Education Note No. 1 | April 2024 Are you thinking about school grants? Some questions to consider Juan D. Barón, Jessica D. Lee, Marie Tamagnan1 BACKGROUND School grants are here to stay. At a minimum, they Much has been written about can decentralize decision-making to school actors to school grants, yet there is a scarcity ensure a base level of school infrastructure that must of specific guidance on the factors be in place for students to learn effectively (e.g. fixing rooms, doors, providing toilets, soap, water, and other influencing their design. amenities). Mature school grant programs might include School grants matter because they have the potential to incentives for preventing dropouts, enhancing learning enhance learning and access to education. Many grant opportunities, and guaranteeing safe spaces. programs are the result of the abolition of school fees where schools are compensated for this lost revenue. As such, most studies show that unconditional grants In both cases, guidance on can increase enrolment, but generally speaking, need to be complemented with other activities (e.g. some wider designing and implementing school-based management intervention, which often school grants (both unconditional includes training for principals and other staff, or the and conditional) is crucial. This creation of school committees) to yield any learning- related benefits. There is limited evidence on the effects note, while not a comprehensive of school grants on improving learning outcomes. guide on school grants, contains a However, some evidence shows that grants can quickly small subset of practical questions expand access and enhance the day-to-day operations, as well as the learning environment, of schools. alongside country examples for practitioners to consider when There are also more examples in Latin America with grants that are linked to performance. This is when designing or improving a school schools are paid based on the achievement of an grants scheme.2 indicator or set of indicators. These indicators are usually measures of access, retention, or learning. While there aren’t many studies that estimate the causal impact of school grants on education outcomes, they are becoming more commonly used in development projects around the world as a way to incentivize school 1 Marie Tamagnan contributed to this note while a consultant at the improvements. World Bank. 2 For more detailed information and research on school grants, please see the “References” section at the end of this note. 02 KEY TAKEAWAYS Reporting, Monitoring, Objectives and Evaluation Clearly define the objective of a Ensure there is a way to collect and school grant to ensure that it is the disseminate data and information appropriate intervention. Evidence about schools. Strong communication shows that school grants have been with schools about their performance successfully used to increase access leads to mutual accountability. and enrolment, with promising but limited effects on learning outcomes. Capacity Building Financing and Information Sharing Identify financing sources, Establish complementary activities mechanisms, processes, and to support schools. Training and recipients. Think through funding capacity building seminars may be allocation amounts, the flow of needed to ensure that school leaders funds, pros and cons of conditional or and educational staff are on the same unconditional grants, as well as the page and clear on how to use the sustainability of future funding. grant. Criteria and Procedures ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This note is part of a series of operational advice from the Management Capacity & Service Delivery Thematic Group. Keep in mind the practical criteria This note was written by Juan D. Barón, Jessica D. Lee, and for schools to receive grants, with Marie Tamagnan. For this note, the team benefitted from an eye towards equity. Aim to keep interviews with Harry Patrinos and Samer Al-Samarrai, along with materials from Saamira Halabi, Vincent Perrot, things simple at first, while increasing Karthika Radhakrishnan-Nair, and Maya Sherpa. complexity once schools get used to the “rules of the game”. 03 Objective(s) What are your objectives for CAMEROON school grants? There were 4 primary objectives: Why do you give school i. Improve transparency and financial management; grants? ii. Improve monitoring of schools; Though the two questions iii. Increase community satisfaction with the quality of school services; and above may seem obvious, sometimes projects include  upport the country’s free education policy by decreasing household iv. S costs. school grants because they “sound good” or because they’re a component suggested by a peer reviewer INDONESIA (BOS) or a manager. However, There were 3 primary objectives: it is important to consider the fundamental reason  irect support for school operating costs as a way to reduce fees and i. D for choosing school grants increase enrolment; as an intervention, and  inancial assistance for poor students so they could cover transportation, ii. F understanding when and how stationery, uniform and clothing expenses, and they can be used, along with iii. Strengthened school based management what they can achieve. ...which were meant to increase school autonomy ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA Each school had the freedom to decide how to spend the block grant, with the condition that the funds were to be spent on inputs used directly by the students and not on infrastructure or construction projects. Schools were given a few weeks to make a list of the items they would like, and then teachers worked with project staff to procure the materials. SOMETHING TO CONSIDER HAITI Think about what school The primary objectives of the grant are to support school operations, the grants are good for, i.e., delivery of kits with teaching and learning materials, training and support expanding supply of schools, to teachers and administrators, and support to students’ reading in early especially if the private sector grades. is involved; increasing access and enrolment; and that they usually work best when paired with other interventions. 04 Financing Are grants conditional or INDONESIA (BOS) unconditional? What percentage and COMPARISON OF BOS PER-STUDENT GRANT AND ESTIMATES OF OPERATIONAL NEEDS (2012 PRICES) proportion of the ministry budget is allocated towards Current BSNP estimate ADB estimate per-student based on minimum based on minimum school grants? amounts service standards service standard • Are the grants meant to be Primary multiyear? Is there a funding 580,000 412,139 468,000 school envelope? Junior secondary 710,000 731,894 831,000 How much money will school schools receive? Is this a Note: ADB survey was conducted in 2010 and unit costs are adjusted for inflation to report fixed or per capita sum? in 2012 prices At the school level, who is responsible for the grant money? For example: the MYANMAR school principal, a school School Improvement Funds (SIFs) amounts having gone from between management committee, US$250 and US$500 per school for small, medium, and large schools in etc.? 2013–14 to between US$400 and US$15,000 in 2017–18. • Do schools have access to funds? Access to banks? SENEGAL • Are there financial safeguards in place to deter For schools that received a grant, the grant totaled around 1,500,000 CFA fraud/corruption? Francs (approximately US$3,190), which represented a roughly 7 percent increase in expenditures per student in a typical school (inclusive of teacher At what frequency do schools salaries, which comprise over 90 percent of the budget). receive the grants? Are grants given in tranches? COLIMA, MEXICO When does the money get In Colima, schools receive grant benefits for one year. Beneficiary schools disbursed? Is it disbursed on must re-apply and submit a new (original) winning proposal to receive time? benefits for two (or more) consecutive years. Nonetheless, schools in the program in a given year are given priority over non-beneficiary schools if they re-apply. Each school gets at least 50,000 Mexican pesos (or about US$2,500) per year, which amounts to the federal contribution. The average national grant in 2001 amounted to 220,411 pesos (or about US$11,000) although it had diminished to 55,691 pesos (US$2,800) by 2006. In Colima, the municipality and the school are encouraged to raise another 20,000 and 30,000 pesos (US$1,000 and US$1,500). The state government matches each peso raised by the local and school communities to contribute to the development of the improvement plan. Hence, the maximum benefit a school can receive in a year amounts to 150,000 pesos (US$7,600). 05 Financing CAMEROON GAMBIA (School Grants Manual – available upon request) One of the main challenges of the School Improvement Grant (SIG) highlighted by respondents is the delay in The school signs a contract with the Contracting and the disbursement of the SIG funds to schools; more Verification Agency (CVA) when it meets the following than 85% of the respondents claim that SIG is not criteria: existence of school council, project/action plan released to schools on time and bank account with 3 signatories. RANKING OF THE SIG CHALLENGES MODALITIES OF PAYMENT OF SCHOOLS Type of Frequency Description Challenges payment Delay in the release 40.0 of the SIG Entry price Once (start of Paid at the beginning the school year) of the school year to Inadequate 25.7 schools which fulfilled of the SIG basic entry conditions Limited coverage 7.1 Equity bonus Once (start of Higher for schools of the SIG the school year) having fewer state paid teachers Misapplication of the SIG 15.2 by school heads Performance End of each Based on verification Poor Monitoring and bonus Trimester (3) (regular and 11.0 Evaluation of the SIG unannounced) of different indicators and Respondents achievements of results (and proportional to the Source: Field Survey, January 2021 size of the school) Improvement Once (end of the Based on a number of bonus school year) indicators that have significantly improved during the school year SOMETHING TO CONSIDER A country’s level of decentralization can affect how funds flow from various levels of the ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA government to schools. Considerations include general public financial management, i.e. budget The government provides schools with an annual grant cycles, timing of requests/disbursements, of INR 2,000 (US$44) for school improvements and INR whether or not schools have individual bank 500 (US$11) for each teacher to purchase classroom accounts, systems for reporting and tracking materials. However, compared to the annual spending expenditures, etc. on teachers’ salaries, over INR 30,000 (US$667) per school, the amount spent on learning materials is small. In addition, think about the minimum amount of money that schools need to operate, especially small, rural schools that might suffer from low per capita funding. Public and private schools may also require different types of funding, based on their operating expenses. 06 Criteria and Procedures Are there eligibility and selection criteria GHANA for schools to receive grants? Schools develop three-year improvement plans that Do the grants target specific criteria such are focused on improving learning and are awarded as rural, disadvantaged or isolated schools? grants to operationalize these plans. After the first year, grants are disbursed based on utilization of previous Are there specific incentives with the funding, creating incentives at the school level to focus grants to increase access or quality? on activities that improve learning outcomes. Are there different procedures for lower capacity settings such as in rural, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA disadvantaged, or isolated schools? Each school had the freedom to decide how to spend the block grant, with the condition that the funds were Are there sanctions or penalties in place? to be spent on inputs used directly by the students and not on infrastructure or construction projects. Schools Are there incentive or conditionalities for the were given a few weeks to make a list of the items they use of funds? would like, and then teachers worked with project staff to procure the materials. This method of grant disbursal How can schools use the grant? For example: allowed schools to choose the inputs they needed, but is there a list of eligible or non-eligible limited potential corruption. expenditures? Are there protocols and guidelines regarding procurement? Is there an operation manual for the process and use of school grants? If school grants already exist and there is an operations manual, what are the differences between the text and the realities on the ground? At the school level, who is implicated in the decision-making process for the use of the funds? 07 Criteria and Procedures ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES UNDER PBF FUNDS CAMEROON School funds, whatever they may be, cannot be spent (School Grants Manual – available upon request) for purposes other than what is mentioned on the In the context of crisis in NWSW regions, there are eligible expenditure sheet described below. specific challenges and needs at all levels (school attendance, vulnerability, security issues, lack of Expenditure categories Comments teachers and didactic resources, lack of fees and Schools are free to execute expenditures, provided that these documentation to enrol children, etc). To address these are included in the school project and its action plan challenges, PBF will reward effort of schools to increase Expenditures on The PBF rather targets the effective lesson days, awareness activities designed infrastructures repairs and renovations to encourage schooling of children; student attendance, • Classrooms more than constructions. and special support care for poor/vulnerable students • Toilets, water points as well as those with particular educational needs. • Storage • Library TABLE OF NON-ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES UNDER PBF • Fences FUNDS Classroom furniture Didactic and pedagogic Expenditure categories Comments material • School books Activities not included in the school project •Blackboards, Slates, chalk, pens, notebooks… Building of teachers’ houses Repairs and renovations Staff bonuses A maximum of 30% of of these structures are • School Principal PBF income can be spent Building of school Principal’s possible if they already exist • Teachers on bonuses, on the basis office and discussed prior with • Other school personnel of the following criteria: supervisor. • Daily attendance • Preparation of lessons Transportation expenses Salary of Parents’ teachers If the school is eligible for teachers’ equity bonus, Salaries of State’s agents this bonus can be used to pay parents’ teachers. Bonuses for school council School canteen If applicable members Activities related to students’ health Extra-curricular activities Support to poor/vulnerable (festivals, events…) students • Uniforms/shoes • Fees, examination fees Awareness activities designed to encourage schooling • Open doors days • Communication actions towards the community Activities to support the PBF • Small consumables items •Actions to sensitize the community on the PBF Security activities • Security equipment (alarm, etc) •Communication actions towards the community 08 Criteria and Procedures COLIMA, MEXICO ALLOCATION OF SDP GRANT EXPENDITURES IN 60 TURKISH SUB-PROVINCES There were specific criteria to mark and evaluate proposals established by the state education authority: 2% 5% 7% 5% i.  hether the proposal identifies a specific w problematic in the school,  he sources of information used to identify such ii. t problems—for example, standardized examination 31% 50% results, consultation, census data on performance, etc.; and how accurate and appropriate the work plan laid out iii.  is to address the problem identified. In principle, the schools enjoyed relative freedom Purchase of equipment in determining whether the school transformation Hygiene and small-scale construction plans should fund school maintenance and repairs, Increasing success by providing students with construction of new physical infrastructure, acquisition extra support at school or outside school of educational materials or professional development Activities to increase the principals’ and teachers’ for school staff. In practice, program norms place a cap creativity and capacity on the percentage of resources that can be devoted to Activities to increase access these different activities. Activities to increase students’ adaptation to school Source: Köse and Sasmaz, 2012. TURKEY Over 50 percent of the grants were used to buy equipment such as computers, furniture, and laboratory materials, while 31 percent of the grants were used for hygiene facilities and small-scale construction work. Most of the schools that used the grants for equipment bought technological equipment. Some schools used the money to buy goods and services to prepare students for the secondary school entrance exam. SOMETHING TO CONSIDER Over-designing the parameters initially for a school grant can lead to poor implementation. Complexity can be added in at later stages once schools develop some level of confidence with the “rules of the game”. 09 Reporting, Monitoring, and Evaluation What documents do schools CAMEROON need to receive the money? For example: financial (School Grants Manual – available upon request) reports? Subdivisional Inspector of Basic Education ensures the pedagogical support in the preschools and primary schools, the coordination of security aspect How are funds monitored? (risk analysis, security plan, sensitization of teachers, parents and pupils, etc.) For example: call center, Monitors the creation of school council and the availability of project/action hotline, or use of texts/SMS plan. The inspector works in close partnership with the Contracting and with community members? Verification Agency (CVA), which is responsible for indicators and bonuses. Participates in the evaluation of the school. At the school level, is the The community is represented by the school council, they participate in data and information that the development and implementation of comprehensive school safety and is collected used in the security measures or plans, contributes to the sensitization of the population decision-making process for aimed at bringing children back to school. They are consulted and her how to use funds? opinion is taken into account in the evaluation of the school. • How is the data collected? GAMBIA How much does data collection cost? The data on the school as a whole were obtained through enumerator observation and a comprehensive interview with the head teacher or—in What role do school the absence of the head teacher—the teacher in charge of the school at inspectors have in the school the time. The directly observed information includes the condition of the grant process? buildings, the number of classrooms and other facilities, etc. Information from the head teacher included school finances, record keeping, community participation, management practices, etc. To improve the accuracy of the information collected, researchers requested to see written records to substantiate responses whenever applicable. In each school, researchers randomly selected two classrooms for SOMETHING TO CONSIDER observation. The goal of the classroom visit was to gather information about teaching practices, the classroom environment, and student participation. In many instances, simply It also served to substantiate the absenteeism data from the administrative providing information to head records by comparing the student register to the number of students present teachers/school principals in the classroom. Each classroom visit lasted fifteen minutes, followed by a can be powerful. In Mexico, five-minute interview with the teacher. letters were sent to principals informing them that they could qualify for a grant and how their school was doing in comparison to neighboring schools. 010 Capacity Building and Information Sharing How is the school capacity COLIMA, MEXICO created or strengthened for the planning and use of the The monetary benefits are complemented with permanent support from the funds? state government in the implementation of the school improvement plan and in the management of the funds. In Colima, this support is channeled How is information on the through the four regional teacher centers. These centers are also in charge school grants shared with of providing adequate professional development through workshops, courses and seminars for teachers and principals. Similarly, the centers run communities? For example: workshops and distribute leaflets and information materials to encourage public school report cards? parental participation in school matters and activities. Formal rules mandating the participation of parents in the school improvement plan are a requisite for school participation in the program. BULGARIA SOMETHING TO CONSIDER In 2007, the central government introduced further decentralization reforms for primary and secondary schools to increase the system’s efficiency and Focusing on good professional schools’ autonomy. School principals gained more control over the school development for school budget, the hiring and firing of teachers, pedagogical decisions, class leaders and addressing size, and the number of classes. The 2007 reform eased regulations on whole school reform, not just staffing, teachers’ workload, and class sizes; increased teacher salaries; and through school grants, may introduced a differentiated pay scale for teachers. However, decision making was transferred from the municipalities to the schools without accountability be the best path for sustaining mechanisms in place. Principals are not accountable to municipalities or educational gains. Many parents for the use of resources or for student achievement. In fact, the principals are simply teachers reform did not empower parents. who have been promoted, but are not equipped with the leadership skills they may TURKEY require to run a school. The program indeed showed that there is great benefit from involving community stakeholders in the school management decision-making process. At the same time, the SDP was a weak SBM initiative because sub-provincial directorates approved school development plans prior to the distribution of funds. 011 Ways to improve school leadership with a focus on principals3 Develop a career framework that attracts the best Leading a school is an to become school principals and system leaders. increasingly complex job, and Such frameworks should: professionalization— through a i. Set clear requirements for applicants complete career framework that to school principalship, includes better selection, training, ii. Define processes to identify and support, and incentives—is needed attract potential leaders, to make principals more effective. iii. Prepare school principals with useful and pragmatic training based on a clear definition of the role, Align the system towards learning and define the iv. Match the best school principals principal’s role within it. High-performing systems with the most challenging schools, define principals’ roles differently—in some cases, it is v. Integrate teachers and school principals a primarily administrative job, in others a pedagogic in a common vision of success, and one—but they have in common an overall focus on the student learning experience and an articulation of vi. Develop instruments to facilitate pedagogical schools as learning organizations. and administrative aspects of school. Develop open and meritocratic processes for recruiting school principals. Many countries have limited eligibility criteria (only requiring teaching credentials and experience) and opaque, sometimes political, selection processes for becoming a school principal.  This stands in contrast to high-performing systems that purposefully develop talent for managerial positions. Provide high-quality, practical training and support grounded in the student learning experience and based on best practices and insights from adult learning. For example, the results of an intensive two-year training for in-service principals in the United States imply one of the highest internal rates of return for an education intervention calculated to date using experimental data, driven by the fact that principals affect so many students (Fryer 2017). 3 Adelman and Barón, 2019 012 Summary of questions Objective(s) Criteria and Procedures Reporting, Monitoring, and Evaluation What are your objectives for school Are there eligibility and selection grants? criteria for schools to receive What documents do schools need grants? to receive the money? For example: Why do you give school grants? financial reports? Do the grants target specific criteria such as rural, disadvantaged or How are funds monitored? For isolated schools? example: call center, hotline, or use of texts/SMS with community Are there specific incentives with members? Financing the grants to increase access or quality? At the school level, is the data and Are grants conditional or information that is collected used unconditional? Are there different procedures for in the decision-making process for • What percentage and proportion lower capacity settings such as in how to use funds? of the ministry budget is allocated rural, disadvantaged, or isolated towards school grants? schools? How is the data collected? How much does data collection cost? Are the grants meant to be Are there sanctions or penalties in multiyear? Is there a funding place? What role do school inspectors have envelope? in the school grant process? Are there incentive or • How much money will schools conditionalities for the use of funds? receive? Is this a fixed or per capita sum? How can schools use the grant? For example: is there a list of eligible or Who receives the money? How does non-eligible expenditures? Capacity Building this impact accountability and/or and Information Sharing responsibility of school leaders? Are there protocols and guidelines regarding procurement? How is the school capacity created At the school level, who is or strengthened for the planning responsible for the grant money? Is there an operations manual for the and use of the funds? For example: the school principal, process and use of school grants? a school management committee, If school grants already exist and How is information on the school etc.? there is an operations manual, what grants shared with communities? are the differences between the text For example: public school report • Do schools have access to funds? and the realities on the ground? cards? Access to banks? • Are there financial safeguards in At the school level, who is place to deter fraud/corruption? implicated in the decision-making For any questions or information process for the use of the funds? about this note, please contact the At what frequency do schools author Juan Barón at: receive the grants? Are grants given jbaron@worldbank.org in tranches? For any questions around the MCSD TG, please contact Sharanya Ramesh When does the money get Vasudevan at: disbursed? Is it disbursed on time? srameshvasudevan@worldbank.org ADDITIONAL RESOURCES REFERENCES Cameroon: Can School Grants Blimpo, M. P., Evans, D., & Lahire, N. (2015). Parental Human and Teacher Incentives be Capital and Effective School Management: Evidence from The Gambia [Working Paper]. World Bank. https://doi. Used to Increase School org/10.1596/1813-9450-7238 Access and Improve Quality? Barrera-Osorio, F., Gertler, P., Nakajima, N. and Patrinos, H. (2020). Promoting parental involvement in schools: Evidence from Colombia: Can a Management two randomized experiments (No. w28040). National Bureau of and Information System Economic Research. Improve Education Quality? Carneiro, P., Koussihouèdé, O., Lahire, N., Meghir, C., & Mommaerts, C. (2020). School Grants and Education Quality: Experimental Evidence from Senegal. Economica, 87(345), 28–51. Haiti: Can Preconditions https://doi.org/10.1111/ecca.12302 for RBF be Established in Cruz, L. (2022). Results-based financing and performance incentives Fragile States? in education: new evidence in the literature. Unpublished manuscript. Indonesia: Can Performance- Evans, D. K., & Mendez Acosta, A. (2021). Education in Africa: What Based School Grants Improve Are We Learning? Journal of African Economies, 30(1), 13–54. https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejaa009 Learning? Fryer, R. (2017). Management and Student Achievement: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment. National Bureau of Mozambique: Lessons Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_ from a Pilot to Assess the papers/w23437/w23437.pdf Effectiveness of Performance- Garcia-Moreno, V.A., Gertler, P. and Patrinos, H.A. (2020). Based Grants in Primary School-based management and learning outcomes: Experimental evidence. In Community Participation with Schools in Developing Schools Countries (pp. 211–229). Routledge. Ganimian, A., & Murnane, R. (2014). Improving Educational Peru: What are the Challenges Outcomes in Developing Countries: Lessons from Rigorous in Introducing a Results-Based Impact Evaluations (No. w20284; p. w20284). National Bureau of Approach for the Selection of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w20284 School Principals? Gertler, P.J., Patrinos, H.A. and Rubio-Codina, M. (2012). Empowering parents to improve education: Evidence from rural Mexico. Journal of Development Economics, 99(1), pp. 68–79. Lee, J., & Medina, O. (2019). Results-Based Financing in Education: Learning from What Works (No. 133932; pp. 1–95). The World Bank. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/ en/915061548222619389/Results-Based-Financing-in-Education- Learning-from-What-Works Romero, M., Bedoya, J., Yanez-Pagans, M., Silveyra, M., & de Hoyos, R. (2021). School Management, Grants, and Test Scores: Experimental Evidence from Mexico. The World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-9535 Snilstveit, B., Stevenson, J., Menon, R., Phillips, D., Gallagher, E., Geleen, M., Jobse, H., Schmidt, T., & Jimenez, E. (2016). The impact of education programmes on learning and school participation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review summary report (3ie Systematic Review Summary No. 7). International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie). © 2024 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank