Importance of evaluation in programme planning
The process of evolution has a direct bearing on good program buildings and program execution. According to Kelsey and Hearne (1949), it makes the following contributions to extension program planning:
1. Evaluation helps to establish a “benchmark”. The first principle in program building is to get the facts about a situation and the first measurement in evaluation must be taken at the point where people start or just before the teaching process begins.
2. Evaluation shows, how far our plans have progressed. Studies of extension work have shown that it often takes years of constant teaching to ensure general adoption of practices. If a practice is really good, we should push it until it is well established but take care to stop at that point and take up a new one.
3. Evaluation shows whether we’re processing in the right direction. It helps to test our objective and to recommend changes where needed. By its systematic approach, it may point out omissions or suggest entirely new direction of effort. It helps to focus work directly on the needs, interested and Desire of the people.
4. Evaluation indicates the effectiveness of a program. After all, the end product of our work is to produce educational or material changes. Any good teaching plan must include the process of evaluation.
5. Evaluation helps to locate strong and weak points in any program or plan. Improvements can be made only when we locate the weak points and make an effort to strengthen them. This applies to both planning and teaching.
6. Evaluation improve our skills in working with people. In program building, much skill is required to enable people to bring all the facts together and to arrive at sound conclusions without domination by professional workers.
7. Evaluation helps to determine priorities for activities in the plan of work. As extension becomes more complex, one of its greatest problems is to determine what to do, how much to do and what to omit.
8. Evaluation brings confidence and satisfaction to extension work. Volunteer leaders even more than paid workers, benefit by the satisfaction they get from knowing what results are obtained. When the evaluation shows a negative result, we can then change our work in line wait what has been found and proceed with confidence. With the results of evaluation studies, rural people can more intelligently participate in future planning of their own programs.
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