The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION Project Information Document/ Identification/Concept Stage (PID) Public Disclosure Copy Concept Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 11-Jan-2021 | Report No: PIDC237385 Jan 12, 2021 Page 1 of 10 The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Environmental and Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Social Risk Project Name Classification Low FACILITATING SCHOOL TO P175827 WORK TRANSITION Region Country Date PID Prepared Estimated Date of Approval SOUTH ASIA India 11-Jan-2021 Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Central Board of Public Disclosure Copy Investment Project Ministry of Education (MOE) Secondary Education Financing (CBSE) PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY -NewFin1 Total Project Cost 2.00 Total Financing 2.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 Non-World Bank Group Financing Trust Funds 2.00 Miscellaneous 1 2.00 B. Introduction and Context Country Context India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth has slowed in the past three years, and the COVID-19 outbreak is expected to have a significant impact. Growth has moderated from an average of 7.4 percent during FY15/16-FY18/19 to an estimated 4.2 percent in FY19/20.[1] The growth deceleration was due mostly to unresolved domestic issues (impaired balance sheets in the banking and corporate sectors), compounded by stress in the non-banking segment of the financial industry, and a marked decline in consumption with weak rural income growth. Against this backdrop, the outbreak of COVID-19 and the public health responses Jan 12, 2021 Page 2 of 10 The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION adopted to counter it have significantly altered the economy's growth trajectory, which will contract sharply in FY20/21. On the fiscal side, the general government deficit could widen significantly in FY20/21, owing to weak activity and revenues and higher spending needs. However, the current account balance is likely to improve in FY20/21, reflecting mostly a sizeable contraction in imports and a large decline in oil prices. Given this, India’s foreign exchange reserves are expected to remain comfortable. Although India has made remarkable progress in reducing absolute poverty, the COVID-19 outbreak has reversed the course of poverty reduction. Between 2011-12 and 2017, India’s poverty rate estimates have declined from 22.5 percent to values ranging from 8.1 to 11.3 percent. Recent projections of GDP per capita growth rate indicate that due to the pandemic, poverty rates in 2020 have likely reverted to estimated levels of 2016. The extent of vulnerability is reflected in labour market indicators from high-frequency surveys. Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows urban households face greater vulnerabilities; between September-December 2019 and May-August 2020, the proportion of people working in urban and Public Disclosure Copy rural areas fell by 4.2 and 3.8 percentage points respectively. Approximately, 11 and 7 percent of urban and rural individuals, identifying themselves to be employed in the recent period, have performed zero hours of work in the past week. The short-term employment outlook is contingent on whether these temporarily unemployed workers can fully re-enter the labour force. Overall, the pandemic is estimated to raise urban poverty, creating a set of new poor. They are likely to be engaged in the non-farm sector and receive at least secondary or tertiary education than existing poorer households, predominantly rural with lower education levels. The COVID-19 Pandemic: Globally, more than 1.3 billion students have been displaced from schools, and in India alone, more than 247 million students have been affected. The pandemic has created unprecedented challenges in school education; both demand and supply-side interventions have been disrupted. Alongside, more than 30,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), National Skill Training Institutes (NSTI) and training centres have temporarily suspended operations, impacting more than 5 million candidates in India across different age groups. The closure of schools and skill training centres poses immediate and long- term negative impact on student learning and future employment opportunities. Global value chains are disturbed, training schedules interrupted; and the changing nature of education delivery, skilling and employment in a pandemic situation and its aftermath need to be anticipated and addressed. Education (including vocational education) is a concurrent subject in the Indian constitution. The Government of India (GoI) is committed to working with state governments to respond to the crisis. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has taken several steps to (a) mitigate the immediate risks and continue to provide education to all children, and (b) build education resilience as a strategic imperative across the sector. The MOE identifies vocational Skills and smooth school-to-work transition as a focus area to increase investments. The vision is to better equip the children with access to clear pathways and necessary vocational skills as they enter the job market. [1] The Indian FY is April 1 - March 31. Jan 12, 2021 Page 3 of 10 The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION Sectoral and Institutional Context The Ministry of Education (MoE) has designed and implemented vocational education programs since the National Policy of Education, 1986. Under the umbrella of Samagra Shiksa, school-based vocational education is currently implemented under the Vocationalisation of School Education Scheme. The scheme covers 55 job roles across 19 sectors[2] intending to integrate vocational education within the academic system to prepare, skill and create structured pathways for employment, entrepreneurship, and higher education opportunities. National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) aligned courses are offered to students from Grades 9 to 12. As per data retrieved from U-DISE+, from 2015-19, the number of schools offering vocational courses grew exponentially from 8695 to 43876 (more than five times the rate). Vocational education is re-imagined under the New National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020). The MoE envisions that by the year 2025, at least 50 per cent of learners have access to vocational education Public Disclosure Copy opportunities across the country. Even in those schools that currently do not offer vocational courses. For smooth integration of academic and vocational learning, a phased approach will be introduced, spread over the next decade. To realize this vision, the NEP 2020 proposes to teach vocational education in grades 6 to 12 by offering various courses focused on enhancing the cognitive, socio-emotional, and technical skills of students. From Grades 6-8, students can have the choice of enrolling in local skilling activities[3] that impart essential hands-on experience and build cognitive and socio-emotional skills. All opportunities will be liked to some form of internship or ‘bagless days’, to promote real work understanding of the subject of interest from local experts. From Grade 9 onwards courses offered to students will be detailed to accommodate new-age learnings and 21st-century skills that align with the future requirements within a particular trade. Ambitious vision requires revisiting the current delivery mechanism and system. NEP2020 acknowledges that even though in-school vocational education has been implemented for the last three decades, students passing out with vocational subjects do not have access to structured pathways within their chosen trades for employment, entrepreneurship or higher education opportunities. The lack of vertical or horizontal mobility in the system limits students to leverage vocational space opportunities as they can in mainstream education. As per the Periodic Labor Force Survey 2018-19, only 2.8 per cent of youth reported having received any form of vocational or technical training, underlining the need to enhance the system’s efficacy. Mainstreaming vocational education from Grade 6 onwards will require high synergy levels between MoE, State Education Departments and the various skills and vocational education-based institutions. From curriculum design to ground-level implementation to linkages with professional/higher education opportunities, a life-cycle approach will be required to define different institutions' roles and responsibilities. The NEP 2020 envisions a convergence of school education and skills development institutions. In 2018-19, 27 per cent of individuals who have undergone vocational, technical training were not participating in the labour force, while 10 per cent remain unemployed [4]. As the NEP2020 signals a shift towards the complete integration of vocational education within the schooling system, it is vital to utilize the more extensive skilling system that engages with the 15-19 years, age group. Weak coordination between regulatory bodies, Jan 12, 2021 Page 4 of 10 The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION assessment, curriculum design, training and implementation bodies are some of the reasons for the lack of mobility offered to in-school vocational candidates. Vocational courses in schools need to reduce the theoretical nature of the traditional courses and build in the required industry and employer interface. Interactions between MoE-led institutions (Central Board of Secondary Education and Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education) and institutions led by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Central Staff Training and Research Institute, National Instructional Media Institute and Sector Skill Councils) will be vital for the system to be pedagogically adequate and market-relevant. The World Bank has set up a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), linked to the lending project Strengthening Teaching Learning and Results for States (STARS). The MDTF provides additional financing to undertake innovative and scalable initiatives for school-to-work transition and essential skills for employment readiness. Public Disclosure Copy Initial funding of US$ 10 million is available for five years. The focus of these funds is on school-to-work transition strategies and skills development. The grant is aligned with the MDTF and well placed to support the government in increasing investment in vocational skills for school-to work-transition. To deliver vocational skills mandate in schools, the Ministry of Education has identified the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) as the grant recipient. CBSE currently offers 47 Vocational courses for grades 9- 12. The proposed Receipt Executed Trust Fund grant will leverage the existing expertise to expand the number of courses and improve vocational training delivery at the school level. [2] Agriculture, Apparel Made ups & Home Furnishing, Automotive, Banking Finance and Insurance Services, Beauty and Wellness, Construction, Electronics & Hardware, Healthcare, Information Technology / Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITeS), Media & Entertainment, Multi Skilling, Physical Education & Sports, Plumber, Power, Retail, Security, Telecom, Tourism & Hospitality, Transportation Logistics & Warehousing. [3] Carpentry, Electric Work, Metal Work, Gardening, Pottery Making, etc., as decided by States and School affiliated local communities. [4] http://mospi.nic.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/Annual_Report_PLFS_2018_19_HL.pdf Relationship to CPF The grant is aligned with Country Partnership Framework (CPF) (2018-2022) to invest in the Human Capital development, particularly at the state level. The CPF has three objectives: (i) promoting efficient resource growth; (ii) enhancing competitiveness and enabling job creation, and (iii) investing in human capital. The CPF envisions the delivery of these objectives through building capability at the state levels. The proposed project Jan 12, 2021 Page 5 of 10 The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION is congruent with these objectives whereby investments will focus on strengthening state capability in the delivery of vocational education in schools for smooth school to work transition and employment readiness. The World Bank supports India's Government in achieving the overall vision of NEP 2020 and Samagra Shiksha through Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project. The STARS project builds on the long partnership between Government of India and the World Bank to strengthen public-school education and support the country’s goal for providing ‘Education for All’. An integral part of the STARS is to enhance the school-to-work transition process for students by strengthening in-school vocational education delivery mechanisms. The World Bank also supports the Ministry of Skill Education and Development in aligning the overall skilling system to the future of work through the Skill India Mission Operation (SIMO) and Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE). The Multi-Donor Trust Fund will leverage existing knowledge and pilot innovative school-to-work-based activities that will inform current systems through the ever-evolving lessons and learnings gained from existing operations. Public Disclosure Copy C. Project Development Objective(s) Proposed Development Objective(s) The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to strengthen the design and delivery of vocational skills in schools for children aged 11 -18 years across identified CBSE Schools Key Results 1. Improved access to aspirational and age-appropriate skills for children in classes 6-12th. 2. Increased participation from vulnerable populations. 3. Processes are established to deliver skills training through enhanced classrooms and virtual instruction. 4. Teachers equipped to work with children to pursue skills career track D. Preliminary Description Activities/Components Component #1: Creating awareness of vocational skills as an aspirational career prospect (US$ 350,000): Across India, vocational skills are not pursued by children and families as the first choice for career development. The general perception is that students who cannot do well academically are the ones who pick up a vocational skill. This perception limits career opportunities for children and perpetuates a negative view of the sector. To revive the perception, two specific sub-components are envisioned as below.  1.1: Needs assessment study to identify skills with demand at the grassroots level for 9-12 grade students. The first activity will be to undertake a skill gap study in identified districts across the country. The study objective will be to identify the sectors with the most considerable growing demands for skills and the necessary skills attached. The study will also include a section on Jan 12, 2021 Page 6 of 10 The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION identifying those skills are of interest to the students. Although the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has undertaken skill gap studies, these are not particularly applicable to high school students and need to be updated. Therefore, there has emerged a need to pursue this study, relevant to this age group of students.  1.2: To generate awareness and sensitization on vocational education in schools and career prospects through initiatives such as creating knowledge products, organizing hackathons, webinars or round table. There needs to be targeted outreach efforts with students, parents and sector experts to showcase skills as a viable and prosperous career trajectory. As part of the grant, it is proposed to undertake at least one such event every quarter, such as webinars or seminars, round tables. Besides, there will be knowledge products that will be developed; this will include infographics on career pathways, research study documentation, guidance notes and policy briefs. Component #2: Enhancing the environment of existing classrooms for skills instruction for the identified 3- Public Disclosure Copy 4 skills as emerging from the need’s assessment study, across 100 hub Schools (US$ 1,250,000). Skill education is most meaningful when students are able to gain hands-on experiences and not limited to theory. The project will support the CBSE in equipping the classrooms for delivery of skills curriculum.  2.1: Preparing the classrooms with the necessary equipment and learning environment, functional as a hub for 5-10 neighbourhood schools. A hub and spoke model will be followed. The “hub” classrooms will be equipped with the necessary equipment for the successful delivery of the identified content for the 3-4 skills identified. It is proposed to equip the skills classrooms with 3-4 skills to not spread the resources too thin and make the skills learning environment meaningful for those identified skills with all the necessary equipment. The physical space for the skills classroom will be an existing room in an identified CBSE classroom. No new classrooms will be constructed as part of this grant. The component will focus on setting up the interiors of the skills classrooms.  2.2 Development of virtual skills instructions models by leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR VR). The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the value of virtual instruction as a critical lever for continued learning. It is proposed that the CBSE grant will be used to set up virtual instructions for the identified 8-10 skills, to ensure a wider reach. The virtual skill instructions will also be an opportunity to leverage cutting edge AR VR technology to create a more immersive experience. Component #3: Creating age-appropriate e-content on identified Vocational skills (US$ 150,000). The successful delivery of skills will require accompanying content that can be accessed by the students and teachers. The content developed needs to be age-appropriate to be meaningful for the various age groups beneficiaries targeted through this project. There are two sub-components identified  3.1: Scale up the logistics literacy curriculum developed by the Logistics Sector Skill Council to 500 Schools for children in the age group 12-18 years. As part of the School-to-Work Transition Multi- Donor Trust fund I-Star, a pilot is currently underway on logistics literacy across 200 children in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. As part of the pilot, interactive e-content is developed for Jan 12, 2021 Page 7 of 10 The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION children aged 15-18. There is scope to explore the expansion of this pilot across broader geography. Besides, e-content will be piloted with children in the grades 6-8.  3.2: Develop modules and e-content on the identified skills and upload on Diksha or CBSE portal. As part of the Government of India’s initiative of One Nation One Platform Diskha platform has been identified as the critical point for all digital and e-content. As part of the project, a dedicated page will be developed on the Diksha portal for sharing the created and curated e-content. Besides, the CBSE has also dedicated website for Vocational Education. Therefore, the e-content will be made compatible for uploading on the CBSE portal as well. This step will be critical in ensuring complete access of the developed content, especially as most learning is remote or online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Component #4: Develop a 1-year teacher training diploma curriculum to train teachers on delivery vocational skills education. (US$ 150,000). The current methods of teacher training do not address skills Public Disclosure Copy education. Therefore, the grant proposes to develop the curriculum for a 1-year diploma for teachers, trainers and assessors who will be critical in the delivery of the skills training for the age ground 12-18 years. Currently, there is a vacuum of trained teachers who are work with children in the age group of 12-18 years, specifically on vocational skills. It will be crucial to make sure there is a dedicated and trained staff, including teachers, assessors and trainers. This component will seek to deliver the development of a full course, including course work, teaching and learning material and ensuring necessary certification from National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). Environmental and Social Standards Relevance E. Relevant Standards ESS Standards Relevance Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social ESS 1 Relevant Risks and Impacts ESS 10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Relevant ESS 2 Labor and Working Conditions Relevant Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and ESS 3 Not Currently Relevant Management ESS 4 Community Health and Safety Not Currently Relevant Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary ESS 5 Not Currently Relevant Resettlement Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of ESS 6 Not Currently Relevant Living Natural Resources Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically ESS 7 Not Currently Relevant Underserved Traditional Local Communities ESS 8 Cultural Heritage Not Currently Relevant Jan 12, 2021 Page 8 of 10 The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION ESS 9 Financial Intermediaries Not Currently Relevant Legal Operational Policies Safeguard Policies Triggered Explanation (Optional) Projects on International Waterways OP No 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No Summary of Screening of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts The project activities do not involve any civil works. The project is supporting design of knowledge products, webinars on vocational education awareness, and creating e-curriculum for skill instructions. These activities do not result in adverse impact on the environment, public safety, and occupational health. ToRs for studies are not known at this stage, they will be reviewed as part of an environmental and social due diligence Public Disclosure Copy process and to be sure environmental, social, health and safety considerations are being well-thought-out as part of the studies. CONTACT POINT World Bank Contact : Shabnam Sinha Title : Lead Education Specialist Telephone No : 5785+79445 Email : Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower : Ministry of Education (MOE) Implementing Agencies Implementing Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Agency : Contact : Manoj Ahuja Title : Chairman Telephone No : 23220154 Email : chmn-cbse@nic.in FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Jan 12, 2021 Page 9 of 10 The World Bank FACILITATING SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects Public Disclosure Copy Jan 12, 2021 Page 10 of 10