PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: 86365 Project Name Access to Quality Education Project Region Middle East and North Africa Country Republic of Djibouti Sector Education Lending Instrument Specific Investment Loan (SIL) Project ID P145323 Recipient(s) Government of Djibouti Implementing Agency Project Implementation Unit (Service de la Gestion des Projets) Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training Environmental Screening [ ]A [X]B [ ]C [ ]FI [ ]TBD (to be determined) Category Date PID Prepared August 21, 2013 Date of Appraisal Authorization August 22, 2013 Estimated Date of Board November 25, 2013(*) Approval (*) GPE projects are not submitted for approval to the Board but to the GPE Secretariat Board. The GPE Secretariat Board is expected to meet in November. Negotiations and RVP approval follow GPE approval, and are therefore expected in December 2013. Introduction and Context A. Country Context Djibouti is a country whose economy is largely dependent on its port activities and foreign direct investment (FDI). Although the country is demographically small with limited resources, Djibouti has shown positive economic growth rates of 4.8 percent on average from 2008-2012, and was designated an “IDA III� country in July 2012, meaning it is no longer eligible for IDA grants. 1 During the same five- year period, FDI constituted 15 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on average. The overall unemployment rate is approximately 48.4 percent including discouraged workers2, and is estimated at above 70 percent for young people.3 The Government of Djibouti is exploring ways to diversify its economy through the development of the private sector and industries such as tourism, fishing, transport, and energy production. In order to boost growth in these sectors, the Government aims to overcome deep structural barriers such as the lack of basic infrastructure, the high labor cost relative to worker productivity, and the lack of skilled workers through greater investments in infrastructure, private sector development, and human capital. Djibouti is endowed with a large portion of young people who could act as engine for economic growth and social development. Of Djibouti’s estimated population of 864,617, 38.5 percent are estimated to be under the age of 15. Lacking in natural resources, Djibouti’s development will need to profit from its human resources. According to the latest UNDP rating, Djibouti ranks 164 out of 186 1 Profil de la pauvreté en République de Djibouti, Ministère de l’Economie et des finances chargé de l’industrie et de la planification 2012 (this source uses the 2009 population figures from Recensement General de la Population et Habitat), and World Bank GDP Growth By Country http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG, accessed 7.17.2013 at 2:24 PM; IDA III countries are eligible for concessional financing only. 2 If discouraged workers are not included, the unemployment rate is 26 percent. 3 A New Growth Model for Djibouti, World Bank 2013. 1 countries in its Human Development Index (2013). However, over the past ten years, the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in primary education increased from 32 percent in 1999/2000 to approximately 61percent in 2012 while the 2012 poverty profile developed by the government suggests a rate of 82.8 percent for the GER. .4 Girls’ attendance in primary school also significantly improved with a girl/boy ratio rising from 0.55 in 2005 to 0.88 in 2011. Secondary enrollments tripled during the same period. Despite these important advances, Djibouti is not likely to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, or reducing child mortality by 2015.5 Djibouti acknowledges the important role of education and devotes about a fifth of its national budget to the sector. In 2010, 19.8 percent of the national budget and about 8 percent of GDP went to education, which is high relative to regional and global averages. Djibouti’s National Development Initiative 2007 (Initiative nationale de développement social, INDS) highlights improvement in management of the sector to increase access, quality and relevance of education as a priority. The second pillar of the INDS aims to develop human resources and improve access to basic services, in particular by: (i) improving access to education while increasing the quality of education services; (ii) reducing gender and geographic disparities in the sector; and (iii) improving the management of the sector. B. Sectoral and Institutional Context The education system in Djibouti has been undergoing reforms to increase access, enhance quality, and improve management of the sector. Djibouti’s education system consists of 2 years of preschool, 9 years of basic education (5 years primary and 4 years middle school), 3 years of general secondary education, 2-3 years of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and 4-5 years of higher education and research. School attendance is compulsory for ages 6 to 16 years. In 2010, the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (Ministère de l’Education nationale et de la formation professionnelle, MENFOP) developed a 10-year National Education Strategy (Schéma directeur) (2010- 2019) and a series of action plans focusing on improving access, equity, quality, and efficiency of the education system. This project has been prepared in parallel with the Government’s Education Action Plan (2013-2016), as per Global Partnership for Education (GPE) guidelines. Access to education has improved, but Djibouti still faces serious challenges in the quality of its education and relevance to the country’s development needs. There are 159 primary schools in Djibouti, defined as grades one through six, 65 of which are in the capital, Djiboutiville. This represents an increase of 44% in the number of primary schools built and functioning since 2003. Only 37 of the total number of primary schools are private, representing 14 percent of primary education service provision. There are 63,368 primary students in the public and private system combined, of which 46% percent are female, and they are served by 1,550 public primary school teachers.6 The performance of students at the primary level indicates low levels of learning, as shown on national math and French language exams at the end of second and fifth grades. The small size of the private sector and a saturated public sector may explain the demand-side constraints to employment. There is wide consensus among stakeholders that young people do not have the required skills for the labor market. A study done by the MENFOP in 2007 concluded that: (i) the TVET training system did not provide graduates with practical knowledge; (ii) enterprises were not consulted in the design of work internships; (iii) theoretical courses were out of date; and (iv) youth lacked the necessary skills to understand how companies are organized and managed. At the other end of the spectrum, early childhood education (ECE) enrollments are at less 4 UNESCO Institute for Statistics http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/tableView.aspx accessed 3.28.13 at 1:06 PM and Profil de la Pauvrete en Republique de Djibouti 2012 (DISED, 2012) The discrepancies in the ratio are most likely related to differences in the number used for the population denominator. 5 MDG Djibouti Country Report 2010. 6 Annuaire Statistique 2012-2013, MENFOP 2013. 2 than 2 percent of the student population estimated for this age cohort; there are six private kindergartens in the country (Djibouti Annuaire Statistique MENFOP 2012-2013). There has been some interest at the policy level in ECE but relatively little public service provision and light regulation of private providers to date. Cognizant of these challenges, the 10-year National Education Strategy for 2010-2019 focuses on improving the efficiency of the education system and the quality and relevance of education with a focus on results. A series of diagnostic studies was conducted in recent years to assess the performance of the sector over the past decade and the progress made in reforming the sector, supported by multiple donors as well as by the MENFOP. These included in-depth analyses of all levels of education as well as the administrative structure and management capacity. One study financed by the French Development Agency (Agence française de développement, AFD) was a situation analysis of the school system (RESEN, 2009); USAID financed an assessment of student performance in reading in the primary grades; the World Bank financed an organizational audit of the Ministry of Education; other studies undertaken by the MENFOP and other donors include an impact evaluation of social mobilization. Moreover, a Medium Term Expenditure Framework was prepared in 2009 to cover the period 2010-2013. Based on these studies, the new National Education Strategy (2014-2016) focuses on establishing an efficient system that concentrates on results and ensuring access to education for all, guaranteeing quality and relevance of education and training (Plan d’action de l’éducation 2014-2016, MENFOP forthcoming). The Plan d’actions strategy is widely supported by the donor community and it links to essential regional and global education and human development strategies, e.g. the World Bank’s Learning for All Education Strategy 2020. Access to education continues to be a major challenge, and varies with gender, income and location. The official United Nations estimate for the net enrollment rate (NER) for Djibouti is 54.2 percent, but this is based on population data from 2009 and there is currently a lack of consensus on the actual NER and other key education statistics. The World Bank is working together with its partners and the Government to resolve this lack of clarity.7 The net intake rate (total) is estimated at 45 percent, with small but persistent differences between intake rates for boys (47 percent) and intake rates for girls (42 percent). The net intake rate is the number of new entrants in the first grade of primary education who are of the official primary school-entrance age, expressed as a percentage of the population of the same age.8 The fact that the net intake rate is lower than the net enrollment rate implies that some students are entering grade one at an older age than expected, which indicates there is an access issue, and that some are repeating the first grade, which is a quality issue.9 Djibouti’s net intake rate is in line with estimates for some other low income countries such as Cote d’Ivoire (45 percent), Mauritania (44 percent) and Yemen (50 percent). Nonetheless, there are significant equity issues by gender, income and location. There is a 21 percentage point difference in gross enrollment rate between the richest quintile and the poorest quintile in primary school. These wealth-correlated enrollment disparities increase as the system moves into middle, secondary and tertiary education. While of smaller magnitude than income-correlated differences, the percentage of girls in the primary student population in urban areas is 47%, while in rural areas it is 44%, indicating grater gender-based inequity in access in rural areas.10 Demand for schooling exceeds supply, particularly in urban areas. Fifty-five percent of public primary schools operate on a double-shift schedule, representing a great excess of demand for basic 7 Net enrolment rate, Primary, Total is the total number of pupils of the official primary school age group who are enrolled at the primary education level, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population. UNESCO INSTITUTE FOR STATISTICS http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=183 accessed 3.26.2013 at 11:57 AM 8 Education Indicators Technical Guidelines UNESCO 2009. 9 The Djibouti Annuaire Statistique 2011-12 gives the public school grade one student population as 11,315 and the number of repeaters as 566 for a grade-one repetition rate of 5 percent. 10 MENFOP Annuaire Statistique 2012-2013. 3 education services relative to current available supply (Annuaire Statistique, 2012-2013). The President and the Ministry have identified the elimination of the double-shift as a national priority, despite the large costs involved. Double-shifting is undesirable since the total numbers of classroom-hours for each shift are constrained, and the second-shift students work in often uncomfortably hot classrooms. Perhaps as a result of these factors, there is evidence that student achievement scores are lower in double-shift schools as compared to single-shift schools in Djibouti.11 Double-shifting is largely an urban phenomenon, although some demand challenges exist, particularly in rural areas. Attempts to increase demand have been implemented, for example through enrollment-conditional transfers of foodstuffs for female students under an existing WFP program. While demand-side constraints are important, this GPE-financed project does not attempt to directly address them given (i) continuing and large supply-side constraints and (ii) the need to focus the investment in order to improve the chances of success. Education system quality is another major challenge, both in terms of student learning outcomes and teacher training. About 5 percent of students in the primary system repeat a grade each year, but this figure reaches 8.5 percent at the end of the primary school cycle in fifth grade. Two analyses of national assessments12 of student learning outcomes in reading conducted in 2009 and 2010 on a sample of second grade students showed that about 7 students out of 10 did not master basic reading either well or at all. It appears that the students perform at a level below what is required for all children to begin the transition from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’ by the end of third grade. The mean sco re on the math portion was 11 points out of a possible total of 20 points, with very high heterogeneity (standard deviation of 5.9 points, more than half of the mean). This relatively weak performance in reading and math in early primary is linked to teacher training, among other challenges. Teachers are the frontline service providers in an education system, and one measure of system quality is the level of teacher preparation. Only 10 percent of public primary school teachers hold a university level degree, while 50 percent hold a baccalaureate degree, signifying the completion of 13 years of primary and secondary education. An additional 35 percent hold a BEPC or “Brevet d’études du premier cycle,� roughly equivalent to a high-school diploma and slightly below the baccalaureate credential.13 Teachers holding a baccalaureate degree are required to complete one year of pre-service training at the national teacher training center, the CFPEN (Centre de formation des personnels de l’education nationale), while those with a BEPC are required to complete two years of pre-service training. The relationship between pre- service teacher training and student achievement is not simple or direct, but a new competency-based teacher qualification framework has been introduced for teachers pursuing pre-service training, along with significant investments by the MENFOP and other donors into the national pre-service training institute. C. Relationship to CAS The World Bank's Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Djibouti highlights improvements of the education sector as one of the key priorities, and education is expected to be a focus of the upcoming Country Policy Strategy (CPS). The 2009 CAS14 is framed around three themes: supporting growth; supporting human development and access to basic services; and supporting governance and 11 The difference is relatively small in terms of scores on the 5th grade OTI scores in math and French and could be influenced by selection bias, but the difference is statistically significant at the 1% level (RESEN, 2009 pp 97-98). 12 Evaluation en lecture des élèves de 2ème année, Rapport d’analyse MENESUP 2009 and Evaluation des niveaux d’acquisitions des élèves de 2ème année de l’enseignement primaire en lecture et en mathématiques, Rapport d’analyse 2010, MENSUP. 13 Répartition des enseignants chargés du secteur public selon le niveau de formation académique, Annuaire Statistique 2011-12 MENFOP. An additional 3% are “other� or “undeclared� and the residual is presumably explained by rounding. 14 The new CAS is currently under development; therefore the existing CAS (2009-2012) is used here. 4 public sector management. The CAS identifies the weaknesses in the education system and specifies planned assistance to (i) further expand access to basic education, especially in rural areas and for girls, including by reducing dropout and repetition rates; and (ii) enhance the quality of education, especially by increasing teacher training and the availability of school books. A well-functioning education system will benefit the country as a whole in terms of better development of its human resources and the contribution of a better educated population to the social and economic development of the country. Proposed Development Objective(s) The Project Development Objective is to improve the learning environment and instructional practices of teachers in the first three years of primary education. Component 1 of the project seeks to increase access and improve the learning environment through the construction of one school and the extension and rehabilitation of selected schools in the rural areas of Arta, Dikhil, Tadjoura, and Ali Sabieh, based on a set of selection criteria. Component 2 focuses on improving student performance through investments in teaching and learning materials, as well as training for teachers, pedagogic counselors, school directors and inspectors. This component will further support investments in the expansion of pre-primary education. Component 3 provides supplemental financing to the existing project management unit, which supports multiple donor projects. Key Results The key results of the project would be: (i) Percentage of teachers implementing at least three pedagogic practices in which they have received Project-supported training. Teachers will be trained on specific instructional strategies such as teaching number sense, basic operations, geometry and measurement as well as differentiated instruction and management of large classes. The use of these strategies in class will be measured using a revised teacher observation tool and collected for all grade 1-3 primary teachers who have received project-financed training. (ii) Administration of enhanced national 2nd grade exam. The national standardized test to assess student learning outcomes (Objectif terminal d’intégration, OTI) exams will be revised during year one through project support to increase comparability between years and correspondence with the curriculum, and will be administered in Y2 and Y3 of the Project. This will enable the monitoring of student achievement in mathematics. (iii) Percentage of school directors implementing at least three management practices in which they have received project-supported training. School directors will be trained in specific management strategies, while the implementation of these strategies will be monitored by inspectors in the course of their usual duties. (iv) Number of direct project beneficiaries, by gender. The number of beneficiaries of school construction and rehabilitation will be monitored annually through the school survey and project progress reports, in addition to training reports and assessments which will capture beneficiaries of project investments in training. Preliminary Description The project aims to address two central human development and education system challenges: access to education services and quality of education services. While a focused approach on just one area may have greater chances of success, current system performance levels for these two metrics do not allow either to be ignored at present. The proposed objectives are ambitious, but achievable in a country with a 5 population of less than one million. The project results chain is that by investing in classroom and system level student assessment capacities, the Project will increase the ability of teachers and the system to monitor student performance in real time. When this data on student learning outcomes is combined with Project inputs in teacher support systems, training and instructional tools, teachers will have access to appropriate resources to improve student learning of mathematics in primary classrooms. These investments in capacity and information will be linked to performance monitoring as part of school management changes, which will act as an incentive to changes in behavior. While the Project will work at the system, school and classroom level, the focus will be on classroom teachers, as this is where student learning occurs. The Project will focus on early primary mathematics instruction, complementing planned investments by USAID in early primary literacy. Investments in ECD and school construction will contribute access goals as well as to quality learning outcomes, for example through the establishment of model community-based ECD programs, as led by UNICEF. Investments in school construction will further provide access for girls and vulnerable populations who have not benefitted from prior expansions in school infrastructure, as well as in areas where there is existing but severely inadequate supply. Finally, investments in materials for children with limited hearing and eyesight will allow these students to be more fully integrated into the classroom and improve their opportunities to learn. The Project will benefit from current and prior IDA-financed capacity building initiatives with the MENFOP, work in primary grade literacy supported by USAID, as well as teacher training activities supported by a variety of donors including the French Cooperation Agency. Investments in teacher training in math could be programmed to coincide with training in reading instruction financed by USAID, for example, to save on transportation costs among other expenses. This Project will also support the work of other donors, for example by supporting the strengthening of all the OTI exam subjects. However, the GPE interventions are designed in such a way that the results will not depend on other donor financing. The Project will be complemented by parallel investments by other donors, including UNICEF, USAID and the French Development Agency (AFD), among others. In order to address the major challenge of access to quality primary education, the proposed project would comprise the following three components:  Component 1: Access to Primary Education (estimated cost: US$1.6 million). The purpose of this component is to promote equitable access to quality primary education while improving physical learning environment in selected rural schools, in the four targeted areas of Dikhil, Arta, Ali Sabieh and Tadjourah. To achieve this objective, the project will finance: (i) the construction and equipping of a new primary school in Tawaoco Chiniley (Dikhil), which will also include one cafeteria/kitchen, one teacher/school director housing, six toilets, and the installation of solar panels; (ii) the rehabilitation of six existing schools in Dorra and Adaillou (Tadjourah), Sankal (Dikhil), Ali Addeh (Ali Sabieh) Omar Djagga and Wéa (Arta), and extensions in those same six schools to add a total of about 20 new classrooms and necessary additional toilets as necessary, with the aim of reducing overcrowding in those schools. The project will also finance the provision of the necessary furniture and equipment for these additional classrooms (i.e., desks, tables, chairs, cabinets, chalk boards, additional solar panels needed, etc.).  Component 2: Quality of Primary Education (estimated cost: US$1.9 million). The objective of this component is to improve students’ learning outcomes through the training of teachers, school directors, pedagogic counselors and inspectors, combined with support to pre-primary education. This Project will benefit from and contribute to a multi-donor effort to support pre- and in-service teacher training in Djibouti, including the French Agency for Development and 6 UNESCO. In particular, this Project will leverage financing from USAID in early grade reading to support early grade math, providing a unified package of support for quality early primary instruction in Djibouti. Math and literacy are considered the two foundational academic skills of early primary education, and the two donor institutions have aligned their investments with their comparative advantage to better support the MENFOP. The project will: (a) Provide in-service training for teachers, school directors, school inspectors and pedagogic counselors to increase teacher knowledge of student performance and support them to provide effective instruction in mathematics, in line with ongoing work in Djibouti in this sector. This support would include training on differentiated instruction, student formative assessment, lesson planning, support to low-performing students and effective math instruction. These trainings would use a mix of workshop and in-classroom training, and be supported with scripted lesson plans and classroom resources. To support the implementation of the teacher and school director trainings, instructional resources will be purchased for existing regional training centers. In order to ensure follow-up and supervision of these investments, five primary inspectors will be trained and equipped under this component. Special trainings will also be financed for teachers of students with hearing and visual impairments, for example training in the use of sign language and braille. (b) Support the development of a student assessment policy, including the development of in-class formative assessment tools for teachers focusing on early grade math as well as strengthening the existing national primary examinations system, with a focus on math.15 This component will also support the implementation of at least one adapted Early Grade Math Assessment (EGMA-lite) or similar assessment to be implemented in partnership with an Early Grade Reading Assessment to be financed by USAID. (c) Support the development and piloting of a community-based model for pre-school service provision in partnership with UNICEF. This component will support student learning outcomes in primary school targeted by the Project through improvements in student readiness for primary and age-appropriate enrollment. Training and instructional materials for providers of pre-school education will be financed.  Component 3: Project Monitoring and Management (estimated cost: US$0.3 million). The objective of this component is to support the project implementation unit within the Ministry of Education (Service de Gestion des Projets, SGP) in facilitating the implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the project, while continuing to reinforce the capacity of SGP. SGP is currently responsible for managing four donor-financed projects: ACIGEF, financed by IDA; Projet de Renforcement d’accès à l’enseignement fondamental (PRAEF) financed by Islamic Development Bank (IDB); Projet de construction et d'équipement d’un établissement de formation des enseignants de l’enseignement fondamental financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Projet Education pour tous à Djibouti (EPTD) financed by AFD as well as one nationally-financed project (Projet d'extension et de construction des écoles primaires). Two other donor-financed projects are currently in the pipeline: the Projet d'appui à l'enseignement secondaire général et technique (financed by AFD) and the Projet de construction d'un collège d'enseignement moyen à Balbala financed by a grant from the Government of China. In order to prevent an overload of SGP capacity, the project would finance: (i) incremental operating costs (communications, bank fees, consumables, fuel, office supplies, procurement advertisements), i.e. extra costs generated by the project; (ii) the recruitment of an accountant and a procurement specialist dedicated to the project; (iii) transportation fees related to the 15 USAID is likely to fund a significant portion of activities in early grade reading, which would be complemented by this proposed investment in math. 7 supervision of works and follow-up of environmental aspects by the SGP, Department of environment and DHU; (iv) audit expenses; and (iv) training in procurement, financial management and monitoring and evaluation of SGP staff dedicated to that specific project. These activities will be complementary to other capacity building and training activities already planned in the ongoing ACIGEF project for SGP and MENFOP departments. Safeguard Policies that might apply Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No TBD Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) x Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) x Pest Management (OP 4.09) x Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11) x Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) X Indigenous Peoples ( OP/BP 4.10) x Forests (OP/BP 4.36) x Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) x Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60)* x Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) x Social OP 4.12 will not be triggered. Mobilization of land for purposes of building one school and extending/rehabilitating existing schools will be done on state owned land and documented in consultation and agreement with relevant traditional and administrative authorities. MENFOP has confirmed that these construction and extension/rehabilitation works will not cause involuntary land acquisition or involuntary displacement of people leading to loss of access to resources and /or revenues. MENFOP submitted copies of official signed documents attesting to land mobilization, with prior consultation and non-compensated agreement prior to appraisal of the project. Environment The project is classified as a B and the Environmental Assessment policy OP/BP 4.01 is triggered due to site specific and less adverse impacts associated with the construction and expansion/rehabilitation of schools. The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) of the EFA-FTI grant is being revised and updated. Consultations with affected communities were carried out by the Borrower before July 8, 2013 and were documented in minutes, reviewed by the Bank and attached as an annex to the EMP. The EMP was disclosed in-country on the MENFOP website on August 26, 2013 and in the World Bank Infoshop on August 23, 2013. The main environmental issues associated with the project include: possible negative impacts associated with construction and rehabilitation activities. Other main issues that are identified for consideration include: water availability, and sanitation and hygiene. In order to ensure that water is available in schools, availability of water was one of the criteria for new school location selection. In addition, the project will ensure availability of water and sanitation (water point rehabilitation, latrines rehabilitation in expanded/rehabilitated schools). The project will work with sanitation and hygiene specialist to ensure that proper sanitation and hygiene measures are included early on in the design. * By supporting the proposed project, the Bank does not intend to prejudice the final determination of the parties' claims on the disputed areas 8 Tentative financing Source: ($m.) Borrower/Recipient 0.0 IBRD 0.0 IDA 0.0 Global Partnership for Education Fund 3.8 Total 3.8 Contact point World Bank Contact: Mr. Noah Yarrow Title: Education Specialist Tel: (202) 473 7797 Email: nyarrow@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Contact: H. E. Mr. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh Title: Minister, Ministry of Economy and Finance in charge of Industry and Planning Tel: (+253) 35 02 97 Fax: (+253) 35 65 01 Implementing Agencies Contact: Mr. Dahar Omar Obsieh Title: Chief, Project Implementation Unit (Service de la Gestion des Projets) Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training Tel: (+253) 35 09 97 Email: daherphilo@yahoo.fr For more information contact: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 458-4500 Fax: (202) 522-1500 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop 9