The World Bank SENEGAL - Skills for jobs and competitiveness (P145585) REPORT NO.: RES45386 DOCUMENT OF THE WORLD BANK RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF SENEGAL - SKILLS FOR JOBS AND COMPETITIVENESS APPROVED ON DECEMBER 8, 2014 TO MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, FINANCE, AND PLANNING EDUCATION AFRICA WEST Regional Vice President: Ousmane Diagana Country Director: Nathan M. Belete Regional Director: Dena Ringold Practice Manager/Manager: Meskerem Mulatu Task Team Leader(s): Hamoud Abdel Wedoud Kamil The World Bank SENEGAL - Skills for jobs and competitiveness (P145585) I. BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P145585 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Partial Assessment (B) Partial Assessment (B) Approval Date Current Closing Date 08-Dec-2014 25-Jan-2021 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Planning Ministry of Professional Training Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The project development objective is to strengthen the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system and to improvethe employability of youth in selected priority sectors of the economy. Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed IDA-55620 08-Dec-2014 19-Dec-2014 14-Jul-2015 25-Jan-2021 35.00 28.37 4.96 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No I. SUMMARY OF PROJECT STATUS AND PROPOSED CHANGES The World Bank SENEGAL - Skills for jobs and competitiveness (P145585) I. SUMMARY OF PROJECT STATUS AND PROPOSED CHANGES consistent with the sector reform as well as appropriate to the growing needs of the sector. Component 3 aims to improve the management of the TVET sector by strengthening the capacity of the Direction de la Formation Professionnelle et Technique (DFTP), the Directorate of Apprenticeship (DA), the unit responsible for communication and orientation, and the Unit for Studies and Planning (Cellule D’Etudes et de Planification-CEP). Component 3 also supports the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system, fiduciary management, and the coordination of Project activities. 1. Project Overview. The Senegal Skills for Jobs and Competitiveness Project in the amount of SDR23.7 million (US$35 million equivalent) was approved by the Board of Executive Directors on December 8, 2014 and became effective on July 14, 2015. The Project is also supported by Government financing in the amount of US$25 million, and US$16.5 million (Euro 12 million) from the French Development Agency (AFD) as co-financing partner. AFD and International Development Association (IDA) funds use a parallel financing mechanism using separate bank accounts. 2. Project Components. The Project is comprised of three Components. Component 1 aims to improve the quality and relevance of training in the lycées techniques, to establish a cluster of training centers for skills development in priority sectors; and create and implement a system for certification of skills. Component 2 seeks to streamline and reinforce the funding instruments of the Government’s Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) policy in order to make them 3. Overall Project Performance. Progress toward achievement of the Project Development Objective (PDO) was assessed as Moderately Satisfactory and implementation progress (IP) was assessed as Moderately Satisfactory. Progress under Component 1 has been steady. The three technical high schools (lycées techniques) have elaborated and endorsed the Performance-based Contracts (PBCs) to improve the quality of service delivery. A technical auditor provided a qualitative review of the PBCs with recommendations for improvement which have been used by the Lycées. Rehabilitation of two of the three lycées have been completed and one is approximately 95 percent completed with the remaining works to be completed by April 2021. The Project has also constructed or rehabilitated nine (9) TVET centers with all the equipment for the centers in place and being utilized. The Certificate of Specialization (CS) program has enrolled 7,135 youth in the program and 5,257 have obtained their certificates (5 percent of the 7,135 young people that enrolled dropped out of the program). At present, there are 1,878 students enrolled and it is expected that an additional 5,710 young people will be trained to reach a total workforce of 12,845. The 3FPT has mobilized the needed budget to support the 1,878 students as well as the additional 5,710 students. It is expected that all will complete their training in 2021. Component 2 milestones related to the reform of the TVET sector’s financial system are in place with the Fonds Unique (3FPT) in operations. To consolidate the gains, the Project supported the audit of 3 FPT and the report has been shared with the 3FPT’s Board or Directors and the development partners. The recommendations from the audit are under implementation by the 3 FPTs. The Project support under Component 3 for system management, monitoring and evaluation, and Project Management is also progressing well. The project has signed an agreement with the National Statistics and Demography Agency to strengthen the M&E functions and data collection system. The Ministry is also piloting the Geo-Enabling for Monitoring and Supervision (GEMS) Kobo tool for data collection and the capacity of Directorate of General Administration and Equipment (DAGE) and CEP has been improved with the addition of staff to support the M&E system and the Education Management Information System—EMIS. The Project has supported the implementation of a geographic information system (GIS) for the TVET system that has been tested and will be operational by the end of January2021. Moreover, the Project has supported systemic improvements by which the Delegation of Public Services (DSP) and Ministry of TVET signs The World Bank SENEGAL - Skills for jobs and competitiveness (P145585) authorization that entrusts the management of the TVET centers to the clusters. The cellule genre (gender cell) is being reinforced through AFD funds . As of January 18, 2021, overall disbursement stands US$28,364,742.05million or 83.1 percent. 4. Progress toward achievement of the PDO. Three out of six PDO-level indicators have been fully achieved. The Unique Fund has been established and functional for the financing and quality assurance of training centers. The targets for TVET institutions with functioning Board of Directors has exceeded the target and the number of direct project beneficiaries has exceeded the target. The number of youth who graduated from short term skills development training has not yet been achieved due to fact that the issue of certifications was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation. Progress toward achieving the percentage of youth who graduated from short term skills development training and employed one year after completion of the training and the number of youth graduating from tourism, poultry and horticulture training clusters have also slowed due to COVID-19. These three PDO indicators are on track to be achieved by April 2021 which is reflective of the progress made in Senegal in terms of strengthening the TVET system. Of the 11 intermediate results indicators, seven meet or exceed their targets and four have not yet been achieved. The restructuring will not modify the results framework. 5. Legal and Fiduciary Compliance. Project implementation is progressing in accordance with the standards set forth in the Project’s Financing Agreement and Project Agreement, and implementation entities are compliant with the World Bank’s financial management (FM) requirements. There are no outstanding audit reports or interim financial reports and no major irregularities have been found. The latest financial audit—covering the period ending on June 30, 2020—was issued in June 2020. The findings from this audit were of unqualified opinion as project resources have been used for their intended purpose. Notwithstanding these positive findings, the Portfolio and Risk Management (PRIMA) assessment carried out April 30, 2020 determined that the Project’s overall FM performance remains Moderately Satisfactory. The overall assessment of the financial management of the project shows that: (i) the accounting records are up-to-date and the accounting system remains adequate; (ii) the half-yearly financial reports have been submitted on time and their quality is judged satisfactory; and (iii) the financial statements for fiscal year 2019 have been certified without qualification. However, the overall performance of the project's financial management remains moderately satisfactory due to the lack of implementation of some recommendations from the previous mission. Rationale for Restructuring 6. The PDO remains: (i) highly relevant and strongly aligned with the Government’s priorities for the education sector and (ii) achievable if additional time is granted to make up for the delays encountered due to COVID-19 and to complete all key project activities. 7. Despite the progress observed to date, some key project-supported activities have been delayed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as some performance issues with one contractor, which have now been addressed. As a result, cannot be fully implemented by the Project’s current closing date of January 25, 2021. The challenges for completing construction were the prohibition on inter-regional movement and consequent difficulties to ensure regular supply of construction materials which impacted the deadlines to finish the civil works. As indicated, civil works in two (Kédougou and Saint-Louis) out of the three Lycées has been completed and received. The third lycée, Lycée Delafosse, has been 95 percent completed. With regards to the cluster in horticulture, poultry farming and tourism sectors, nine TVET centers are being built or rehabilitated: two main centers in Diamniadio, Louga and two satellite centers in Ziguinchor, Saint-Louis. The three clusters of training Centers have been established in Horticulture, Tourism and Poultry. Each cluster is functioning with the Board chaired by the private sector. The World Bank SENEGAL - Skills for jobs and competitiveness (P145585) 8. The Government has presented a work plan with a proposal to hire a company that can complete the construction work. The documents that have undergone in-depth analysis have been validated. The completion plan is considered credible. A monitoring mechanism will be put in place by the Ministry to ensure that the two centers are completed on time. The equipment is all on site and being installed. II. DETAILED CHANGES Description of Proposed Changes 9. The proposed changes to the project can be summarized as follows: (i) extension of the project closing date for Four (4) months from January 25, 2021 to May 25, 2021 to complete the civil works and disburse all remaining Project funds. 10. 10. Project closing date extension. In accordance with paragraph 50 of Section III of the IPF Directive, the performance of the Borrower remains Satisfactory (Project Management is rated Satisfactory in latest archived ISR) and the necessary actions to complete the Project are identified in the Government’s extension request letter requesting. The necessary extension is for four (4) months or until May 25, 2021. The four month extension is being requested to ensure the Government has a full three months in which to complete the procurement activities related to the construction of the two training centers as outlined in the Government’s work plan. The cumulative Project age will be six years once the restructuring is processed. II. DETAILED CHANGES LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline Ln/Cr/Tf Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications IDA-55620 25-Jan-2020 25-Jan-2021 25-May-2021 25-Sep-2021