%)

75

% h

/ho

ld

Con

trib

utin

g to

SM

F

Final Stage (10%)

30%

C

omm

unity

C

ash

Con

tri.

Rea

dy

San

d F

illin

g &

Flo

orin

g C

ompl

eted

Cei

ling

Com

plet

ed

MONTHLY SCHOOL SITE PROGRESS REPORT - MYA/99/004. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Township

Bri

ck P

ost

F

ootin

g C

ompl

eted

Wal

ls

Com

plet

ed

Ro

of

Tru

ss

Com

plet

ed

Quality of work:

Fin

al

Tou

chin

g D

one

Doo

r/

Win

dow

P

an

els

C

ompl

eted

Ranking

Bo

okk

ee

pin

g

Tra

inin

g

Co

mp

lete

d

Completion in %:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

La

nd

sca

pin

g

Com

plet

ed

. . . . TimesPTA/SMC General Meetings held so far to discuss project progress:

Kyats

25%

C

omm

unity

C

ash

Con

tri.

Rea

dy

Stage One (25%)

Fou

ndat

ion

Com

plet

ed

Po

sts

Ere

ctio

n

Com

plet

ed

Tie

Bea

ms

Fix

ed

Doo

e/W

indo

w

Fra

mes

Fix

ed

Roo

fing

&

Rid

ging

C

ompl

eted

Ra

fte

rs F

ixe

d

. . . /. . . /. . . . .

Annex C

42

Financial Status (in Kyats): Material Received from UNESCO: Record Keeping:Source

UNESCO/UNDP C.G.I. SheetsCommunity Plain SheetsGovernment CementOther Nails & WashersTotal:

Issues to be Addressed Urgently:

General Remarks of Township Engineer:

Submitted by: Read and followed by: Read and followed by:Name: Title:

Date: Date:

Training Attended Yes NoType Estimated Received Balance

Page 2 of 2

Cash RegisterStock Register Proper

ProperLabour Attendance

Received 1st installment 45% on

Received 3rd installment 20% on

ProperEstimated Received Balance

By Whom:

ImproperImproperImproper

Received 2nd installment 25% on

Date:Township Projet Officer Zonal Engineer

Name: Township Engineer Title:

Name: Title:

Annex D

43

Database: Monitoring Indicators

Cem

ent

C.G

.I

P S

he

et

R n

ails

( K

gs)

1,343,170 25.0% 256,500 Cost in MOP 750,878 337,895 187,719 150,176 75,088

HQ to Tsp 525,614 337,895 187,719

Tsp to SRER 337,895 337,895 171 0 4 7.5Balance at Tsp 187,719 0 187,719 0 0

1,996,368 25.0% 403,650 Cost in MOP 1,093,626 492,132 273,407 218,725 109,363

HQ to Tsp 1,093,626 492,132 273,407 218,725 109,363

Tsp to SRER 984,263 492,132 273,407 218,725 269 159 5 7.5Balance at Tsp 109,363 0 0 0 109,363

1,376,929 25.0% 237,600 Cost in MOP 795,097 357,794 198,774 159,019 79,510

HQ to Tsp 795,097 357,794 198,774 159,019 79,510

Tsp to SRER 715,587 357,794 198,774 159,019 194 193 4 9Balance at Tsp 79,510 0 0 0 79,510

1,846,179 25.0% 474,746 Cost in MOP 909,888 409,450 227,472 181,978 90,989

HQ to Tsp 818,899 409,450 227,472 181,978

Tsp to SRER 818,899 409,450 227,472 181,978 225 142 6 13Balance at Tsp 0 0 0 0 0

1,343,220 30.0% 256,500 Cost in MOP 683,754 307,689 170,939 136,751 68,375

HQ to Tsp 615,379 307,689 170,939 136,751

Tsp to SRER 615,379 307,689 170,939 136,751 190 0 0 0Balance at Tsp 0 0 0 0 0

812,270 45.0% 140,621 Cost in MOP 306,128 137,757 76,532 61,226 30,613

HQ to Tsp 275,515 137,757 76,532 61,226

Tsp to SRER 214,289 137,757 76,532 20 74 2 3.38Balance at Tsp 61,226 0 0 61,226 0

999,352 30.0% 120,724 Cost in MOP 578,822 260,470 144,706 115,764 57,882

HQ to Tsp 520,940 260,470 144,706 115,764

Tsp to SRER 520,940 260,470 144,706 115,764 12 61 2 2.83Balance at Tsp 0 0 0 0 0

1,900,413 25.0% 372,600 Cost in MOP 1,052,710 473,719 263,177 210,542 105,271

HQ to Tsp 736,897 473,719 263,177

Tsp to SRER 473,719 473,719 258 227 5 10Balance at Tsp 263,177 0 263,177 0 0

10% Payment

Project materials Delivery

Name of Village

UNESCO Material

Contribution (value)C

omm

unity

C

ontr

ibut

ion

%

Total Cost

Fun

ds r

elea

sed

to

SR

ER

(%

)

%

Ph

ysic

al

Com

plet

ion

20% PaymentName of VT

Tha Pyay Chaung

500 Urban 999 Yet Kyut 8

45%

92% 90%

99% 90%

63% 70%

55%

90%

83% 90%

38% 45%

91% 90%

83%

500 Urban 999 Yet Kyut 10

Ka Zaung Min Sae

Shaw Chaung

Hlwa Zar Zin Pyun Gone15

14

Yay Twin Gone

Ngwe Kyun Thar

Yay Win Lay

Ohn Pin Su

Hlaing Bone

Kyain Kwin

PHYSICAL COMPLETION (%) AND INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS FOR SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE

UP TO 31 May, 2001 ( DELTA ZONE, LAPUTTA TOWNSHIP)

9

8

30% Payment

40% Payment

Total project Contribution in

Cash

S. no Delivery by level

13

12

11

10

Annex E

44 Work Plan January 2001 - February 2002

Qty Unit Jan

Feb

Mar

Ap

r

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

1 99,484,648

1.1

1.1.1

A Phase I

a Formation of Committee/Group

1 SMC and Plan 43 School

b 7 School

1 Cement 4 School

2 CGI Sheet 4 School

3 GI Plain sheet 3 School

4 Roofing nail 3 School

c 57 Installment

1 Second Installment 3 Installment

2 Third Installment 13 Installment

3 Final Installment 41 Installment

d

1 Up to roof 3 School

2 Wall and Internal 25 School

3 Sign board and final touching 25 School

4 Hand over of Completed School 44 School

e 125 Visit

B Phase II

a 15 School

1 Cement 751/12 School

2 CGI Sheet 2515/12 School

3 GI Plain sheet 58/12 School

4 Roofing nail 132/12 School

b 139 Installment




c 99 School





d 565 Visit

C Phase III 168 School

a 37 School

b 37 School

c 37 School

d 168 School

2001 2002Scope of Work

Budget in Kyat Components and Activities

Construction

Monitoring and technical support

Formation of (SREREC / VEDG / SMC & Plan)

Distribution of Construction Material

Release of Funds

Construction

Description of Tasks


Release of Funds

School construction, extension and renovation

Infrastructure

Finalizing phases I, II and III school constructions



Preparation of MOP

Signing of MOP

Annex E

45

Work Plan January 2001 - February 2002

e 576 Installment

1 First Installment 90 Installment




f 168 School





g 1176 Visit

1.1.2 85,021,998

a 305 School

b 100 School

c 100 School

d 100 School 23,861,393

e 100 School 61,160,605

1 First Installment 100 Installment




f Construction / Rehabilitation 100 School





g 800 Visit

1.2 CLC Infrastructure Development 31 Clc

a 1 Clc

b 1 Clc

c 31 Clc

d 124 Installment

e

1 Construction/ rehabilitation of structure: up to roof 31 CLC

2 Construction/ rehabilitation of structure: walls/ internal 31 CLC

3 Signboards for CLC, and completion reports 31 CLC

4 Hand over 31 CLC

f Monitoring and technical support 248 visit


Construction stage

Signing MOP and formation of SRERC,VEDG,SMC


Release of Funds

Initial selection


Final selection, preparing and approval of MOPs

Distribution of construction materials

Release of funds (1 installment Hqs. to Tsps)

Final selection & Design and Estimate

Signing MOPs

Release of Funds

Construction

Phase IV School Construction ( New MOPs )

Qty Unit Jan

Feb

Mar

Ap

r

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb


Budget in Kyat Components and Activities Description of Tasks

Annex E

46 Work Plan January 2001 - February 2002

1.3

1.3.1 11 Township

a 11 Township

b 11 Township

c Design and testing 11 Township

d Selecting potential suppliers 11 Township

e 11 Township

1.3.2 11 Township

a 11 Township

b 11 Township

c Production 11 Township

d 11 Township

e 11 Township

f 11 Township

g 11 Township

1.4 Training ( including CLCs) 44 Training 14,462,650

1.4.1 11 Training

1.4.2 11 Training

1.4.3 22 Training

a 11 Training

b 11 Training

Strategy for furniture

Artisan Training( Phase IV )

Provision of Basic Furniture

Bookkeeping Training( Phase IV )

Maintenance Training

Policy development for school furniture

Need assessment

Selecting recipient schools

Workshop on use and maintenance

Delivery to schools

Provision of Furniture

Phase I and Phase II

Phase III and Phase IV

Request obligation

Negotiate and sign contracts

Workshop on assembly

Delivery to townships

Qty Unit Jan

Feb

Mar

Ap

r

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb


Budget in Kyat Components and Activities Description of Tasks

Annex F 47

Annex F48

Annex F 49

myanmar: the management process for constructing...

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