The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) AFRICA | Niger | Education Global Practice | Recipient Executed Activities | Investment Project Financing | FY 2015 | Seq No: 10 | ARCHIVED on 24-Jul-2019 | ISR37363 | Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Primary Education, Literacy, Promotion of National Languages and Civic Education, Ministry of Secondary Education, Republic of Niger Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date: 07-Jul-2014 Effectiveness Date: 19-Dec-2014 Planned Mid Term Review Date: 24-Jul-2017 Actual Mid-Term Review Date: 24-Jul-2017 Original Closing Date: 30-Sep-2018 Revised Closing Date: 30-Jun-2019 pdoTable Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The objective of the Project is to improve access to schooling, retention of students in school, and the quality of the teaching and learning environment at the basic education level, in the Republic of Niger. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No Components Table Name Expanding equitable access to schooling and retention of students in school:(Cost $53.00 M) Improving the quality of teaching and learning:(Cost $30.00 M) Strengthening management capacity:(Cost $19.00 M) Contingencies Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Substantial Substantial Implementation Status and Key Decisions This final ISR evaluates the project’s performance across the three harmonized criteria of: (i) relevance of objectives; (ii) efficacy; and (iii) efficiency. A more comprehensive analysis based on the most up-to-date data will be provided in the Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR) due in December 2019. Project Context The project (US$84.2 million) was approved by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Board on November 19, 2013. It was approved by the Africa Regional Vice President on July 7, 2014 and signed on July 19, 2014. It became effective on December 14, 2014. Project activities started on June 25, 2015. In addition to the grant from the Global Partnership for Education, the project benefitted from a grant of US$16 million from Agence 7/24/2019 Page 1 of 9 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) Francaise de Developpement (AFD). The Memorandum of Understanding for the pooled fund was signed with the Government and AFD on July 7, 2014. Additional funding (US$5 million) was subsequently provided by the Swiss Corporation. Following a Level II restructuring approved on February 18, 2018, the Project closing date was extended from September 30, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Some funds were reallocated across disbursement categories, but none of the indicators used to assess the impact of the project were changed. The restructuring aimed to provide additional time to complete activities that were key to achieving the PDO and intermediate results indicators, such as completion of classroom construction, school-feeding activities, and the establishment of a national learning assessment system. Relevance of Project Development Objectives The objectives were highly relevant as they responded to key issues and challenges facing the basic education sector in Niger at the time of appraisal. This included: a lack of school infrastructure with a large number of students in both primary and secondary schools attending school in “paillotte” classrooms (straw huts); substantial numbers of children being out of school especially in the case of adolescent girls; poor performance of students on student assessments as evidenced by Niger’s scores on the 2014 edition of the PASEC international student assessment; limited access to in-service training and low quality pre-service training for many teachers, especially among contractual teachers; and overall weak capacity for planning and implementation in the two Ministries benefiting from the project, especially at the primary level. The Project’s objectives were aligned with the Government’s strategic agenda as outlined in its education sector plan (Programme Sectoriel de l’Education et de la Formation 2014-2024). The objectives of the Project were also consistent with the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Niger for the period FY13-FY16 which underscored the importance of improved education and employment skills for youth in order to reduce vulnerability and aimed to mainstream gender and strengthen governance and capacity for public service delivery. The objectives of the project were not revised with the Level II restructuring that took place in February 2018, nor were the various indicators used to assess the impact of the project. But changes were made in funding allocations for various sub-components. The Project’s objectives remain highly relevant to the Government’s strategic agenda for the education sector. In light of the above, the relevance of the objectives is rated High. Efficacy (Achievement of Project Development Objectives) The objective of the Project is to improve access to schooling, retention of students in school, and the quality of the teaching and learning environment at the basic education level, in the Republic of Niger. Most of PDO-level indicators’ targets were achieved. While in retrospect the target values for those indicators were not very ambitious, this still represents a major achievement. Most of the intermediate results indicators (13 out of 14) were also achieved. The only indicator not achieved relates to the number of primary classrooms constructed, and that indicator was almost achieved. Therefore, efficacy is rated Substantial. Component 1: Expanding access and retention  1.1. Classroom construction: The project aimed to build 1,250 primary school classrooms. This called for the construction of 345 additional classrooms (195 + 150 alternative rural schools or ERA) in phase 2 on top of the 905 classrooms built in phase 1. This can be considered as a significant achievement for Niger’s education system given that no major construction program has been carried out by the Government over the past fifteen years. Due to procurement delays and security issues in some of the targeted regions, not all ERA classrooms will be built, and some other classrooms will not be completed by June 30, 2019. However, most primary classrooms planned will have been built, and 330 classrooms for secondary schools will also have been built. Classroom construction will contribute to larger enrollment in primary school as the capacity of the classrooms is larger than that of the paillottes that they have been replacing. Classroom construction has thus contributed to progress made on the first three PDO-level indicators, yet most of gains for those indicators are likely not exclusively related to classroom construction.  1.2. Girls’ education. The sub-component providing grants to 700 girls in 39 lower secondary schools was implemented with strong results in terms of retention (68% of beneficiary girls were still enrolled after 4 years versus 20% for other girls in the same schools). The potential impact of activities related to communications campaigns and other programs is less clear, although analysis will be carried out in the ICR to try to assess potential impacts by looking at beneficiary versus non-beneficiary schools.  1.3. School lunches and hygiene. The objective of providing school lunches to at least 90,000 children was achieved. Latrines were built and information campaigns to improve hygiene were conducted with the School Management Committees (COGES). Component 2: Improving teaching and learning  1.1. Improving pedagogy: Textbooks and teacher guides were developed for grades 1 to 3 in six national languages but distributed only for grades 1 and 2 to 5,000 schools, which represent one-third of all primary schools in Niger. While the project’s indicators’ targets were formally met, the education system is at a difficult crossroad. Most of the costs of the curriculum reform have not been incurred yet, and the capacity of the reform to be successful is not guaranteed. Results from the national assessment conducted under the project suggest that students in schools that participated in the reform performed better on mathematics but less well on the reading assessment than students in schools that did not yet participate.  1.2. Teacher training. A wide range of activities were implemented for training teachers and principals. The Ministry of Primary Education undertook an important initiative – testing subject knowledge of all contractual teachers, not renewing contracts for teachers performing below a (very low) minimum threshold, and providing remedial education for teachers performing at low levels but above the required minimum threshold. Four in five contractual teachers following participation in this remedial education program passed the exam at the end of the training, suggesting stronger mastery of the material they needed to teach. The project also financed the construction of three teacher training colleges that have been completed.  1.3. Student assessments: The Government of Niger has signed an agreement with PASEC to support the establishment of the national learning assessment system, including supporting workshops to build the capacity of education staff at the central level on the use of tools for learning assessment and on data processing and analysis. MEP has completed two national learning assessments at the primary level in general and Franco-Arabic education, the results of which have been disseminated at the regional level and among policy-makers. The Project has also supported Niger’s participation in the PASEC 2019 assessment. Component 3: Strengthening management capacity  3.1. Capacity at the central level: The two ministries developed HR management strategies that have been validated. In addition, the Ministry of Secondary Education conducted an organizational review. Trainings for a large number of staff at the central and regional 7/24/2019 Page 2 of 9 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) levels were carried out by both Ministries and the project supported the regular organization of Sector Reviews as well as the dissemination of the Country Education Status Report 2017 (RESEN) prepared with assistance from Pole de Dakar. At the same time, a core issue in the Ministry of Primary Education – the fact that Directorates tend to have so much autonomy that coordination between activities may not be optimal – appears to remain. Capacity in the Ministry of Secondary Education is strong. For both Ministries however, high turnover of key staff has led to a lack of continuity, and may have weakened capacity enhancement, especially in key posts such as the Secretary General, Director for School Construction and Director for Procurement.  3.2. Capacity at the local level: Some 7,000 school management committees (COGES) were strengthened, exceeding the initial target of 2,800, with a focus on primary schools.  3.3. Project coordination: While the support provided by the team of international experts (AMO) appears to have greatly helped in project implementation by both Ministries. Efficiency  A more detailed economic analysis and efficiency measures will be included in the ICR, drawing on data collection for various sub- components. But a number of lessons can already be drawn from the available data on costs and broader efficiency. The first component appears to have been fairly cost effective and efficient, but this may less be the case again for the second and third components. Therefore, efficiency is rated Substantial. Component 1: Expanding access and retention  1.1. Classroom construction: Unit costs for classroom construction appear reasonable overall based on international comparators. The shift to Delegated Contracting Agencies at mid-course helped achieve lower unit costs per classroom in the second phase of implementation. While classroom construction was used to upgrade facilities from paillottes and therefore may not lead to a much larger number of classrooms nationally, the capacity of each new classroom in terms of the number of students who can be accommodated is about twice the capacity of a paillotte. Therefore, classroom construction has led to additional capacity, which given the benefits of higher educational attainment (including in terms of higher private earnings) should generate substantial internal rates of return  1.2. Girls’ education: The unit cost per adolescent girl benefitting from a scholarship was FCFA 20,000 per month, of which FCFA 15,000 was for the host family, and FCFA 5,000 was for the girls themselves. This is a substantial cost, and additional costs were incurred for project management. But because educating girls generates large benefits not only in terms of future earnings, but also in terms of reduced fertility and improved health for the girls and their children, these investments may also generate substantial rates of return. The efficiency of other programs under this component is more difficult to assess given lack of data on potential impacts.  1.3. School lunches and hygiene: In principle, school lunches should improve attendance, and they may also contribute to better learning while in school. School lunches may also generate gains in enrollment among children in catchment areas, although some of these gains may simply reflect transfers from schools without lunches to schools with lunches. Unfortunately, data are lacking on potential impacts. Latrines and hygiene are likely to have been beneficial for enrollment and attendance especially when separate latrines are provided for girls, but data again seem to be lacking to assess potential impacts, although costs appear to have been reasonable. Component 2: Improving teaching and learning  1.1. Improving pedagogy: This is an area where efficiency may have been relatively low, although more analysis will be needed to confirm this preliminary assessment. Tentative estimates of the costs of the curriculum reform suggests that these costs could be of the order of FCFA 100 billion, while only FCFA 4 billion were funded under the project out of an allocation of about FCFA 8 billion. Disbursements were lower than anticipated due in part to delays in producing textbooks and other pedagogical resources. But even if all funds had been disbursed, it remains an open question as to whether funding will be available to complete the reform. The reform seems to have been motivated in part by a desire to ensure that instruction could be provided in all major languages, but the more languages are included, the more difficult it becomes to implement the reform successfully due to a wide range of constraints.  1.2. Teacher training: An analysis of the unit costs of various trainings provided to teachers and principals will be conducted in the ICR. Still, international experience suggests that unless training was of high quality with substantial follow up engagement to ensure that teacher practices improve after the training, potential impacts on pedagogy in the classroom may have been limited. The cost of such trainings can be substantial especially when done in residence due to the need to provide per diems and housing allocations. When classroom construction costs are not taken into account, a substantial share of the funding for the project is likely to have been allocated to such costs, and the extent of the benefits for student learning may not be as high as anticipated.  1.3. Student assessments: The ICR will provide an analysis of the cost of the activities under this sub-component, including the national assessment and participation in PASEC to assess whether costs were on par with international benchmarks. Component 3: Strengthening management capacity  3.1. Capacity at the central level: Analysis of cost effectiveness will be conducted for the ICR, but costs for some of the activities implemented under this component were relatively modest, so that if gains have been achieved, efficiency is likely to be substantial.  3.2. Capacity at the local level: Total costs for this component will be documented in the ICR, but they are likely to be larger than estimated at appraisal given the number of COGES that benefitted from training. The ICR will assess whether efficiency can be assessed in comparison to gains. 3.3. Project coordination: Given, in particular, the beneficial impact of the team of international experts that was brought in to support project implementation after a year and a half, this component is likely to have been highly cost effective. 7/24/2019 Page 3 of 9 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance -- Substantial Substantial Macroeconomic -- Moderate Moderate Sector Strategies and Policies -- Moderate Moderate Technical Design of Project or Program -- Moderate Moderate Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability -- Substantial Substantial Fiduciary -- Substantial Substantial Environment and Social -- Moderate Moderate Stakeholders -- Moderate Moderate Other -- -- -- Overall -- Substantial Substantial Results PDO Indicators by Objectives / Outcomes To improve access to schooling IN00709452 ►Increase in primary education gender parity index in areas targeted by the project (average) (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.03 0.03 0.03 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709455 ►Increase in lower secondary education gender parity index in areas targeted by the project (average) (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.09 0.09 0.03 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709672 ►Direct project beneficiaries (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 2,828,543.00 3,033,915.00 2,100,000.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 7/24/2019 Page 4 of 9 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) The target for the number of direct beneficiaries has been exceeded. The share of female beneficiaries is Comments: lower than expected because most of the students, teachers, school directors, inspectors, etc., are male. IN00709674 Female beneficiaries (Percentage, Custom Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 45.00 45.00 45.40 47.00 Increase retention of students in school IN00709453 ►Primary completion rate (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 51.20 82.30 60.00 58.60 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 Since the last ISR, the value has been adjusted from 82.3 to 60 percent because some irregularities have been detected in the demographic data used in the last Country Education Status Report. In the updated Comments: version of the Report, the new value has been calculated using the United Nations Population database. Improve the quality of the teaching and learning environment at the basic education level IN00709454 ►System for learning assessment at the primary level (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No No Yes Yes Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 Since the last ISR, the two indicators on the establishment and utility of the student learning assessment system have been achieved, with the completion of two national learning assessments at the primary level in general and Franco-Arabic education, whose results have been disseminated at the Comments: regional level and among policy-makers. Workshops have been organized to build capacities of education staff at the central level on tools for learning assessment and on data processing and analysis. IN00709671 Utility of the learning assessment system (Number, Custom Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 IN00709673 ►Appropriate tools and materials for improving reading in the early grades are adopted by MEP (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 The indicator related to the adoption of adequate reading materials was achieved through the development of new materials for the early grades of primary education. Some of these materials have Comments: been delivered either as part of the new curriculum or through a community-led remediation program, PMAQ, that is organized by the school committees. 7/24/2019 Page 5 of 9 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) Intermediate Results Indicators by Components Expanding equitable access to schooling and retention of students in school IN00709675 ►Number of additional classrooms built or rehabilitated at the primary level resulting from project interventions. (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 900.00 1,187.00 1,245.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709678 ►Number of classrooms built at the lower secondary level resulting from project interventions (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 168.00 330.00 330.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709681 ►Total enrollments in primary education (all schools) (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 2,166,268.00 2,928,113.00 2,928,113.00 2,400,000.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 IN00709684 ►Students reached through school feeding programs (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 99,577.00 99,577.00 90,000.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709687 ►Girls, boys, parents and teachers reached through subcomponent 1(B) on promoting girls' education (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 341,757.00 351,978.00 100,000.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 Improving the quality of teaching and learning IN00709676 ►Curriculum review for first cycle of primary school completed (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target 7/24/2019 Page 6 of 9 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709679 ►Contract teachers trained as a result of the project (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 8,160.00 8,160.00 3,500.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709683 Primary (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 5,500.00 5,500.00 2,500.00 Date 01-Apr-2016 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709686 Lower secondary (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 2,660.00 2,660.00 1,000.00 Date 01-Apr-2016 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709688 ►Share of grade 1-3 teachers trained for teaching early grade reading and simple classroom assessment (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 84.10 84.10 75.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 Strengthening management capacity IN00709677 ►Teacher trainers, inspectors and pedagogical advisors trained through the project (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 6,145.00 6,145.00 800.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709680 ►Assessment of reading fluency conducted for grade 2 and 3 and results shared widely (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709682 7/24/2019 Page 7 of 9 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) ►Human resource management strategy developed and implemented (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709685 ►Number of school management committees (CGDES) strengthened through the project (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 6,966.00 6,966.00 2,800.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709689 Primary (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 5,519.00 6,584.00 2,761.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709690 Lower secondary (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 382.00 382.00 39.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 IN00709691 ►MES organizational review completed (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 The MES organizational review has been completed and the findings have been discussed and approved Comments: during the workshop held on April 6-7, 2018 in Niamey. IN00709692 ►Regular education sector reviews held during project implementation (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 Date 01-Apr-2014 21-Dec-2018 28-Jun-2019 28-Jun-2019 Data on Financial Performance 7/24/2019 Page 8 of 9 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Niger - GPE - Support to Quality Education Project (P132405) Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P132405 TF-16565 Closed USD 84.20 84.20 0.00 79.26 4.94 94% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P132405 TF-16565 Closed 19-Jul-2014 19-Jul-2014 19-Dec-2014 30-Sep-2018 30-Jun-2019 Cumulative Disbursements Restructuring History Level 2 Approved on 12-Feb-2018 Related Project(s) There are no related projects. 7/24/2019 Page 9 of 9