REPORT NO.: RES41665 RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF THE EMERGENCY BASIC EDUCATION SUPPORT PROJECT APPROVED ON JUNE 6, 2018 TO THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC EDUCATION GLOBAL PRACTICE WESTERN CENTRAL AFRICA REGION Regional Vice President: Ousmane Diagana Country Director: Abdoulaye Seck Regional Director: Dena Ringold Practice Manager/Manager: Scherezad Joya Monami Latif Task Team Leader: Boubakar Lompo The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ALP Accelerated Learning Program CAR Central African Republic DGS Directorate-General of Statistics EBESP Emergency Basic Education Support Project EMIS Education Management Information System ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework FA Financing Agreement FM Financial Management GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism IDA International Development Association IPPF Indigenous Population Planning Framework ISR Implementation Status and Results Report IT Information Technology M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MEPC Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Cooperation MNE Ministry of National Education MPSE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education NGO Non-Governmental Organization PASEC Programme d’Analyse des Systèmes Educatifs de la CONFEMEN (CONFEMEN Educational System Analysis Program) PDO Project Development Objective PCU Project Coordinating Unit RPF Resettlement Policy Framework SBMC School-Based Management Committee SDR Standard Drawing Rights SOEs Statements of Expenditures TTC Teacher Training College ii The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P164295 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Partial Assessment (B) Partial Assessment (B) Approval Date Current Closing Date 06-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2023 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Ministry of Economy, Planning and Cooperation Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The Project Development Objective of the project is to improve access to quality basic education and strengthen capacity in education sector management. OPS_TABLE_PDO_CURRENTPDO Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed IDA-D3290 06-Jun-2018 11-Jul-2018 09-Oct-2018 30-Jun-2023 25.00 14.70 8.85 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No iii The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING A. Project Status 1. The Central African Republic (CAR) Emergency Basic Education Support Project (EBESP) is financed by an International Development Association (IDA) grant in the amount of SDR 17.4 million (US$25 million equivalent). The project was approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors on June 6, 2018, signed on July 11, 2018 and declared effective on October 9, 2018. The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to improve access to quality basic education and strengthen capacity in education sector management. The ratings for progress towards achievement of the PDO and Overall Implementation Progress were Moderately Satisfactory as per the latest Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR) dated April 3, 2022. Since effectiveness, there has been progress on implementation and the project is likely to achieve its PDO. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down project implementation on the ground andthe project has also encountered challenges caused by security crises, extreme weather and in fiduciary management, resulting in further implementation delays. Delays notwithstanding, there has been notable progress in the following areas: (a) classroom construction and rehabilitation; (b) training of teachers, school principals and pedagogical advisors; (c) piloting of the accelerated learning program (ALP); and (d) establishment of school-based management committees (SBMC). Implementation progress and key results achieved to date are summarized below. B. Implementation Progress 2. Component 1: Increasing access through school infrastructure development (US$13 million equivalent). This component aims to increase access from primary and secondary education through the improvement of s chool infrastructure and the provision of spaces that are conducive to a good teaching and learning environment. It will support (a) extension of 400 primary and 50 secondary classrooms; (b) rehabilitation of 400 primary and 200 sec ondary classrooms; (c) provision of equipment and furniture, including tables and chairs for students as well as smal l sports/board game items (soccer balls, jumping cords, dominoes, chess, monopoly, and so on); and (d) provision of missing essentials such as gender- segregated latrines, hygiene kits, and wells or other water supply) to attract and retain girls in schools. Infrastructure development at the primary level covers Bangui and eight prefectures (Ombella-Mpoko, Mambéré-Kadéï, Ouham, Ouham-Pendé, Ouaka, Basse-Kotto, Vakaga, Bamingui-Bangoran), and at the secondary level, Bangui and five prefectures (Ombella-Mpoko, Mambéré-Kadéï, Ouham, Ouham-Pendé and Ouaka). Construction and rehabilitation activities were divided into two phases, with the first phase (pilot stage) scheduled to take place in Bangui, while the second phase (scale up stage) would be implemented in all selected prefectures. 3. As of September 30, 2022: (i) 440 classrooms have been built or rehabilitated out of the 1,050 planned to date and 610 classrooms are under construction; (ii) 75 blocks of latrines out of the 410 targeted have been built or rehabilitated. Construction of the remaining 335 latrines is ongoing and expected to be completed before project closing; (iii) 9,850 tables-benches for students and 547 desks and chairs for teachers have already been delivered to date, out of a target of 21,042. The rest of the furniture is expected to be delivered to schools before June 30, 2023. Based on the roadmap agreed during the October 2022 supervision mission, the rest of the construction work for the classrooms are expected to be delivered by May 30, 2023. 4. Component 2: Enhancing teaching effectiveness and support alternative education programs (US$4.2 million equivalent). This component aims to cover a range of strategic interventions focusing on strengthening the teaching capacity of existing primary teachers. The challenges faced by teachers and the overall teaching i The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) environment are enormous. These range from heavy reliance on community teachers who often lack basic teaching skills, to shortages of adequate teacher training facilities. 5. Subcomponent 2.1 Enhancing teaching effectiveness. This subcomponent supports: (a) in-service training of primary teachers to improve content knowledge and pedagogical competency in literacy and numeracy, including teacher pedagogical support via training of school principals and pedagogical advisors; (b) the harmonization of preservice and in-service training curricula; and (c) the construction of a national teacher training college (TTCo). 6. The teachers’ training activity made it possible to exceed the planned target of 5,800 teachers, and as of September 30, 2022, a total of 11,254 primary school teachers, 2,358 school principals and 364 pedagogical supervisors from the eight school inspectorates have received training. The harmonization of the initial and continuous training curriculum for primary school teachers is being finalized and, to date, the teacher's professional skills reference framework and the draft architecture of the harmonized initial and continuous training curriculum of the fundamental cycle 1 teacher are available. The finalization of the architectural studies of the teachers training college (national training institute) are underway and the recruitment of the company in charge of the construction is planned for December 2022. There is insufficient time to complete the construction of the institute by the current closing date. 7. Subcomponent 2.2 Support alternative education. Under this subcomponent, the project supports alternative education through (a) piloting an accelerated learning program (ALP) to 5,000 children and adolescents ages 9–15 who are out-of-school and overage in Bangui and three prefectures, and (b) providing remedial education programs for in-school children in 300 primary schools (those benefitting from construction and rehabilitation activities under component 1). To date, the policy for the ALP, including the full “catch up” curriculum covering primary education and implementation tools and guides, have been developed and are available. 8. The accelerated learning program (ALP) achieved its goal. In total, 5,549 children aged 9 to 15 benefited from the ALP including 2,985 girls in Bangui and in the prefectures of Ouaka, Mambéré-Kadéi, and Ouham-Péndé. 9. Regarding the remediation program, in addition to the policy note on the remedial approach, technical documents, training modules and tools developed, a total of 73,758 students (including 36,044 girls) at risk of school dropout benefited from the program. 10. Component 3: Capacity-building to strengthen service delivery (US$7.8 million equivalent). This component aims to strengthen sector capacity on planning and budgeting, teacher recruitment and deployment, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and to support project implementation. It also aims to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of National Education1 at the central, decentralized and school levels. 11. Subcomponent 3.1.a: Capacity building in sector management. Under this subcomponent, the project supports: (a) capacity building of key MNE directorates and school inspectorates; (b) provision of school grants to strengthen school-based management; and (c) strengthening of sector knowledge through the Education Management Information System (EMIS) and learning assessments. 1The ministry in charge of education is now called Ministry of National Education (MEN) but was previously called Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MPSE). ii The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) 12. After the training of 38 MEN executives on job provisional management (identifying the needs of the ministry in terms of human resources and planning their recruitment.) and the creation of a database, a capacity building session for 40 managers from the same ministry is planned for December 2022, to enable them to properly manage the budget allocated to the Ministry of National Education. 13. Sub-Component 3.1.b: Support grants to schools. 300 decentralized school management committees (SMCs) have been set up and trained in 300 targeted primary schools; and all have developed their School Improvement Plans (SIPs). To date, each SIP has received 60 percent of the grant amount (each SIP amounting to XAF 2,100,000 / US$3,900) and the SMCs are in the process of implementing income generating activities (IGAs) to continue to contribute to the smooth functioning of the schools. 14. To support and to contribute to the development of early childhood education, 78 “associations des meres éducatrices” (AME) have been set up and have developed action plans which have received financing in the amount of CFAF 1 million to enable them to undertake IGAs to help them strengthen their autonomy and implement early childhood development (ECD) activities. The latest mission noticed during the field visits that most of these AMEs have already identified children aged 3 to 5, educators and temporary structures for the start-up of ECD activities. 15. Sub-Component 3.1.c: Strengthen sector knowledge. This subcomponent supports the development of the EMIS and the implementation of the 2019 CONFEMEN Education Sector Analysis Program (PASEC). The MEN was unable to carry out data collection for the 2019-2020 school year due to COVID-19, which resulted in school closures and the destruction of school infrastructure during the security crisis from December 2020 to March 2021. The status of key activities are as follows: - The publication process of the 2020 - 2022 statistical yearbook has been delayed due to the low quality of the first data collected; additional data collection is underway to enable UNESCO, which technically assists the general directorate of Statistics and planning (GDSP) of the MNE, to finalize the data processing and produce a draft report by December 15, 2022. - The publication of the PASEC report is delayed due to the quality of data which affects the psychometric analysis. However, it is expected that the report will be available by December 30, 2022 16. Subcomponent 3.2: Project implementation. This sub-component supports activities related to project management: day-to-day project monitoring and coordination, technical audits, management of environmental and social safeguards, and fiduciary management. To date, the education project coordination unit (PCU) has been strengthened and staffed with qualified staff to ensure efficient management of the two education projects financed by the World Bank in CAR – EBESP and Education Sector Plan Support Project (ESPSP). 1. Subcomponent 3.3: Contingencies. This subcomponent was designed as a provision to respond to potential emergencies given the country context. Funds allocated under this subcomponent could be reallocated between other project components as needed. 2. Component 4: Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) (US$0 million equivalent). This component was designed to provide an immediate response in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, or cross-sectoral interventions given the country context. The CERC has not been iii The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) activated. 3. Project management. The PCU is fully operational and all key project staff have been recruited. To strengthen the PCU’s fiduciary management capacity, the recruitment of additional staff was completed on September 15, 2020, and includes a procurement specialist, procurement assistant, financial management (FM) specialist, and FM assistant. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) modalities –monthly and quarterly monitoring report templates of project activities – have been developed and are being used to ensure the close monitoring of project activities. Safeguard instruments, namely the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), the Indigenous Population Planning Framework (IPPF) and the Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) were finalized by the PCU and published on March 17, 2020 in CAR’s newspapers and on the World Bank’s website. These are currently being used for project implementation. The project grievance redress mechanism (GRM) is in place since the beginning of the project and all incidents that were reported were closed by the time of this restructuring. 4. Fiduciary management and disbursement. The recent supervision mission held in October 2022 noted that the staff of the fiduciary unit including the and Financial Management Specialist (FMS) and the accountant have a good knowledge of the procedures of the World Bank and the use of the TOM2PRO software. 5. Preparation of interim financial reports. The Financial Monitoring Reports were prepared on a quarterly basis according to the provisions of the project documents (PAD & FA). These reports have also been commented on by the World Bank. 6. The Financial Monitoring Report for the quarter ended on September 30, 2022 was transmitted to the WB on November 15, 2022 and accepted by the World Bank. 7. External Audit: The audit report for the fiscal year ended December 31st, 2021 was again sent on time, i.e. prior to June 30, 2022. Recommendations to address certain weaknesses were made by the firm and a matrix to monitor the implementation of these recommendations was developed by the FM specialist and made available to the World Bank team during the October mission. In general, most of the recommendations have been implemented and a few are being carried over for further implementation. There is no overdue audit as of today. 8. Procurement. Overall, procurement is going well, although updating activities in STEP remains a challenge for the project. To date, only thirty-two (32) contracts have been signed and entered in STEP, i.e. 56.14 percent out of a total of fifty-seven (57) activities submitted and validated. Some activities are waiting to be executed (25), others are running (12). Despite the various reminders, most of the contracts are pending completion and relate to important activities such as the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms in different regions or the execution of these contracts should be carried out by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the one hand, and on the other hand, by companies for the extension of additional classes in the regions of Ouham and Ouham- Pendé. It is recommended that the PCU continue as soon as possible to regularize the information in STEP before the next supervision mission scheduled for February 2023. 9. Disbursement. The level of disbursement is still low. Data provided by client connection shows that as of November 30, 2022, only 62.41% or US$14.70 million (of the total amount) has been disbursed under the project C. Rationale for Restructuring iv The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) 10. A request has been received from the Minister of State in charge of the economy, planning and international cooperation2 on October 4th, 2022 requesting a 12 month-extension of the project closing date from June 30, 2023 to June 30, 2024 to allow adequate time for the finalization of the the construction of the teachers’ training college (National Training Institute) which would be a critical element of strengthening the country’s teacher training capacities leading to the lessening of learning poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic combined with the security crisis resulting from the December 2020 presidential elections caused the closure of schools and greatly contributed to delays. Moreover, the difficulties related to the fiduciary management of the project which was entrusted to an implementing agency (Agency for the Execution of Public Interest Works in the Central African Republic3) led to poor management of project implementation and considerable delays in the execution of some very important activities. The teacher’s issue is the biggest one facing the education system as the Government is engaged in achieving the goal of drastically reducing the students – teacher ratio (STR) from 101 to 50 by 2030 in primary schools. High STR are contributing factors of low learning outcomes. It is critical in CAR to support improved learning especially that the latest learning assessment indicated that about half of children in grade 2 could not read a single word in French. There are ongoing complementary interventions to support improved learning (remedial education, the introduction of Sango as a language of instruction implemented in the Education Sector Plan Support Project (ESPSP P173103)). Teachers are key inputs for the success of these interventions. The teachers training college (TTC) will expand the training capacity of the Government to train new primary education teachers but also retrain community teachers who need continuous support. Finally, the TTC will help jumpstart the reforms that have been laid out in the Education Sector Plan (ESP) to support training enough teachers in CAR, but also ensure efficient utilization of teachers. II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES 11. The proposed changes relate only to the extension of the project closing date from June 30, 2023 to June 30, 2024. The proposed restructuring does not include any changes to the PDO, PDO-level indicators, institutional arrangements, budget allocation or overall project components. Disbursement estimates will be adjusted to reflect the revised closing date and the end target date for indicators in the Results Framework will be modified to align with the revised closing date of the project. A. Revision in institutional arrangements, financial management and procurement 12. There will be no changes to the project’s institutional arrangements. The PCU, which was already functioning autonomously and is attached to the MNE as the line ministry, has been strengthened with new qualified staff and will continue to execute the project activities. B. Revision in budget allocation among project components and reallocation among disbursement categories The restructuring will not include any changes to budget allocations and there will be no reallocation across disbursement categories. C. Changes to the project results framework. 2 The name of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and cooperation has changed to Minister of State in charge of the economy, planning and international cooperation during the last Government change. 3 The Government has notified the agency of the end of its service contract as project fiduciary agency, effective July 31, 2020. v The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) 13. With the extension of the project closing date, the project results framework will be revised to set June 30, 2024 as the deadline for all project indicators, instead of June 30, 2023 III. SUMMARY OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Results Framework ✔ Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Implementation Schedule ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ Implementing Agency ✔ DDO Status ✔ Project's Development Objectives ✔ PBCs ✔ Components and Cost ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Disbursements Arrangements ✔ Disbursement Estimates ✔ Overall Risk Rating ✔ Safeguard Policies Triggered ✔ EA category ✔ Legal Covenants ✔ Institutional Arrangements ✔ Financial Management ✔ Procurement ✔ Economic and Financial Analysis ✔ Technical Analysis ✔ Social Analysis ✔ Environmental Analysis ✔ vi The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S) OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_LOANCLOSING_TABLE LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline Ln/Cr/Tf Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications IDA-D3290 Effective 30-Jun-2023 30-Jun-2024 30-Oct-2024 . vii The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) . Results framework COUNTRY: Central African Republic Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project Project Development Objectives(s) The Project Development Objective of the project is to improve access to quality basic education and strengthen capacity in education sector management. Project Development Objective Indicators by Objectives/ Outcomes RESULT_FRAME_TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Inrease access to basic education Increase primary completion rate 50.00 50.00 51.00 52.00 54.00 55.00 55.00 (Percentage) Increase primary completion rate- female 40.00 41.00 42.00 43.00 44.00 45.00 45.00 (Percentage) Increase gross enrollment ratio at lower secondary 23.00 23.00 24.00 25.00 27.00 28.00 28.00 (Percentage) Increase gross enrollment ratio at lower 18.00 18.00 19.00 20.00 22.00 23.00 23.00 secondary- female (Percentage) Enhance teaching effectiveness viii The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Number of teachers completing training 0.00 1,200.00 2,300.00 3,800.00 5,800.00 5,800.00 5,800.00 (Number) Teachers recruited or 0.00 1,200.00 2,300.00 3,800.00 5,800.00 5,800.00 trained (CRI, Number) Teachers recruited or trained - Female (RMS 0.00 200.00 700.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 requirement) (CRI, Number) Capacity building to strengthen school-based management Number of schools with established school-based management 0.00 50.00 200.00 300.00 300.00 300.00 300.00 committee(SBMC) (Number) PDO Table SPACE Intermediate Results Indicators by Components RESULT_FRAME_TBL_IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Component 1: Increasing access through school infrastructure development Number of classrooms extended and rehabilitated 0.00 200.00 600.00 800.00 800.00 800.00 800.00 in primary schools (Number) ix The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Number of classrooms extended and rehabilitated 0.00 60.00 185.00 250.00 250.00 250.00 250.00 in secondary schools (Number) Component 2: Enhancing teaching effectiveness and support alternative education programs Development of in-services and pre-services training No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes modular program (Yes/No) Construction of a National No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Training Institution (Yes/No) Number of principals benefiting from training 0.00 400.00 800.00 1,500.00 1,500.00 1,500.00 1,500.00 (Number) Number students benefiting from aletrnative learning 0.00 1,000.00 2,000.00 3,000.00 300.00 300.00 5,000.00 program (ALP) (Number) Number of female students benefiting from 0.00 400.00 900.00 1,200.00 1,700.00 2,000.00 2,000.00 allternative learning program (ALP) (Number) Number of students benefiting from remedial 0.00 10,000.00 20,000.00 30,000.00 40,000.00 50,000.00 50,000.00 education. (Number) Number of female students benefiting from 0.00 4,300.00 8,600.00 13,000.00 17,000.00 20,000.00 20,000.00 remedial education (Number) x The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Component 3: Capacity building to strengthen services delivery Number of EGMA/EGRA 0.00 0.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 assessments (Number) Assessment of indigenous No Yes population (Yes/No) IO Table SPACE . xi The World Bank Central African Republic Emergency Basic Education Support Project (P164295)