The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) Additional Financing Appraisal Environmental and Social Review Summary Appraisal Stage (AF ESRS Appraisal Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 03/27/2022 | Report No: ESRSAFA375 Mar 28, 2022 Page 1 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) Rwanda AFRICA EAST Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Education Economic Planning (MINEDUC), Republic of (MINECOFIN), Republic of Rwanda, Rwanda Rwanda Education Board (REB), National Examinations and School Inspection Authority (NESA) Project ID Project Name P177983 Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project Parent Project ID (if any) Parent Project Name P168551 Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project Public Disclosure Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Education Investment Project 3/10/2022 6/21/2022 Financing Proposed Development Objective The PDO is to improve teacher competency and student retention and learning in basic education. Financing (in USD Million) Amount Current Financing 200.00 Proposed Additional Financing 129.06 Total Proposed Financing 329.06 B. Is the project being prepared in a Situation of Urgent Need of Assistance or Capacity Constraints, as per Bank IPF Policy, para. 12? No Mar 28, 2022 Page 2 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) C. Summary Description of Proposed Project [including overview of Country, Sectoral & Institutional Contexts and Relationship to CPF] The proposed Additional Financing (AF) to Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (QBEP) supports the Government of Rwanda (GoR) in recovering and accelerating the education sector’s progress towards improved learning outcomes and teacher competency. The proposed AF is designed to strengthen project alignment to sector needs and developments. More specifically, it will (a) help the education system recover from COVID-19 as well as build back better to address pre-pandemic barriers to equity and quality in learning, (b) support a more robust and comprehensive plan for teacher competency development with additional efforts towards newly recruited teachers, (c) address financial deficit in existing activities to accommodate changes in scope and pricing, and (d) adopt more feasible results targets given the drastic changes in the context since the parent project approval. Key activities include (a) a revised and more comprehensive plan for developing teachers’ English language and digital skills proficiency, (b) strengthening of teacher training colleges and model schools to prepare more teachers and with improved pre-service training support, (c) strengthening of pedagogic skills of the newly recruited teachers, (d) equipping schools with rainwater harvesting and retaining walls, (e) supporting quality assurance through school inspection and learning assessments, (f) ensuring disability accessibility of learning content for early learning, and (g) supporting remedial education with necessary teaching and learning materials. Specifically, the project will prioritize learning in early grades to build a solid human capital foundation, target critical areas to achieve transformational change in basic education, focusing on equity and the use of technology to create an enabling environment and tools for accelerated learning and improved classroom practice. Public Disclosure The Project builds on the success and recommendations of the ongoing human development operations and advisory services as well as complements the rapidly changing and evolving landscape of education policy and investments in Rwanda. It will build on the substantial progress made towards expanding school infrastructure, established remote learning support strategies, the high-level ownership the project has maintained and improved monitoring, using GEMS. The Project is well aligned with Rwanda Country Partnership Framework FY21-FY26 objective to improve human capital gains specifically addressing learning outcomes of early grade students and the equity gap in education. The Project Development Objective (PDO) of the AF project remains the same as the parent project, i.e., to improve teacher competency and student retention and learning in basic education. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Detailed project location(s) and salient physical characteristics relevant to the E&S assessment [geographic, environmental, social] The proposed scope of the project is organized under four components and will mainly be implemented in 9- and 12- year basic education schools which includes preprimary, primary and secondary, teacher training colleges (TTCs) across all the 30 districts country-wide, same as the parent project. As the AF shall be implemented on the existing sites for the parent project, there are no new ES sensitivities to highlight for AF. Mar 28, 2022 Page 3 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) The parent project made substantial progress towards achieving project targets by fast tracking civil works, establishing remote learning support strategies, ensuring high level ownership of project and improving monitoring through the use of GEMS. The proposed scope of the additional financing project will strengthen project alignment with current needs of the sector focusing on key education development priorities identified by MINEDUC, NESA, REB and other stakeholders, and will continue to be organized in four overarching components. The project will help the education sector to recover from COVID 19 pandemic impact and address persistent challenges to equity and quality education. it will focus on implementing a robust comprehensive plan for the continuous professional development of teachers, address financial gaps in existing components to accommodate price fluctuations and increased scope and adapt more feasible evidence-based targets. Specifically, the project will prioritize learning to build a solid human capital foundation, target critical areas to achieve transformational change in basic education, focusing on equity and the use technology to create an enabling environment and tools for accelerated learning and improved classroom practice. Component 1 focuses on improving teacher competency and effectiveness of the current and the newly recruited teacher workforce in primary and lower secondary schools for improved student learning, with a special focus on building pedagogical skills of the newly recruited teachers, improving teachers’ competence in English language and digital skills to enable integration of ICT in teaching. The project will strengthen the quality of coaching and mentoring and enhance the physical infrastructure within 16 TTCs and select model schools across 17 districts. Rehabilitation and additions to classrooms, resource centers, smart classrooms, and libraries in TTCs and model schools have been re-budgeted for per the feasibility studies conducted under the parent project. Public Disclosure Component 2 will support the construction of retaining walls in 1675 select schools and installation of rainwater harvesting tanks at 3037 school sites across the country to address and mitigate effects of heavy rain and adapt to climate change using the Home-Grown School Construction Approach (HGSCA) or conventional approach depending on the topography. Additional resources will go to integration of the Rwandan sign-language in the audio-visual content for early years and its broadcasting. Under the proposed AF gender responsiveness and transformation will be prioritized due to the existing gender disparities in learning, throughout the implementation of the project. Component 3 focuses on system strengthening and will accommodate restructuring changes of the sector where a new agency NESA has been established to focus on quality assurance systems. The new institutional changes require additional resources and the revised implementation arrangements have been taken into consideration. The AF will support capacity building of the fiduciary staff and also leverage TA resources from the Accelerator program and Inclusive Education Initiative to support the induction of new staff and strengthen capacities in target setting, implementing learning assessments aligned to international benchmarks and supportive school inspections. Component 4 objective of recovering learning losses remains relevant under this additional financing as it was in the COVID 19 response operation in 2020 under the project. The main focus will be to accelerate learning through a remedial program and ensuring an efficient supply of teaching and learning materials to schools across the country. This AF will introduce performance-based conditions arrangements where about US$9 million of the total additional financing sought will be subject to Performance Based Conditions to incentivize systemic changes that impact teaching and learning outcomes. Mar 28, 2022 Page 4 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity Implementation will be mainstreamed within MINEDUC, NESA and REB with the project activities falling under the responsibility of the relevant departments/agencies. The AF will follow the same model designed to support the delivery of QBEP, in line with the existing Government arrangements for project implementation. To accommodate new institutional arrangements three Single Project Implementation Unit (SPIUs) will oversee coordination and support implementation: one located within MINEDUC, one in REB and a new one in NESA. Similarly, districts are responsible for implementation at the subnational levels, including implementation of E&S aspects of the project. The MINEDUC-SPIU will oversee overall project coordination. In addition, MINEDUC-SPIU will supervise and coordinate the overall environmental and social (E&S) matters, and communication of the project The project would be led at the strategic level by the MINEDUC’s Project senior management team (the Minister, the Minister of State, the PS of MINEDUC, DG of REB, and Dean of UR-CE), and coordinated by the SPIU within MINEDUC. The approved structure of MINEDUC PIU, includes one Environmental Safeguard Specialist and one Social Safeguard Specialist based at central level and 15 Environmental and Social Safeguard Officers based at District level (1 staff per 2 neighboring Districts). Currently, the MINEDUC PIU structure is not fully staffed and is missing the Environmental Specialist and 9 field based Environmental and Social Safeguard Officers however the recruitment process is under way and the new staff are expected to be on board by 15th April 2022 Public Disclosure The project has established and operationalized GRCs at all project sites across the Country. The project shall have the required environmental and social personnel to oversee the preparation and implementation of the required ESS instruments for AF once the recruitment is completed of the vacant positions highlighted above. The SPIU staff have been trained in the World Bank ESF and relevant procedures and such trainings will continue. Continued mentoring and intensive implementation support would also be needed given that a number of ES specialist that had gained experience under the parent project resigned and new staff have to be recruited,. The ESS capacity needs for the districts and sectors implementing the project have been incorporated into the project activities and allocated the required resources in the project subcomponent 3.2. The Project subcomponent 3.2 specifically aims to finance and support project management and build implementation capacity in the Single Project Management Units (SPIUs) at the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), National Examinations and School Authority (NESA) and the Rwanda Education Board (REB) to ensure effective execution of the project. To do so, the Project will continue to (i) finance key staff in SPIUs at MINEDUC, NESA and REB in key functions, including environmental and social safeguards officers, and operations and planning throughout the project implementation period. Financing will be availed to support Monitoring and Evaluation activities, including workshops for project stakeholders to understand project planning, reporting requirements, (ii) support training of MINEDUC SPIU, NESA SPIU and REB SPIU staff in the areas of project sensitization of stakeholders to raise their awareness of gender, citizens’ engagement, environmental and social issues, climate disaster management, and co-benefits of climate change mitigation, and (iii) fund training workshops based on relevant World Bank standards, guidelines and Mar 28, 2022 Page 5 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) frameworks. The project shall recruit a consultant to undertake regular survey on project citizen engagement. The social risk rating of the parent project is substantial due to the inadequate ES staffing and inadequate budget to address rainwater harvesting on constructed schools and building retaining walls for schools constructed at fragile landscapes. II. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Substantial Environmental Risk Rating Substantial The anticipated risks and impacts of the parent project under components 1 and 2 were related to civil works for basic infrastructure for improved learning conditions. Those civil works included rehabilitation of existing classrooms and facilities, construction of additional classrooms and new satellite schools. The proposed AF will finance the construction of retaining work sand rainwater harvesting tanks installation in a number of schools. The implementation could create potential environmental risks or impacts that will occur during different phases of the project. The environmental impact includes sanitation and waste management problems; Increase in soil water erosion; Increase in suspended solid and sediments delivery in surface water; Increase in brick making and sand mining; Impacts related to health risks and safety of workers/students and teachers; Generation of noise pollution; Public Disclosure Generation of dust emission; Use of lead based –based products. These activities present a substantial environment risk as the construction of retaining walls increases the adverse environmental risks and impacts related to the AF, coupled with intermittent presence of environment risk management specialist in the period of implementation, the ERR is upgraded from moderate to substantial. Though the project potential risks and impacts to the environment, should be managed within the confines of the rehabilitation and constructions sites, health and safety issues of students and teachers on return to schools, and occupational health and safety issues for workers to be engaged in the rehabilitation works. Therefore, relevant mitigation measures should be proposed to address the potential risks and impacts of the AF to the parent project. Including with quarry rehabilitation and reforestation plans to compensate lost vegetation in the process of school construction of the Parent Project. The MINEDUC should update the safeguard instruments namely the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) and Labor Management Procedures (LMP) and the Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF) to reflect the new activities and arrangements under the additional financing project. . Social Risk Rating Substantial The project will maintain the Substantial SRR for the parent project because the AF will include limited construction works activities for the retaining walls, there are no significant adverse social risks and impacts related to the AF that would require increasing the SRR. The Ministry of Health has relaxed COVID 19 measures in Rwanda, and schools are now open. However, given the evolving nature of the pandemic, continues sensitization is important to prevent potential spikes in domestic abuse, teenage pregnancy, and consequent dropping out of school in the current pandemic. Increased poverty for those who are unable to work from home and earn an income may lead to an increased burden of out-of-pocket cost for schooling as well as a higher opportunity cost of education for Mar 28, 2022 Page 6 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) households. School closures bring the risk of increased school drop-out, particularly for girls and those from poor households, and increased levels of violence against children. The context of COVID-19 crisis presents additional risks of GBV and teenage pregnancy as women and young girls are more prone to domestic abuse under stay-home orders without regular access to school teacher’s and other support systems in the community. Rates of GBV, especially intimate partner violence increased in Rwanda as people stayed at home and change behavior in response to the spread of COVID-19. Other types of GBV include sexual assaults against children and the disabled. While AF project activities present low additional risk of GBV, they provide an opportunity to support initiatives that seek to address gender gaps and disparities in access and learning achievement for boys and girls; address GBV among out of school children, as well as ensure disability inclusion activities. All these risks are considered to continue to be substantial at this stage and proportionate additional mitigation measures have been proposed for this AF to the existing project. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered B.1. General Assessment ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Overview of the relevance of the Standard for the Project: The AF will have positive impacts on supporting continuation of quality learning while protecting the health and well- being of students and teachers targeted under the parent project in the short, medium, and long term. Its proposed activities are also organized and sequenced to provide seamless support for the sector to resume its activities and Public Disclosure emerge stronger and more resilient to face future shocks. However, there are potential issues related to health and safety issues related to students and teachers (on return to schools) which may result in continued risk of disease transmission and associated waste management issues. All these will have potential risks and impacts in relation to community health and safety. There will be also GBV risks. The Project proposes to undertake basic infrastructure works for improved learning conditions. Most of the construction works, expected to be implemented within the existing schools’ boundaries, will include the rehabilitation of existing school buildings and construction of additional classrooms. The Project will also construct new satellite schools (estimated at 400) with an average of 5 classrooms per school. AF will finance the construction of retaining works, additional classrooms, and rainwater harvesting tanks installation in a number of schools. The potential environmental and social risks and impacts from the works are expected to be typical construction works associated risks and impacts that may include noise, dust emissions, vegetation clearance, soil erosion, accidents and injuries. It is likely that the construction of new schools could involve voluntary land donation from Faith Based Organization (FBOs), but involuntary land acquisition is not anticipated under AF. The volume of construction works raises the risk of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) that will have to be addressed during implementation. However, these risks will have to be addressed in the site specific Environmental and Social Management Plans by incorporating mitigation actions to be implemented during Project execution. An Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) and Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) have been prepared and that has assessed the potential environmental and social risks and impacts. The ESMF will be updated to address potential environmental and social impacts of the AF by effectiveness. The ESMF and RPF will provide Mar 28, 2022 Page 7 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) guidance on mainstreaming environmental and social issues on any school construction and rehabilitation works including retaining walls under the AF. The ESMF and RPF give recommendations on the preparation of the corresponding site-specific Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP) and Resettlement Action Plans, as appropriate. A Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) has also been updated to reflect the AF. It will guide the project on stakeholder engagement and information to be shared or disclosed, throughout the Project cycle i.e. Project preparation and execution. A Labor Management Procedure (LMP) has also been prepared to guide all labor related issues under this operation (as per the national laws and the bank ESS2 requirements). The E and S risk management instruments namely the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) and Labor Management Procedures (LMP) have been updated for AF. The MINEDUC SPIU proposes to use a construction methodology (called “unconventional approach”) that relies heavily on voluntary community participation. This method has successfully been applied by the Government of Rwanda to build several thousand classrooms in the last 10 years. This method has been improved with the involvement of different development partners to address their corresponding requirements. To ensure compliance with Environment and Social Standard 2 on labor and working conditions, the unskilled labor under this project to be on the project site daily, will be contracted workers with a signed contract and an agreed daily payment fee, instead of the voluntary free labor applied under typical "unconventional approach" under Umuganda. However, the voluntary labor offered during the last Saturday of every month by the entire community will be used where necessary under this project. Also due to COVID-19 pandemic, all workers will be required to have PPEs that are appropriate for workers health and safety to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 on the project site to ensure that community participation approach does not add to the risk of disease spread. Public Disclosure Component 1 focuses on improving teacher competency and effectiveness of the current and the newly recruited teacher workforce for improved student learning, with a special focus on building pedagogical skills of the newly recruited teachers, improving teachers’ competence in English language and digital skills to enable integration of ICT in teaching. The project will strengthen the quality of coaching and mentoring and enhance the physical infrastructure within TTCs and model schools (Classrooms, resource centers, smart classrooms, libraries), which have been re-budgeted per the feasibility studies conducted under the parent project. Under this component, the project is required to comply with ESS 1 by appropriately managing the e-waste generated from the smart classrooms. Component 2 will support the construction of retaining walls and installation of rainwater harvesting tanks at school sites across the country to address and mitigate effects of heavy rain and adapt to climate change using the Home- Grown School Construction Approach (HGSCA) or conventional approach depending on the topography. Additional resources will go to integration of the Rwandan sign-language in the audio-visual content for early years and its broadcasting. Under the proposed AF gender responsiveness and transformation will be prioritized due to the existing gender disparities in learning, throughout the implementation of the project. This component is a positive development intended to address the ES implementation challenge identified in the parent project related to inadequate budget that was initially allocated to ensure proper rainwater harvesting on constructed classroom and retaining walls where need. All PPEs for workers (including voluntary) will be provided by the project free of charge. Component 3 focuses on system strengthening and will accommodate restructuring changes of the sector where a new agency NESA has been established to focus on quality assurance systems. The new institutional changes require additional resources and the revised implementation arrangements have been taken into consideration under this Mar 28, 2022 Page 8 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) AF. The AF will support capacity building of the fiduciary staff and also leverage TA resources from the Accelerator program and Inclusive Education Initiative to support the induction of new staff and strengthen capacities in target setting, implementing learning assessments aligned to international benchmarks and supportive school inspections. Component 4 objective of recovering learning losses remains relevant under this additional financing as it was in the COVID 19 response operation in 2020 under the project. The main focus will be to accelerate learning through a remedial program and ensuring an efficient supply of teaching and learning materials. The component continues to ensure that teaching and learning materials are inclusive and responsive to the needs of the children with disability. This AF will introduce performance-based conditions arrangements where about US$9 million of the total additional financing sought will be subject to Performance Based Conditions to incentivize systemic changes that impact teaching and learning outcomes. ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure The project implementation involves several stakeholders that include the following, MINEDUC, REB, UR- CE, TTCs, Schools, Digital Media Institute, Districts, squatters, community members around the schools, parents associations, NGOs, People with disabilities (PWDs) and Districts. The client (MINEDUC) has prepared a SEP as part of the project preparation and implementation. The SEP builds on existing community engagement platforms such as "Umuganda, Public Disclosure Akagoroba kababyeyi" among other fora to engage community members. However, due to COVID-19 and the current and evolving restrictions in Rwanda, the project will explore other forms of stakeholder’s engagement. The use of mass broadcasting tools such as radio, mobile SMS, and television will be utilized to generate consciousness and support for girls and boys at increased risk of violence during stay-at-home orders. The interventions will consider where children go if they need to report a case of GBV and in case they need protection. The project will explore the use of social media, television, mobile phones and radio, to embed messages on healthy conflict resolution, healthy parenting, stress and anger management in community and other awareness campaigns. Technology and mass communication will be used to diffuse information and reach communities with empathy messages to apply within the home and with others which has worked well under the AF 1. The good news is that starting in March 2022 the “Umuganda and Akagoroba kababyeyi” shall allowed, the project shall resort to use of these mass community gathering meeting to continue stakeholder engagement and information sharing. The SEP provide details on how this will be done in practice including the setup of the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM). Under the parent project, MINEDUC established a grievance redress mechanism through which complaints/grievances raised during the project implementation were resolved. Grievance redress committees were established at Cell, Sector and District level and are basically made of Project affected people (PAPs), local leaders and project representatives. So far, Grievance Redress Committees have received and resolved 305 grievances in Phase One, while in Phase Two, 387 grievances have been received and resolved. There was no complaint under the parent project. For additional financing, there will be no new grievance redress mechanism created, MINEDUC will focus on strengthening and updating the existing mechanism to continue providing support on handling complaints related to Mar 28, 2022 Page 9 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) the project implementation. As some activities of AF will be implemented through conventional approach, contractor representative will be included in the GRCs members. Parent and community engagement in student learning. A helpline will be created for parents, students, and community members to support their queries related to remote learning options, as well as to generate feedback on the efficacy of resources. The use of zero-rated SMS services will be used to communicate important messages and reminders for parents on learning schedules of children. The REB Radio-TV will air instructional broadcast to cultivate knowledge and involvement in early stimulation, student learning. The SEP for the on-going project has been updated by the Ministry of Education to reflect the AF additional activities and will be disclosed before the appraisal for the AF. The RPF, ESMF, SEP all have established the list of stakeholders that will be engaged during project implementation. The key stakeholders so far identified are the usual sector players that include the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC); Rwanda Education Board; and University of Rwanda. The stakeholders at the level of decentralized governance units i.e. districts, sectors and NGOs operating in each District. B.2. Specific Risks and Impacts A brief description of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts relevant to the Project. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions The majority of those involved will be existing government civil servants. As such, these employees will remain subject to the terms and conditions of their existing public-sector employment. The other category of workers are Public Disclosure contract acted workers for the construction works and there will be no community workers operating under a voluntary scheme in this project. All workers shall sign contracts that include a Code of Conduct detailing measures to be followed by workers against GBV/SEA/SH. Anticipated key labor risks and impacts are mainly associated with the planned construction works. The project promotes the use of PPE’s, handwashing and safe distancing on all project sites as appropriate as per Ministry of Health guidelines. There may be instances of child labor associated with the use of local labor and to ensure that the risk of child labor is mitigated, all workers before signing a contract have to present the national identification. The client must provide appropriate measures for the protection of vulnerable project workers such as women and people with disabilities. Workers to rehabilitate, construct additional classrooms and new satellite schools are likely to be few in number but may require skilled workers from outside of the area of work, e.g. for the installation of technical equipment. Due to the discreet nature of these activities labor camps and influx are not anticipated. These individuals will however be subject to the requirement of ESS2 in relation to labor and working conditions including occupational health and safety and grievance mechanisms. Likewise, any technical consultants contracted by the Project will also need to adhere to such standards. To ensure health and safety of workers during the construction and operational phases of the project, a Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) plan in line with Good International Industry Practice (GIIP) were prepared as part of the ESMF under the parent project. This includes health screening of workers to ensure additional support measures to reduce risks of spread of COVID-19 during implementation of activities by community workers. Mar 28, 2022 Page 10 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) During operation, the project prepared a waste management plan as part of the ESMP, that include detailed requirements for the transport, handling and disposal of chemicals/ reagents and other hazardous materials. The plan will include procedures on incident investigation and reporting, recording and reporting of non-conformances, emergency preparedness and response procedures and continuous training and awareness to workers. In addition, the project prepared a code of conduct that is written in both English and local language that clearly articulate the responsibilities of the workers and penalties for violating the code of conduct. The CoC is singed by all workers as part of the contract, and they are provided a copy of the same document. The LMP has been updated to reflect the activities under AF of the project. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management Though not significant, the AF will have pollution management issues in relation to use of PPE and hand washing and related wastes. The project design could explore the use of hydra-form bloc technology where possible and limit the use of baked bricks during classroom construction to reduce the need for firewood, avoiding detrimental impacts on the environment. The classroom rehabilitation activities could explore landscaping to prevent erosion and planting of sapling shade trees, re- vegetation which contribute towards the carbon sequestration process and reducing soil run off. Using energy saving bulbs for the school lighting or solar should also be considered. The following will be further assessed during project implementation (at the subproject screening level): • Promoting the sustainable use of construction materials and other raw materials extracted from the natural Public Disclosure environment; • Promoting sustainable use of water and energy resources. The project could consider installing tanks for rain water storage to supplement current water supply or alternative energy solution for cooking fuel; and • Adoption of good practices for managing e-wastes. There is also a potential of rehabilitation activities that could involve demolition or replacement of existing infrastructure’s containing hazardous materials such as asbestos and the ESMF include Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA) guidelines and measures to consider for removal and disposal of hazardous materials such as asbestos. The ESMF to be updated will comprise waste management issues and relevant mitigation measures related to the AF. The mitigation measures will be refined/adapted to each sub-project specificities and these will be described in the site specific ESMPs. ESS4 Community Health and Safety As the project will involve civil works (under the parent project) and retaining walls through the AF, the community health and safety issues related to this project could potentially include, sexual exploitation and abuse given the fact that the construction work will be carried out in existing schools for additional classrooms. The project design will need to ensure consideration for the universal access in toilet/latrine construction, and in all new school building to be constructed under this project, for disability and inclusive education. It also considers Mar 28, 2022 Page 11 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) potential health and safety issues related to students and teachers on return to schools which may result in continued risk of disease transmission and associated improper waste management issues. Toilets construction will also require portable water where possible to improve hygiene in and around schools. However, in case the toilets to be constructed are pit latrines, such latrines in schools especially in rural areas are usually not clean and represent a potential health risk to students and the surrounding community. Though the COVID19 measures have been relaxed by the Ministry of Health and the schools have opened, the context of COVID-19 crisis presents additional risks of GBV and teenage pregnancy as women and young girls are more prone to domestic abuse under stay-home orders without regular access to school teacher’s and other support systems in the community. Rates of GBV, especially intimate partner violence have increased as people stay at home and change behavior in response to the spread of COVID-19. Other types of GBV include sexual assaults against children and the disabled. While AF project activities present low additional risk of GBV, they provide an opportunity to support initiatives that seek to address gender gaps and disparities in access and learning achievement for boys and girls; address GBV among out of school children, as well as ensure disability inclusion activities. COVID-19 pandemic can contribute to community exposure to the disease, particularly as community labor working in large numbers. The project will include appropriate mitigation measures in the Emergency response plan in case of an emergency related to COVID-19. The project has also identified in the updated SEP all appropriate requirements for community engagement in emergency preparedness planning in case of outbreak of COVID-19 on site as per the Ministry of Health guidelines. All potential E&S risks and impacts of the AF will be included in the ESMF to be updated by project effectiveness. Public Disclosure ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement Land availability is an issue that was identified for more than a third of the targeted sites under the parent project, where school land was to be acquired through expropriation. However, the Ministry of Education decided to phase construction of classrooms whereby schools that had enough land and those that were under FBO that were ready to voluntary donate land, the works started immediately on those sites under Program B. The sites that had been identified to require land acquisition were moved to program A that is purely Government funded similar program. Hence there was was no land acquisition under the parent project as all sites requiring land take were moved to program A. The decision allowed Government to mobilize the expropriation budget, while on program B funded from WB was able to be implemented ontime. The above approach was in reference to the resolution of national leadership retreat of fast tracking the construction of classrooms and latrines, MINEDUC. Under the AF, there are no land take expected as the schools where retaining walls shall be constructed are either on FBO owned schools or on Government land, but there could voluntary land donation on some schools. However, to ensure compliance to the requirement of ESS 5 and Rwandan laws, for AF, MINEDUC /PIU is working with its stakeholders to identify sites that will require voluntary land donation retaining walls construction activities. Where voluntary land donation will be required, the Government of Rwanda will follow the RPF and the requirements of ESS 5. Mar 28, 2022 Page 12 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources The project is not anticipated to have activities with impacts on biodiversity or living natural resources. The project implementation sites will be located in modified landscapes i.e. already used for schools, training centers and universities. However, the ESMF include specific measures to avoid or minimize this negative impacts. Including reforestation plans to compensate lost vegetation in the process of school construction of the Parent Project and that may arise due to activities of the AF. At this stage the ESS6 is not relevant. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities ESS7 is not applicable to this project as Rwanda does not have historically underserved traditional local communities in the project proposed implementation areas. ESS8 Cultural Heritage Although no impacts to cultural heritage are anticipated, the project has incorporated “chance find” procedures in the ESMF when physical cultural resources are encountered during construction. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries Public Disclosure ESS 9 is not relevant at this stage. The project is not anticipated to have Financial Intermediaries as project implementation entities. B.3 Other Relevant Project Risks Preliminary assessment does not indicate high reputational and/or political economy risk that could adversely influence or hinder the project from achieving environmental and social standards compliance. The parent project had presented challenges related to inadequate budget allocation to address the issues related to rainwater harvesting and retaining walls on the constructed schools that posed a health risk to the communities around the schools and students. The other issue is related to staffing for ES, where close to 10 specialists have resigned under the parent project. The implementation of the parent project was fast-tracked, and ES staff thought the project was ending and some decided to look for greener pasture. With the AF, the project has already started the recruitment process of the 10 staff which we hope shall be in place by project effectiveness. The good news is that the AF has allocated approximately $24M to under component 2 to address the retaining wall issue and rainwater harvesting challenges. The project is also in the process of recruiting ES specialists that are expected to be in place by project effectiveness. C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways Mar 28, 2022 Page 13 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas B.3. Reliance on Borrower’s policy, legal and institutional framework, relevant to the Project risks and impacts Is this project being prepared for use of Borrower Framework? No Areas where “Use of Borrower Framework” is being considered: None IV. CONTACT POINTS World Bank Contact: Huma Kidwai Title: Senior Education Specialist Telephone No: 5396+3317 / 250-078-8310473 Email: hkidwai@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Public Disclosure Borrower: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN), Republic of Rwanda Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), Republic of Rwanda Implementing Agency: Rwanda Education Board (REB) Implementing Agency: National Examinations and School Inspection Authority (NESA) V. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects VI. APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Huma Kidwai Mar 28, 2022 Page 14 of 15 The World Bank Second Additional Financing to the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development Project (P177983) Practice Manager (ENR/Social) Iain G. Shuker Cleared on 26-Mar-2022 at 07:32:53 GMT-04:00 Public Disclosure Mar 28, 2022 Page 15 of 15