The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) Project Information Document (PID) Appraisal Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 22-Jul-2023 | Report No: PIDA34612 Page 1 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) BASIC INFORMATION OPS_TABLE_BASIC_DATA A. Basic Project Data Country Project ID Project Name Parent Project ID (if any) Sierra Leone P178704 Second Additional P167897 Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project Parent Project Name Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Sierra Leone Free Education WESTERN AND CENTRAL 24-Jul-2023 26-Sep-2023 Project AFRICA Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Education Investment Project Republic of Sierra Leone Ministry of Basic and Financing Senior Secondary Educaiton, Save the Children Fund Proposed Development Objective(s) Parent The project development objectives are to improve the management of the education system, teaching practices, and learning conditions. Components Supporting and Reinforcing Foundational Learning for All COVID-19 Education Response Policy, Governance, Accountability, and System Administration Teacher Management and Professional Development School Level Education Development Project Management, Coordination and Monitoring and Evaluation Contingent Emergency Response Component PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY -NewFin1 Total Project Cost 33.73 Total Financing 33.73 of which IBRD/IDA 20.00 Financing Gap 0.00 Page 2 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 World Bank Group Financing International Development Association (IDA) 20.00 IDA Grant 20.00 Non-World Bank Group Financing Trust Funds 13.73 Free-standing Single Purpose Trust Fund 13.73 Environmental and Social Risk Classification Moderate Other Decision (as needed) B. Introduction and Context 1. This project paper seeks approval of the Board of Executive Directors for a proposed additional IDA grant in the amount of US$20 million equivalent to the Sierra Leone Free Education Project (FREE) (P167897). The proposed AF will also benefit from a co-financing grant in the amount of US$13.73 million from the Education Above All Foundation (EAA). The EAA-World Bank Co-Financing Facility for Education (CFE) is in the process of being established and the funds are expected to become available upon the establishment of the CFE, approximately by November 2023. 2. The proposed additional financing (AF) will allow the project to scale up key interventions that support education reform in Sierra Leone. In parallel, the restructuring will extend the project closing date from September 30, 2025, to December 31, 2027 and revise the Results Framework to add new indicators commensurate with new activities that are being added as part of the proposed AF. Details of the proposed changes are presented below. Country Context 3. Sierra Leone is a low-income country with a gross domestic product per capita of US$516 in 2021 and a population of 7.9 million. Following progressive economic and social reforms and solid growth, the poverty rate declined from 54.7 percent in 2011 to 40.5 percent in 2019. Since then, Sierra Leone is no longer labeled as a fragile and conflict affected country by the World Bank. However, risks of weak capacity and vulnerability to multidimensional shocks persist. Page 3 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) 4. Despite recent progress, human capital outcomes remain challenging. Sierra Leone’s Human Capital Index was 0.36 in 2020. This indicates that a child born in Sierra Leone in 2020 could be expected to be only 36 percent as productive as s/he would have been if s/he had complete education and good health. The average number of learning-adjusted years of schooling is 4.5. The country has the fifth lowest life expectancy globally (55 years) and 75 percent of the population is below 35 years old. Given low levels of foundational learning, most youth have inadequate skills, which is a source of further fragility. Sectoral and Institutional Context 5. Sierra Leone is facing a deep learning crisis. Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Assessments (EGRA/EGMA) 2021 results show that 61 percent of children in early grades cannot successfully read 9 out of 10 words in a simple story. National assessment results show that after having completed 8 to 11 years of schooling, most Sierra Leonean students only demonstrate skills equivalent to those expected from a primary school student. Key factors contributing to these challenges include (a) low quality of teaching; (b) weak teacher management; and (c) an inadequate learning environment in schools including lack of teaching learning materials (TLM). There is significant variation in students’ access to education by gender, socioeconomic status, and location. Key factors driving these gaps and preventing participation of all children include: (a) costs, including out-of-pocket, especially for poor families; (b) distance to schools, especially in preprimary; (c) teenage pregnancy; (d) school-related gender-based violence; (e) poor health and disability; and (f) lacking sector management and governance. 6. Despite a substantial increase in school enrollment in recent years, further work is needed to enroll and to retain all out-of-school children (OOSC) in school. The country has no established mechanism to identify the children unable to attend school, resulting in an inability to systematically monitor OOSC and provide targeted support. However, latest estimates suggest that approximately 230,000 primary school-age children are OOSC. The FREE Project has supported the Government’s initiative to bring OOSC to schools and keep them enrolled through several policies, including the 2002 National Strategy for OOSC in Sierra Leone (which identifies barriers and mitigation actions) 1 , the National Policy on Radical Inclusion in Schools, and overturning the ban on pregnant girls and lactating mothers to attend schools. The proposed AF will complement these efforts. C. Proposed Development Objective(s) Original PDO 7. The PDO is to improve the management of the education system, teaching practices, and learning conditions. Current PDO 8. The proposed AF will have the same PDO as its parent Project. 1 https://mbsse.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Sierra-Leane-National-OOSC-Strategy.pdf. Page 4 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) Key Results 9. The proposed changes are: (a) expansion of the project’s scope; (b) addition of Component 7; (c) revision and update of the Results Framework; and (d) extension of the project closing date from September 30, 2025, to December 31, 2027. 10. The proposed AF will entail revising targets for three PDO level indicators, adding four intermediate results indicators, and revising the targets of three intermediate result indicators. The end target date for these indicators is December 31, 2027. Newly added intermediate results indicators:  Percentage of grade 2 students who can correctly identify sounds for all letters of the alphabet in English in one minute  Percentage of government and government-approved schools receiving curricular package  The accelerated primary school curriculum developed and in use  Number of primary school-level OOSC and other vulnerable children receiving back to school incentives / learning support D. Project Description 11. The parent project consists of six components. The proposed AF aims to strengthen the overall development impact of the parent project by scaling up some activities and introducing a new component 7 (Supporting and Reinforcing Foundational Learning for All). Details on changes are provided below. Component 1: Policy, Governance, Accountability, and System Administration (US$6.1 million equivalent IDA AF and US$1 million EAA) Subcomponent 1.1: Evidence-based Education Planning and Rationalization (US$2.55 million equivalent IDA AF) 12. Education data and management system. The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) collects information at the school level (including geospatial school data) annually through the annual school census (ASC), covering all preprimary, primary and secondary schools (about 12,000 schools). The proposed AF will finance the implementation of the ASC during the project extended period between 2025 and 2027. Additionally, the AF will support the education management information system (EMIS) Unit of the MBSSE to introduce a unique student identifier, improve the quality of ASC data collection and data management, and enhance accessibility of data collection by the MBSSE. Furthermore, complementing the World Bank’s ongoing Sierra Leone Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) (P180420), the AF will support climate vulnerability assessments using ASC and climate-related data. This will help identify and monitor school infrastructure needs for safe, sustainable, and climate-friendly learning environments, and provide early warning of climate and disaster risks. 13. Support for institutional capacity development and quality assurance. The proposed AF will also support institutional capacity development at the central and district levels and will finance the MBSSE’s institutional reform and monitoring activities by school quality assurance officers (SQAOs). Page 5 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) Subcomponent 1.2: Curriculum and Assessments (US$3.0 million equivalent IDA AF) 14. Curriculum. The proposed AF will support the implementation of the newly developed school curriculum by: (a) developing materials for dissemination to generate buy-in of stakeholders; (b) developing resources, including for teachers; (c) raising awareness and integration of content on climate change into curriculum.2 15. National assessments and examinations. The proposed AF will support the implementation of the second round of the national learning assessment (NLA) and of a survey to measure the milestones of reading in grade 2. This survey will be designed to be comparable with EGRA/EGMA 2021 and will be used to report on the newly added intermediate results indicator. Furthermore, the AF will support the MBSSE’s efforts to improve operations and monitoring for examinations. Subcomponent 1.3: Gender Equality and Inclusive Education (US$0.55 million equivalent IDA AF and US$1 million EAA) 16. Activities to promote gender equality. Activities planned under the proposed AF will complement interventions under the ongoing parent project. They will include (a) supporting the implementation of the National Policy on Radical Inclusion; (b) building school-level capacity to respond to gender-based violence (GBV)/ sexual exploitation and abuse, and sexual harassment (SEA/SH) incidents by expanding the rollout of the MBSSE’s Guide to Reducing Violence in Schools (including the establishment of school safety systems, training of in-school focal points for reporting GBV, and building of links between schools and GBV service providers as well as the district/national complaint management system); and (c) building the capacity of School Management Committees and relevant local community actors on how to respond to and support survivors. The AF will also support the MBSSE to strengthen a sustainable system for receiving and managing complaints. Moreover, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), in collaboration with the World Bank, has started working with the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs to systematically strengthen Government capacity to address GBV prevention and response under all World Bank-financed projects. 17. Inclusive education. The ongoing parent project is supporting the Government’s commitment to achieving a more inclusive approach to education, increasing access to education, and improving the learning environment for children with disabilities. The proposed AF will support the scale-up of the ongoing inclusive education activities, such as rolling out the provision of teacher training on inclusive education, and providing learning support (including materials and devices) for children with disabilities. Component 2: Teacher Management and Professional Development (US$0.20 million equivalent IDA AF and US$0.73 million EAA) 18. The parent project is supporting the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to improve teacher workforce management and planning and enhance the teaching workforce competence and motivation through cluster-based continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers. The AF will finance the TSC’s continued efforts during the project extended period between 2025 and 2027, especially in the areas of teacher monitoring, recruitment, and deployment, consultation and validation of the TSC Act, 2 The World Bank’s CCDR will support this by reviewing the education curriculum to assess the extent to which climate related t opics are covered. Page 6 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) and design of content for the teacher-focused radio teaching program. Additionally, Component 7 will support teacher professional development focused on foundational literacy including capacity building of the TSC at the central and district levels to ensure continuous monitoring of teaching and learning and provision of necessary support and advice to school leaders, teachers, students and communities. Component 3: School Level Education Development (US$0.75 million equivalent IDA AF and US$1 million EAA) [New] Subcomponent 3.3: School Health 19. Subcomponent 3.3 is newly added to Component 3. The School Health Policy has been launched recently by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and MBSSE in collaboration with other ministries and development partners (DPs). The proposed AF will support implementation of one of the key activities set under the School Health Policy: working closely with the MoHS and the World Bank-assisted Health Project3, the AF will provide both first aid kits (twice during the project implementation) and related training to all government and government-assisted primary schools and JSSs (about 7,600 schools). Component 4: Project Management, Coordination, and Monitoring and Evaluation (US$1 million IDA AF and US$1.275 million EAA) 20. To ensure proper implementation of project activities including new activities, the second AF will cover the costs of managing the project as well as monitoring and evaluation arrangements and learning and communications activities. This will include administrative costs associated with the Free Education Project Secretariat (FEPS), monitoring, research/knowledge generation, and communications. This will also cover costs for environmental and social risk management and monitoring. Component 5: Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) (No AF will be allocated) 21. No changes are proposed to the financing and implementation of Component 5. Component 6: COVID-19 Education Response (No AF will be allocated) 22. No changes are proposed to the financing and implementation of Component 6. Component 7: Supporting and Reinforcing Foundational Learning for All (US$10 million IDA AF and US$9.725 million EAA) [NEW] Subcomponent 7.1: Accelerating Foundational Learning Competencies (US$10 million IDA AF and US$3 million EAA) 3The ongoing World Bank-financed Sierra Leone Quality Essential Health Services and Systems Support Project (P172102) supports the provision of first aid kits to 10 secondary schools in targeted five districts (Bonthe, Falaba, Kailahun, Tonkolili, and Western Rural Districts). Page 7 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) 23. This subcomponent aims to accelerate the acquisition of foundational literacy for children in grade 1 and grade 2 through the implementation of a literacy package of evidence-based TLMs at scale.4 Besides empowering children to acquire further learning in their academic trajectory, the improvement of quality in the early grades is expected to increase enrollment and retention throughout the whole school cycle, thus improving the efficiency of spending in education. The AF will support the development, procurement, and distribution of a literacy package (containing student books and workbooks, teacher guides, teacher training, and classroom resources). The implementation of the instructional practices will be monitored using the coaching process, and progress will be measured with frequent formative classroom assessments. School principals and teachers will also be trained on how to sensitize parents and communities to improve book use and book care, so that children get more opportunities to read at home and increase their exposure to reading. Subcomponent 7.2: Improving Learning Opportunities Catered for OOSC (US$2 million EAA) 24. This subcomponent aims to improve learning opportunities catered for OOSC and implement alternative learning pathways. The AF will provide funds for the following activities: (a) development of the accelerated primary school curriculum (including printing and distributing the accelerated curriculum, communications, and training); (b) provision of support for running and resourcing of community learning centers (CLCs) and/or school-based learning centers for OOSC (for instance, hiring additional facilitators); (c) provision of facilitator training in CLCs; (d) provision of TLMs and back-to-school incentives and essentials for children in CLCs and schools in rural areas and OOSC—30,000 children are expected to benefit from this support and targeted children will be identified based on needs and data available such as ASC, a poverty map, and information from the district education authorities; and (e) strengthening of links and provision of necessary support for children to go back to formal education system (for instance, the development of Accelerated Education Program Guidelines, back-to-school campaign, development of policy and framework to support OOSC, capacity building of authorities, including officials at the district level and school management). Subcomponent 7.3: Strengthening System to Monitor OOSC (US$0.725 million EAA) 25. This subcomponent aims to strengthen the system to monitor OOSC at both centralized and decentralized levels. This relates directly to Component 1 of the FREE Project that aims to strengthen the education system in the areas of policy, governance, accountability, and administration. It will also directly contribute to Subcomponent 1.1.3 which is on education data and management system. The funding of this subcomponent will also contribute to the achievement of another round of the ASC which is one of the intermediate results indicators of the FREE Project. Subcomponent 7.4: NGO Consortium Supporting Foundational Learning and OOSC (US$4 million EAA) 26. Building on previous engagement under Component 6, Save the Children Fund, as a project implementing entity, will lead an NGO Consortium composed of both national and international NGOs which have been selected through a competitive process and have met quality standards to deliver activities under this subcomponent. The NGO Consortium will implement the following activities in 10 4 Covering all children in grades 1 and 2 in government and government-assisted primary schools. Page 8 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) targeted districts5, reaching 50,000 children (26,000 girls and 24,000 boys) in at most 300 communities: (a) Strengthening radical inclusion by providing target support for vulnerable learners; (b) Mobilizing and building capacity of community stakeholders in targeted districts to identify and enroll OOSC into various learning programs; (c) Providing community sensitization on child rights and implementing existing policies for child protection; (d) Improving learning opportunities and environment catered for OOSC, other vulnerable children, and those often excluded; and (e) Collaborating with the MBSSE and TSC to implement nonformal education programs and alternative learning pathways; and (f) Providing capacity building for local stakeholders to improve school monitoring and oversight. . Legal Operational Policies Triggered? Projects on International Waterways OP 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 Summary of Assessment of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts . 27. The environmental risk of the proposed AF is categorized as Moderate and will be implemented in accordance with the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF). The AF will not introduce any new Environmental and Social Standards (ESS) other than those that are already covered in the parent project. The AF, under Component 3, will support provision of first aid kits for schools as a key activity under the nation’s School Health Policy. While the content of the kits is yet to be determined, it will augment schools’ emergency preparedness and hence the Emergency Response and Preparedness Plan of the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) will be updated to reflect this progress. Training will be provided for both teachers and students to minimize the possibility of wrong use. The training program will be annexed to the updated ESMF/Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) of the parent project. Component 7 will support reinforcing foundational learning. It will specifically finance interventions, such as literacy package, TLM, teacher training, support for OOSC to return to formal education, strengthening of supervision, and the NGO Consortium supporting the implementation of the OOSC, with a special attention to girls and children with disabilities. The AF, in general, is expected to have positive social and environment impacts in that it will empower children to acquire further learning, improve quality of early grade, increase enrollment and retention, and keep children safe in school. 28. The social risk for the AF is rated as Moderate. The AF, in general, presents a positive social impact as it will improve the quality of early grades, increase enrolment and retention, and facilitate the return of OOSC to formal school. Key potential social risks include exclusion of disadvantaged students including girls, children with disabilities, and children living in rural remote areas from the foundational learning competencies and OOSC programs, stakeholder engagement, grievances, and service providers charging 5 Bonthe, Pujehun, Kono, Kambia, Moyamba, Bo, Western Rural, Tonkolili, Western Urban and Bombali. Page 9 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) unapproved fees despite the free OOSC programs. There is also the risk of SEA/SH, and child sexual abuse perpetrated by project workers, who will interact directly with children and partner NGOs in the implementing the project. School crowding, bullying, distance from home to school or OOSC centers, and inaccessible school and OOSC facilities may leave some children more vulnerable to risks of SEA/SH. Despite the country's growing focus on gender-based violence over the years, acts or threats of sexual, physical, or psychological violence, perpetuated by teachers, colleague students, transport operators against school children still occur. Incidence of early pregnancy is significantly higher in Sierra Leone. The AF design includes mitigation measures to address risks of exclusion in basic education with a special focus on gender and disability. This will be complemented by the interventions under Subcomponent 1.3 of the parent project (Gender Equality and Inclusive Education) which seeks to address system- and school-level gender and disability disparities in access to learning as well as school-based SEA/SH. Further, the GBV mitigation measures for the parent project will be maintained for the AF as well. The GBV action plan will be updated and ongoing efforts such as School based GBV complaints system, response and referral, implementation of the MBSSE's Guide to Reducing Violence in Schools, training of training of in-school focal points SMCs and relevant local community actors on how to respond and support survivors will be expanded for the AF. E. Implementation Institutional and Implementation Arrangements 29. Project implementation. As in the parent project, the MBSSE and the TSC, in coordination with other ministries and DPs, will be responsible for the overall implementation and prompt and efficient coordination, oversight, and monitoring of AF activities. Within the MBSSE structures, various directorates and units will be responsible for specific aspects of the AF’s implementation. A dedicated FEPS will be responsible for day-to-day project management and coordination and will oversee project activities. 30. Implementation partnership. Similar to Component 6, Save the Children Fund, partnering with six NGOs 6 , will work as an implementing agency responsible for Subcomponent 7.4 and will thus implement the project activities in 10 target districts. A Subsidiary Agreement will be signed between the Government of Sierra Leone and Save the Children Fund, and a Project Agreement will be signed between the World Bank and Save the Children Fund. Save the Children Fund will follow the World Bank’s rules and regulations. 31. Policy direction and oversight. Policy direction and oversight of the FREE Project continues to be carried out by a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) FREE Project Steering Committee on a biannual basis. The committee reviews the overall performance of the project and decides on important policy aspects to facilitate the achievement of outcomes and results. The committee comprises heads of the MBSSE, TSC, MoF, World Bank, and MDTF-participating DPs. 32. The NGO Consortium Program Management Board, which will have representation by the country director of each NGO partner and chief of party and will be responsible for performance 6International Rescue Committee, Community Awareness to Restore Lives, EducAid, National Youths Awareness Forum, Concern Worldwide, and Plan International. Page 10 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) monitoring and decision-making of activities implemented by the NGO Consortium Program Implementation Unit7. The head of the NGO Consortium Program Implementation Unit will work closely with the FEPS, MBSSE, TSC, government officials at the district level, World Bank, and MDTF-participating DPs and will meet with the FEPS on a monthly basis throughout the implementation period. . CONTACT POINT World Bank Mari Shojo Senior Education Specialist Namrata Raman Tognatta Senior Education Specialist Borrower/Client/Recipient Republic of Sierra Leone Sheku Bangura Minister of Finance safbangura@mof.gov.sl Implementing Agencies Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Educaiton David Sengeh Minister david.sengeh@dsti.gov.sl Save the Children Fund Patrick Analo Country Director Patrick.Analo@savethechildren.org 7The key consortium management staff include: (i) a chief of party; (ii) an award manager; (iii) a finance manager; (iv) a monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning manager; and (v) an environmental and social safeguarding coordinator. Page 11 of 12 The World Bank Second Additional Financing for Sierra Leone Free Education Project (P178704) FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects APPROVAL Mari Shojo Task Team Leader(s): Namrata Raman Tognatta Approved By Practice Manager/Manager: Country Director: Abdu Muwonge 23-Jul-2023 Page 12 of 12