EDUCATION PARTICIPATION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (EPIP) 1&2

The main objective of the project was to improve educational achievement at primary and secondary education levels and to increase the access of voluntary groups to education. The project provided grants for primary and secondary schools in Kosovo, to address registration and attendance problems. Schools, which are pre-selected by local authorities, drafted proposals aimed at increasing participation in primary and secondary education. School projects, developed in a participatory manner, covered a wide range of interventions, including improving infrastructure and the school environment, but also projects to address the quality of education. In the second phase of the project the focus was on schools with significant portions of ethnic minority students. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) has been the recipient of the World Bank/CIDA grant of 5.1 mil. USD, while KEC was contracted by the Ministry to provide technical assistance to ensure overall project management and implementation at school, at local and regional level. This is done by providing support to field activities, including project planning training, procurement, monitoring, etc. Grants are awarded on the basis of school development plans and grant proposals, which are evaluated by municipal school grant teams (MSGTs) and approved by the approved school grant board (SGAB). Participating schools have also developed simple monitoring and evaluation plans as well as short reports. Key results:

• Over 600 schools have benefited from the school grant scheme,
• Schools have strengthened their capacities and infrastructure,
• Increase accountability and participation through active school boards and partnerships of municipal school government.