Unreliable financing of school operations and maintenance can affect the use of Compact-funded resources and results. Budget uncertainty can promote sub-optimal hoarding and/or rationing behaviors with regards to school resources and operational expenses. From textbook and copier paper to toilets and science labs, even when usable assets are delivered to schools, uncertainty about the financing for replacement and/or maintenance of these assets may lead teachers and principals to restrict access and/or use. This was observed in Namibia during the textbook baseline study and could happen again given the financial pressures facing the Government of Namibia and resulting education budget reduction introduced during the post-compact period. MCC cannot fully influence resource allocation after the conclusion of the compact period. However, MCC can mitigate this risk during compact implementation by clarifying the incremental costs of educating students and supporting government prioritization and resource allocation in a way that reduces uncertainty, such that compact-funded resources can be used and provide benefits as intended. MCC is applying this lesson in the El Salvador II compact where incremental costs were calculated pre-compact and discussed and negotiated with the Government of El Salvador. Further, one of the key elements of the school cluster model being implemented in El Salvador is that resources, both physical and human, are shared across schools in the cluster hopefully leading to more effective distribution and less hoarding of resources.
Lesson Learned