Strategic Review of the EDUCO Program - EQUIP123.net

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Strategic Review of the EDUCO ProgramJuly 2010The operations agent updates personnel movements, deductions, and leave time, and prepares teacherpayroll. These payrolls are for the payment of wages, income tax to the Ministry of the Treasury, socialsecurity contributions to the ISSS, pension contributions to AFP and IPSFA pension funds, and now contributionsto the Teachers’ Welfare health system for teachers who are in transition from the ISSS. Thisis a drawn out process that depends on the number of teachers per school in each department; accordingto the ACEs’ judicial status and the Labor Code, ACEs are the party recognized by ISSS, pension funds,etc. for doing business. This process does not apply to CDEs, because those teachers are paid directlyby MINED in a system that is already established and where MINED acts as the party recognized byother entities.The complexity of the process is due to the dual, and somewhat odd, contracting system for teachersused by the ACEs: they are employees of the ACE, but the ACE does not process the payroll, rather thisis done by MINED. This necessarily makes the system convoluted.School administrative and financial procedures are complex. In the interviews with principals,teachers, and MINED officials from the central level and from the Departmental Education Offices,over half agreed that, in general, administrative and financial management procedures are numerous andcomplex for all schools, regardless of their administrative body. A review of the procedural manuals forACEs and CDEs showed that they are prescriptive, and even though they do not leave out a single process(and even include all forms that must be filled out for different procedures), it confirmed the feelingof the interviewees that the administrative burden is excessive. An excessive administrative burdentends to diminish the ability and time that principals have to devote to exercising educational leadershipcentered on student learning.In the school visits of April 2010, most ACE members said that they know some of the financial functionsof their position. In general, they mentioned the importance of making purchases, accompanyingthe principal to MINED, and taking care of the schools’ property and resources. However, most statedthat on financial issues handled by the ACEs, there is a lot of involvement by the principal, who preparesall the required documentation, even when this is an acting principal, since many EDUCO schoolsdo not have an appointed principal. In some cases, it was mentioned that the parents only sign the documents.Other parents said that since they had been ACE members previously and knew the procedures,they could and in fact had assumed the administrative role with less involvement by the principal. Inthe case of the CDEs, the interviewees said that they do not feel involved, since the principal prepareseverything and is the person responsible.The ACEs and CDEs do appear to function, although with difficulties, according to the literatureconsulted. According to a census done in 2006, 90% of the ACEs submitted their accountability reportin 2006, and 79.8% submitted their annual budget settlement according to procedure and did not receiveany objections. The percentage of ACEs that did not turn in the information is explained by a lack ofknowledge of procedure or lack of access to documents because they were tied up in additional process-22
Strategic Review of the EDUCO ProgramJuly 2010es (FLACSO, 2006). The research team did not have comparative data on this issue for the CDEs.Both the CDEs and ACEs have a notable need for constant administrative assistance on proceduralissues, according to the literature and interviews. For example, a survey of a group of CDE, ACE,and CECE schools done in 2005 found that 85.4% of CDE-school principals and teachers expressed aneed for greater training and administrative support from MINED. Likewise, 92.4% of ACE presidentsand teachers expressed the same need (Parra, 2005). This difference “exists” mathematically, but is notsubstantially significant: almost all schools—CDE and ACE alike—need help. The survey by the DepartmentalEducation Offices also confirmed that 84% agreed that the models are efficient in the end, butunderscored the need for administrative assistance on management processes in all schools, independentof the model, to increase efficiency. Interviewees insisted on the need for strengthening the administrativeand financial functions of all schools.School ManagementFor the most part, the relationship between teachers and ACE is cordial and constructive. Accordingto one study in the literature, in interviews of 2,000 ACE members and school principals, 74%defined the relationship between teachers and ACE as cordial, constructive, and geared toward problemsolving. For 18%, it was cordial, but not necessarily focused on problem solving. For 3.6%, the relationshipcentered exclusively on administrative affairs, and the remaining 3.3% said it was a tense relationshipdue to parent interference in teachers’ work. According to 11%, the teacher-ACE relationshipneeded to improve and 18% thought that the ACEs should not have the authority to evaluate teachers(FLACSO, 2006). During the visits made by the research team to schools and in the interviews, mostteachers, principals, and parents said that the relationship was positive, cordial, and constructive.Most of the parents interviewed thought that it was important to continue to manage and overseefunds and be responsible for teacher hiring. It should be noted that in this same study, 84.8%of ACE-school teachers consulted said there had been conflicts between teachers and parents over theadministrative and financial administration that is the responsibility of the ACEs.The research team did not have access to empirical data on requests and complaints related to the functioningof the ACEs or teachers, since no specific body exists to track information specific to ACEs.Community ParticipationInternational research has consistently emphasized the importance of parent and community engagementas a factor for improving education. This factor has been central to many of the reforms undertaken inEl Salvador and has been included in the organizational structure of the ACEs and CDEs. The SocialEducation Plan 2009-2014 identified, both in the driving forces and in the strategic lines, the importanceof strengthening participation by the educational community (MINED, teachers, families, and local communities)in institutional and curriculum management (MINED, 2009).23
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