THE MONITORING OF THE PROJECT: A STIMULUS FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS

By key expert Lina Kaminkiene

In the last week of November, following the common practice for the EU funded projects, the monitoring group visited the project members in the Ministry of Education and Science and had a half day interviews with the team leader and short term experts, including key expert Ms. Lina Kaminskiene, coming for the mission for the first time. The aim of the monitoring is not only to check if the project is running in the right way in terms of time, planning, resources allocation, meeting the expectations of the beneficiary and other stakeholders, but also make the project team to reflect on the activities already performed and tasks achieved. Though the November monitoring group recommended to giving more attention to the planning activities, taking into consideration of a huge amount of work and activities planned for the two year project, however, was positively surprised for the amount of interim results and activities already accomplished by the project team:
- successful selection of pilot schools;
- a series of workshops and seminars for VET teachers and social partners aimed at capacity building development organised;
- analysis and results of the previous international projects identified and put on the project website;
- members of the VET Working group identified and guidelines of the role, functions of the Working group discussed in the forum;
- the major event, a forum with over 300 participants, involving all main VET stakeholders organised;
- successful dissemination of the project activities.

It was stressed for the members of the monitoring group that pilot schools from the South Kazakhstant participate for the first time in the international as well as EU funded project. This project opens for the pilot schools new possibilities in terms of capacities building, strengthening partnership with regional social partners as well as establishing new national and international contacts. The monitoring group members also investigated more on the principles, structure, functions, responsibilities of the VET Working group in agreement with the points added by the project team leader Stefan Siewert, that one of the main challenges for the project is to build the new concept of the quality of change in the VET system of the Republic of Kazakhstan through development of social partnership and cooperation. The upcoming challenges for the project team are related to formalization of the VET working group, more active involvement of social partners to the development of vocational standards, updating curriculum and development of demanding training programmes for VET stakeholders on national, regional and sector level.