The Power of Persistence: Education System ... - EQUIP123.net

political will and experience in both the MOE and the governorates. The ERP
project, combining school and district level work in the seven governorates with
substantial technical support at the central and governorate leadership level,
supported a process of learning and confidence building. The fortuitous move of
the Alexandria reformers into key Ministry positions was a central factor in the
accelerated reform process, as was the positioning of ERP. With established trust
relationships between the Minister and USAID, and between ERP and the senior
reform advisor, the substantial technical and financial resources of the project
were applied to supporting the reforms.
ERP supported activities that addressed all of the elements of the reform
framework. In the political dimension, key activities were the process and
structure of the Governorate Education Reform Network, participatory strategic
planning at the governorate and central levels, extensive communications and
outreach to the governorates, engagement of political and social leaders, highlevel
technical assistance, conferences to generate political will, and provision
of credible information and data to inform decision-makers. In the institutional
dimension, complementary and supportive initiatives that drove the process
included: extensive technical and financial support for strategic planning
in all governorates and in the MOE; massive capacity building and policy
implementation for the teacher cadre and certification; assessment of learning
outcomes; EMIS quality and availability; policy formulation, and capacity
building in schools in all of the governorates. In the technical dimension,
on-going work at the school and district level provided both experience and
evidence of impact, and refined the models and tools for instruction and
school management.
In spite of substantial progress achieved since 2001, the sustainability and
potential impact of the reforms in Egypt are not assured. To a large extent, the
reforms are still at an early stage. The significant achievements are at the level of
policy formulation and political will for tackling some hard issues like teacher
performance, financial decentralization, and community involvement. The
progress on reform is vulnerable on a number of fronts.
• Much of the political will needed for momentum in reform is concentrated
in a handful of leaders in the Ministries of Education and Finance (MOF)
and governorates. It is important to continue to broaden and strengthen the
support and commitment to key reforms within the Ministries, governorates,
and civil society.
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SECTION 2: lESSONS fROM COUNTRY CASE STUdIES