Sector Assistance Program Evaluation on Education in Uzbekistan

Table A5.2: Lessons Identified in PCRs and TCRs (Completed Loans and TAs) 
Project/ TA Name 
Lessons 
A. Loans 
Loans 1594 and 
1595-UZB: Basic 
Education Textbook 
Development 
Project
1
• It is important that objectives were firmly based on the borrower's priorities, 
stakeholder assessments were conducted during the preparatory phase, and 
considerable direct consultation occurred with beneficiary groups. Project 
ownership by senior management helped resolve implementation problems 
and ensured success.
• A system to collect and maintain data, and to monitor and analyze quantitative 
and qualitative outputs and impacts should be built into project design. 
• Future project design should ensure accurate estimates of the need for foreign 
exchange and avoid burdening the government with foreign currency 
financing.
• As for student-centered learning, there was understandable skepticism about 
such a fundamental shift, but this could have been avoided through pertinent 
learning methods and training.
Loan 1737-UZB: 
Senior Secondary 
Education Project
• The essence of vocational education and skills training is relevant practical 
training and hands-on experience for students. Project monitoring must 
include means to ensure the integration of new equipment with lessons 
learned, availability of teachers to conduct lessons, and presence of 
supporting tools and equipment.
• ADB could have been more proactive in working with the government to fully 
comply with the loan agreement, and ensure that local laws and regulations 
relating to procurement of goods and consulting services are comparable with 
ADB procedures. 
• ADB could have been more effective in enforcing the loan covenants on 
monitoring and evaluation, teacher education certification system, and the 
project steering committee. These are crucial for ensuring better management 
and successful project implementation. 
• A system to collect and maintain data, and to monitor and analyze quantitative 
and qualitative outputs and impacts should be built into project design.
Loan 1960-UZB: 
Education Sector 
Development 
Program (Policy 
Loan)
• There is a need to adopt a sector-wide and long-term approach. The design 
of the policy loan could have benefited from a detailed assessment of the 
context and institutional policy capacity of MOPE and MOHSSE to bear the 
additional workload, and to formulate and implement new and market-
oriented policies. 
• Knowledge-based reforms can benefit much from international best 
practices.
• The mutual support of the policy loan and the investment loan could have 
been strengthened by clearly showing the links between the two.
• Reform conditionalities should be clear and relevant, and not general or 
ambiguous.
B. TAs 
TA 2947-UZB: 
Monitoring 
Implementation of 
Education Reform
• Institutional 
constraints, particularly those pertaining to information sharing 
and transparency, are difficult to address at the sector level.
• It is important to acknowledge that government resources are scarce and 
that commitments to support TA implementation may not result in staff or 
budget allocations at the anticipated time and volume. 
1
Details of loans and TA projects are found in Appendix 1. They are not footnoted when they are referred to in the 
text. 

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Appendix 
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