Page 1 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) RESTRUCTURING STAGE Report No.: 53922 Project Name Yemen: Basic Education Development Project Region MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Sector Primary education (100%) Project ID P076185 Borrower(s) GOVERNMENT OF YEMEN Implementing Agency Ministry of Education Yemen, Republic of Tel: 967 1 274 548 Fax: 967 1 274487 Project Administration Unit- MoE PO Box 16392 Sana’a, Yemen, Republic of Tel: (967-1) 619-319 Fax: (967-1) 619-219 a.al-arashi@y.net.ye Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Safeguard Classification [ ] S 1 [X] S 2 [ ] S 3 [ ] S F [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared September 24, 2009 (revised) Date of Appraisal Authorization June 7, 2004 Date of Board Approval November 30, 2009 (Restructured Project) 1. Country and Sector Background Socio-economic background. With a GNI per capita of about US$ 870 (2007), Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East region. Living conditions for most of the 22 million Yemenis remain difficult with over 40 percent of the Yemenis living in poverty (vs. a 2015 target of 19 percent), especially in rural areas where some 73% of the population resides. Yemen ranks 153 out of 177 countries on the 2007 Human Development Index. Although significant progress has been made over the last few years, Yemen is unlikely to reach most Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, and the situation is particularly dire for women. Life expectancy has improved from 42 years in 1970 to 62 in 2005, and a significant, though still insufficient, increase has been achieved in basic education enrollment (from 3 million in 1996 to 4.3 million in 2007). Yet, much remains to be done, especially in the areas of infant and child mortality (82 and 113 per 1000 live births respectively); maternal mortality (365 per 100,000 live births); malnutrition (46 percent of 5-year old are underweight); and the access to, retention in and quality of education. The diverse geography and high population growth rate pose daunting challenges for service delivery. The age of almost half of the population is less than 15 years, about 20% under five and the fertility rate remains among the highest in the world, at 6.2 births per woman. Page 2 2 Education sector background. Introduced in 1994, the structure of Yemen’s unified education system comprises 9 years of compulsory basic education, followed by 3 years of general secondary, both managed by the Ministry of Education (MoE). The private sector is small, accounting for only about 2% of basic and secondary and 15% of university enrollments (2004/05). Public schooling is subsidized at all levels. Although enrollments in basic education have expanded tremendously, a large group of children remain out of school, either due to non-enrollment or early dropout, particularly in the more rural and “difficult-to-reach” Governorates. The number of students enrolled in basic education has grown from 250,000 in 1970 to more than 4.3 million today, and most of this expansion has occurred during the last decade. However, Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) for basic education in 2007-2008 is low at approximately 74%, with a large gap between boys (83%) and girls (64%) enrolment. Despite a problem of data inconsistency, recent trends point to a growing concern of slower enrollment growth. Retention also remains a problem. The Grade 6 Completion Rate (equivalent to the Primary Completion Rate -- PCR) was 49% for girls, 70% for boys and 60% for both in 2006-2007. If the trend of past 3 years continues, achievement of the EFA goal is at risk. According to the Household Budget Survey (HBS), there were 1.8 million out-of-school children aged 6 -14 years in 2005 and over half are concentrated in 7 of the 22 governorates where lack of available schools is the main supply-side obstacle; and lack of female teachers, the main demand-side obstacle for girls. Credible Plan and recent policy reforms . Education has been one of the top priorities in the government strategies. In the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) developed in 2000 and the ongoing Third Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), education development remains a main strategic objective of the government. In 2002, the Government of Yemen (GOY) developed National Basic Education Development Strategy (NBEDS) focusing on: (i) improvement of the quality of education; (ii) improvement of the management of the sector and the orientation towards decentralization; (iii) priority to basic education; and (iv) emphasizing the education of girls, which in turn will raise the overall enrollment rate (a summary of the strategy is available in project files). A lot of progress has been made to strengthen the policy environment since the articulation of the NBEDS. Key achievements include the development of a Medium Term Results Framework (MTRF) in 2006 and a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) in 2007, participation in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2007, the use of a school mapping database and technical criteria as a basis for school establishment and personnel deployment decisions to reduce inefficiencies since 2003, competition in school construction which has resulted in reducing unit cost to a third since 2002, linking of the teacher-posts to the school rather than to the individual to enable sustainable provision of teachers, particularly females in rural areas in 2007, understanding the phenomenon of teacher absenteeism and tackling it since early 2006 and the abolition of school fees for girls in grades 1-6 and boys in grades 1-3 starting in September 2007. Nevertheless, the demand for schooling at the primary and secondary levels continues to be high, and the GoY’s EFA-FTI strategy is focused on the majority of the 1.8 million out-of-school children in the rural and poorest governorates. Page 3 3 2. Objectives The Ministry of Education (MoE) developed the BEDP as a comprehensive project, financed jointly with four Development Partners (DPs) to support implementation of its National Basic Education Development Strategy (NBEDS). The revised Project Development Objective is to: (i) increase enrollment of children in basic education, with particular attention to gender equity, in ten (10) governorates; (ii) improve quality of teaching in basic education nationally, and (iii) establish foundations for improved MoE capacity to carry out its core functions, so as to contribute to the goals of the national basic education development strategy (NBEDS) of the Borrower. 3. Rationale for Bank Involvement The Bank has a long tradition of support for Yemen’s Education sector, and it has gained considerable sector experience and the trust of the Government. Over the past two decades, IDA-funded operations have provided assistance for the development of all education system sub-sectors, including basic and secondary education, tertiary education, vocational education, and distance education. Inputs have included both hardware (classrooms and teachers training institutes, construction, and equipment) and software (teacher training, curriculum and instructional material development capacity building). The need for additional system expansion and enhancement will far outstrip current sector capacity and resources. With the annual growth rate of the basic education age cohort at 3.2 percent, an additional 80,000 classrooms will be required to achieve universal basic education by 2015. Providing and sustaining good quality education against this background is a challenge. It’s clear (see annex on Economic and Financial Analysis) that there is, and will remain, a need for external funding. In the short term, this is needed to help meet the intense pressures extended on fragile systems by current unmet demand. In the longer term, the population growth, the shift to Universal Primary Completion UPC, and the need to improve education quality will require increased budgets. Bank intervention in the area of quality and inclusion is critical, in addition to classroom construction and rehabilitation. Qualified teachers and effective learning materials are required. Yemen is reducing its dependency on external teachers and it has no need for additional urban teachers. However, there remain significant shortages of teachers in rural areas, especially female teachers. This is due to various factors--recruitment and deployment practices that result in a graduate, male, and urban bias. The quality of teacher preparation has also been uneven and generally weak which has led to the need for significant investment levels for in-service training. The Pre-service training curriculum also needs to be upgraded. To meet EFA goals, inclusive education and support to literacy programs is essential. The Bank can share global experience in supporting innovative models as well as access in these areas. The Bank already plays a lead role in the areas of macroeconomic policy environment, public finance management and civil service reform. Bank experience in these areas will allow it to: (i) help ensure that institutional change and capacity building supported by the Project draws on international best practice and on developments within Yemen; and (ii) target the knowledge Page 4 4 base of international and local experience in implementing programs to expand educational access, particularly for girls and underserved groups. 4. Description The BEDP was restructured in September 2009 due to: a. Revision of the PDO to better reflect the outcomes that can be expected from the BEDP’s short-term duration, as opposed to the comprehensive and long-term objectives of the National Basic Education Development Strategy (NBEDS) of the Government of Yemen (GoY). In particular to clarify that the access interventions of Component 1 target 10 specific governorates and not the entire country, and to better define the improvements that are expected in the quality of education service provision (specifically the learning environment in schools) b. Revisions in outcome and intermediate outcome indicators to align them with the new PDO, including newly developed indicators to measure improved MoE capacity (Annex A). Actual project outputs are not anticipated to change, although improved measures of these outputs are proposed; c. Formalization of modifications made earlier to the project outcome targets, as far as they are still valid under the revised PDO d. Alignment of project activities to match the newly-developed results framework e. Project extension from its original closing date of June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2012, and f. Reallocation of the Credit proceeds and Grant proceeds Revised project components are: Expansion of access : Expansion of Access involves constructing, rehabilitating, furnishing and equipping new and existing classrooms, improving mechanisms for routine maintenance of existing schools, and supporting actions to encourage more girls and children with specific needs to enroll and remain in basic education. Quality Improvement : Quality Improvement involves learning resources, teacher training, qualification and deployment, and inspection and supervision Institutional change and capacity building of MOE : Institutional Change and Capacity Building of the MoE involves institutional change, community participation and literacy, and project management, monitoring and evaluation. 5. Financing Source: ($m.) BORROWER/RECIPIENT 10.03 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION 68.66 Multi-Donor Trust Fund (The Netherlands, DfID) KfW 47.10 23.16 Total 148.95 6. Implementation Page 5 5 BEDP will be implemented with the help of the Project Administration Unit (PAU) and through the established MOE structure at the central, governorate and district level. The project will support both the PAU and the regional MOE offices which will have a dual role of project administration and training governorate and district MOE and other key sector personnel. PAU will report to the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee which is chaired by the Minister of Education. The Steering Committee will comprise personnel from the Ministries Education, Finance, Planning and Development, and Civil Service. All necessary financial and procurement systems have been established within BEEP 7. Sustainability Institutionally, the government has a long term reform strategy approved by the international community. The ownership shown in the design of this strategy and the implementation capacity that has been built under BEEP are key ingredients for the institutional sustainability of the project. On the operational side, sustainability of benefits delivered will be promoted by the implementation approach taken by the project. First, the project focus will be on the delivery of education services by a decentralized ministry and the development of MOE personnel at district and governorate level; and second, the project will actively involve and train local communities in the provision high quality on going education services as well as site selection and building construction. These initiatives will vastly improve the project’s long term sustainability. 8. Lessons Learned from Past Operations in the Country/Sector (i) Interventions in basic education in rural areas can be successfully implemented provided local communities are involved in all aspects of project planning, design, and implementation. (ii) Enrolment of girls will increase in rural areas of Yemen with specific and targeted interventions. (iii) A small and focused centralized project administration unit can successfully steer the implementation of a geographically diverse project if governorate support is adequate. 9. Safeguard Policies (including public consultation) Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No Environmental Assessment ( OP / BP / GP 4.01) [X] [ ] Natural Habitats ( OP / BP 4.04) [ ] [X] Pest Management ( OP 4.09 ) [ ] [X] Cultural Property ( OPN 11.03 , being revised as OP 4.11) [ ] [X] Involuntary Resettlement ( OP / BP 4.12) [ ] [X] Indigenous Peoples ( OD 4.20 , being revised as OP 4.10) [ ] [X] Forests ( OP / BP 4.36) [ ] [X] Safety of Dams ( OP / BP 4.37) [ ] [X] Projects in Disputed Areas ( OP / BP / GP 7.60) * [ ] [X] * By supporting the proposed project, the Bank does not intend to prejudice the final determination of the parties' claims on the disputed areas Page 6 6 Projects on International Waterways ( OP / BP / GP 7.50) [ ] [X] The proposed changes do not raise the environment category of the project or trigger new safeguard policies. During project design the MoE prepared an Environmental Management Plan in which no major environmental impacts were anticipated and therefore the Project was rated as category “B”. There are no changes to the scope of the project, especially the component dealing with civil works, and most of the contracts for new construction, rehabilitation and extension of schools have been completed. There are no issues relating to involuntary resettlement nor have there been concerns relating to acquisition of land for civil works, the involuntary resettlement policy (OP 4.12) has not been triggered. The restructuring is not changing the environmental category, and the EMP will continue to be implemented by including it in the contractors’ bidding documents. Given the very limited construction of new schools remaining, and the fact that any land required will be obtained through voluntary community donations, a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) is not required. The MoE has been cautioned about the importance of preparing detailed documentation in the cases involving land donation to be able to document that the affected local community members are in fact supporting project interventions and that they are adequately compensated 10. List of Factual Technical Documents 1. Institutional and Capacity Building 2. Basic Education Expansion in Yemen: Economic Analysis 3. Preparation of the school construction plans and policies 4. Community participation in Basic Expansion Education Project (BEEP) 1 & 2 5. The Second Basic Education Expansion Project, Vision of the Ministry of Education 6. Assessment of Institutional Capacity of Ministry of Education Governorate and District Offices 7. School Mapping 8. Strategies to Improve Girls Education in Yemen 9. Environmental Management Plan 11. Contact point Contact: Ayesha Vawda Title: Senior Education Specialist Telephone 967 1 413 708 or 413 710 Facsimile 967 413 709 or 413 733 Email avawda@worldbank.org 12. For more information contact: The Info Shop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 458-5454 Fax: (202) 522-1500 Page 7 7 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop