The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report BD: Reaching Out of School Children II (P131394) BD: Reaching Out of School Children II (P131394) SOUTH ASIA | Bangladesh | Education Global Practice | IBRD/IDA | Investment Project Financing | FY 2013 | Seq No: 13 | ARCHIVED on 23-Dec-2019 | ISR38076 | Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME), People's Republic of Bangladesh Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date: 02-Oct-2012 Effectiveness Date: 30-Jan-2013 Planned Mid Term Review Date: 31-Aug-2015 Actual Mid-Term Review Date: 25-Oct-2015 Original Closing Date: 31-Dec-2017 Revised Closing Date: 31-Dec-2020 pdoTable Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The key project development objective is to improve equitable access, retention and completion in quality primary education for out-of-school children in selected under-served areas. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No Components Table Name Increasing equitable access:(Cost $76.93 M) Enhancing education quality:(Cost $16.27 M) Improving project management and capacity:(Cost $22.25 M) Establishing effective M&E:(Cost $6.43 M) Provide safe and equitable learning opportunities to children and youth of DRP in Cox’s Bazar District:(Cost $25.00 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Substantial Substantial Implementation Status and Key Decisions 1. Bangladesh Reaching Out-of-School Children II (ROSC II) is in the eight (extended for 3 years in total including AF) year of implementation and plays a key role in providing a second chance primary education to out-of-school children in targeted rural upazilas (sub-districts) and selected urban slums. The project builds upon the experiences of both public and NGO provision of education, blending formal education with non-formal means of delivery, and providing young learners with an opportunity to complete grade five and transition to secondary education. Overall, ROSC II has brought 690,000 out-of-school children to 20,239 Learning Centers (LCs) established in 148 12/23/2019 Page 1 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report BD: Reaching Out of School Children II (P131394) of the most disadvantaged and remote upazilas, covering about one-third of the country. The project has also piloted initiatives in selected urban slums, and a pre- vocational skills training scheme for older ROSC students and Reading Skills Development (RSD) program for current ROSC students. The Pilot has been expanded to cover 50000 Urban Slum children in 11 City corporations for primary education and 25000 dropped-out children from ROSC LCs and other schools for Pre-vocational training. 2. Project Development Objectives (PDO): The achievement of the PDO is rated as moderately satisfactory in view of the following : (i) progress in the number of ever supported out-of-school children has reached 690,000 (93% of the End-of-Project (EOP) target of 720,000); (ii) about 50,000 additional out-of-school children are being supported through the scaled-up urban slum pilot and 25,000 dropped out adolescent and youth are being supported through pre-vocational pilot interventions; and (iii) the remaining PDO indicators are either on track to be achieved or have surpassed the EOP targets (e.g. the percentage of female students enrolled in Learning Centers (LCs) is 49%; average grade retention rate is 80%; two rounds of systematic student learning assessment have been completed; the pass rate in the last primary completion exams was 78%; and the share of disadvantaged students in total enrollment is 87%). The total number of student-years supported initially lagged behind due to delayed establishment of LCs and low retention of students, resulting from a number of implementation challenges in the first two years of the project. But the project has experienced significantly less dropout since 2016 and this indicator has notably exceeded the EOP target. 3. An additional financing of US$25 million in grant terms has been approved and the original project has been extended for two (02) years, revising the project closing date to December 31, 2020, aligned with the closing date of the additional financing. The Financing Agreement (FA) of the additional financing, along with the amendment of the original FA to reflect new project duration and cost category adjustments has been signed on November 05, 2018 and the additional financing has been declared effective on April 03, 2019. During the extended period the original project and the additional financing focuses on: (i) completion of primary education cycle of the remaining rural (scheduled to be phased out by December 2019) and urban students; (ii) providing pre-vocational skills training (PVT) and enterprise development support to the out-of-school youth of host community of Cox’s Bazar who are badly affected by recent influx of Displaced Rohingya Population (DRP); and (iii) providing informal education and psychosocial support to DRP children and adolescents. ROSC Unit (ROSCU) will also assist MoPME through enhancing the capacity of local GoB offices enabling them to plan, coordinate and monitor the education activities for DRP in Cox’s Bazar. 4. A. Project Management remains Moderately Satisfactory despite: (i) MoU signing on September 15, 2019 with UN agency (UNICEF) for providing informal education to DRP children; (ii) contract signing with specialized agency on June 27, 2019 for providing pre-vocational skills training (PVT) and enterprise development support to the out-of-school youth of host community of Cox’s Bazar; (iii) adequate staffing in place including timely recruitment of Financial Management and Procurement consultant; (iv) timely selection and deployment of Training Coordinators (TCs); (v) contract signing/renewal with all relevant implementing partners (IAs, TPs, LGED MIS-Cell and Sonali Bank); and (vi) mobile management of supervisors have been successfully implemented and visible results in authenticating field information has been evident. Nevertheless, due to initial delay in AF effectiveness, the project is yet to enroll its target Rohingya Children. International Conference is delayed due to prolonged procurement process that requires approval of Ministry of Primary and Mass Education of the conference plan. B. FM/Procurement: The fiduciary rating has remained Moderately Satisfactory despite the fact that (i) external audit observations and unqualified audit opinion on the project financial statements have been timely settled and are on-track for the remaining ones, and (ii) the project has been submitting the quarterly Interim Unaudited Financial Reports (IUFR) in a regular manner. C. The Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) rating has remained Satisfactory given the continuous effort of the project in improving internal monitoring and reporting by following an activity and disbursement calendar and timely verification of self-reported field information monitoring and introducing e-monitoring system for tracking the Training Coordinators. 5. Informal Education for DRP Children Under Additional Financing: Since the effectiveness of the additional financing (AF) on April 03, 2019, there has been substantial implementation progress of the AF. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with UNICEF on 15 September 2019. As of 16 November 2019, 84,562 (girls 40,590 and boys 43,972) children are enrolled in UNICEF supported LCs. By January 2020, a total of 65,438 children (50% girls) to be additionally enrolled in 500 new or adopted LCs. A total of 1,000 teachers (women 840 and men 160) are recruited from the host community and received support and training in 2019. 6. Host Community PVT: The project target for PVT skills training and enterprise development program is 25,000 learners of which 16,500 learners have been trained till December 2018. The restructured project document was revised to allow the remaining 8,500 learners to be selected from the host community of Cox’s Bazar as a means of support to the crisis affected community. Agreement with specialized agency Save the Children was signed on June 27, 2019. PVT program has been launched for the host community in 5 upazillas namely Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Ramu, Chokoria, Pekua and Naikkhongchari of Bandarban district with 9 batches totaling 900 learners. 7. Status of Other Project Activities: A. Activities of rural and urban LCs under the original project has been on track. Rural component of the ROSCII is due to complete in December 2019. Till October 30, 2019, there were 42,000 learners in 1,861 learning centers. 32,134 of these learners are attending Primary Completion Exam of 2019 at this moment. As of November 15, 2019, a total number of 39,247 urban slum children are continuing their education (accelerated education model) through 325 school compounds in 10 City Corporations. A total of 5,500 grade five learners out of enrolled 6,124 out of school children are appearing in Primary Education Completion Examination (PECE) 2019. B. A capacity building plan has been prepared and approved by MoPME and IDA. According to the plan, the local offices will receive ICT equipment including video conferencing facilities to improve communication. Local officials will receive training on (i) refugee issues; (ii) gender development; (iii) data collection, management and analysis; (iv) maintenance of servers and ICT equipment and (v) communication skills. C. A preliminary list of 100 GPS has been prepared to be used to train teachers for educating DRPs from the local community. The list is now being verified through field visits to assess needs and eligibility and to estimate the costs of renovation. D. An international conference is scheduled to be organized in July 2020 by MoPME to focus on access for all to quality education. ROSCU has prepared a ToRs for an event management firm and sent to MoPME for clearance. E. An impact assessment of the project will be conducted and it was agreed that it is critical that the impact assessment starts before the students and graduates leave the programs so that they remain 12/23/2019 Page 2 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report BD: Reaching Out of School Children II (P131394) available for end line and any follow-up surveys. MoPME proposed to conduct the impact assessment through Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). 8. Funding Gap due to exchange rate loss: The project expenditures analysis shows that original ROSCII has lost around 12 million USD compared to the estimated costs at the design of the project due to exchange rate fluctuations between XDR and USD. As a result, ROSCII does not have enough funds for completing the components of the original project design. 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 -- High High Environment and Social -- Moderate Substantial Stakeholders -- Substantial Substantial Other -- -- -- Overall -- Substantial Substantial Results PDO Indicators by Objectives / Outcomes Access IN00729535 ►Beneficiaries: Number of out-of-school children enrolled in LCs (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 141,000.00 687,556.00 687,556.00 720,000.00 Date 30-Jun-2013 27-Sep-2018 30-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729569 Number of student-years supported (Number, Custom Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target 12/23/2019 Page 3 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report BD: Reaching Out of School Children II (P131394) Value 226,991.00 1,498,898.00 1,678,177.00 1,343,068.00 IN00729570 ►Percentage of female students enrolled in LC (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 50.00 49.00 49.00 50.00 Date 31-Dec-2012 27-Sep-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729571 ►Percentage of disadvantaged students (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 70.00 87.00 87.00 85.00 Date 31-Dec-2012 27-Sep-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729572 ►Number of DRP children enrolled in non-formal learning centers, disaggregated by gender (cumulative) (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 84,562.00 150,000.00 Date 30-Jun-2018 31-Oct-2018 30-Oct-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729573 ►Number of DRP Children-year supported (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 350,000.00 Date 30-Jun-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Dec-2020 Retention IN00729566 ►Average Grade retention rate (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 60.00 80.00 73.00 75.00 Date 31-Dec-2012 29-Mar-2018 30-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2018 Completion IN00729567 ►Completion rate for LC students (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 73.00 91.85 84.00 78.00 12/23/2019 Page 4 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report BD: Reaching Out of School Children II (P131394) Date 31-Jul-2012 31-Dec-2017 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2018 IN00729568 ►Completion of systematic student learning assessment (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 31-Dec-2012 30-Jun-2016 30-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2017 Intermediate Results Indicators by Components Establishing effective M&E IN00729577 ►Number of Impact Evaluation Studies (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 3.00 3.00 4.00 Date 30-Aug-2012 31-Oct-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 Improving project management and capacity IN00729576 ►Student Attendence rate (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 75.00 85.00 85.00 85.00 Date 30-Aug-2012 31-Oct-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 Increasing equitable access IN00729574 ►Number of LCs supported (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 8,400.00 20,239.00 20,239.00 21,700.00 Date 30-Aug-2012 30-Apr-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729579 ►Number of Students in Urban Slum Pilot (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 47,957.00 47,957.00 50,000.00 Date 30-Aug-2012 31-Oct-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729582 12/23/2019 Page 5 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report BD: Reaching Out of School Children II (P131394) ►Number Skills Training Voucher Utilized (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 14,000.00 14,900.00 25,000.00 Date 30-Aug-2012 31-Oct-2018 30-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 Number of Trainees enrolled in the PVT program Comments: Enhancing education quality IN00729575 ►Teachers recruited or trained (Number, Corporate) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 19,630.00 19,630.00 20,000.00 Date 30-Aug-2012 31-Oct-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729581 Number of teachers recruited (Number, Corporate Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 21,700.00 19,630.00 21,700.00 Date 30-Aug-2012 31-Oct-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729584 Teachers recruited or trained - Female (RMS requirement) (Number, Corporate Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 18,000.00 18,101.00 18,000.00 IN00729585 Number of teachers trained (Number, Corporate Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 17,000.00 19,630.00 16,000.00 Date 30-Aug-2012 31-Oct-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 Provide Safe and Equitable Learning Oppurtunities to children and Adolescents of DRP in Cox's Bazar IN00729578 ►Number LCs supported for DRP in Cox's Bazar (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 1,000.00 1,500.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729580 ►Number of Teachers received special training in Cox's Bazar district (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target 12/23/2019 Page 6 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report BD: Reaching Out of School Children II (P131394) Value 0.00 0.00 1,600.00 2,000.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2019 31-Dec-2020 IN00729583 ►Number of Consultations held with DRP and Host community during implementation (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 31-Oct-2018 28-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P131394 IDA-51660 Effective USD 130.00 129.99 0.01 123.08 0.00 100% P131394 IDA-63210 Effective USD 4.16 4.16 0.00 0.00 4.17 0% P131394 IDA-D3830 Effective USD 20.84 20.84 0.00 6.48 14.03 32% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P131394 IDA-51660 Effective 02-Oct-2012 10-Jan-2013 30-Jan-2013 31-Dec-2017 31-Dec-2020 P131394 IDA-63210 Effective 18-Sep-2018 05-Nov-2018 03-Apr-2019 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 P131394 IDA-D3830 Effective 18-Sep-2018 05-Nov-2018 03-Apr-2019 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 Cumulative Disbursements 12/23/2019 Page 7 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report BD: Reaching Out of School Children II (P131394) Restructuring History Level 2 Approved on 04-Apr-2017 ,Level 2 Approved on 27-Dec-2017 ,Level 2 Approved on 24-Sep-2019 Related Project(s) P167870-Additional Financing for Reaching Out of School Children II 12/23/2019 Page 8 of 8