Guinea - Equity and School Improvement Project

Document of The World Bank Report No. 13472-GUI STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT REPUBLIC OF GUINEA EQUITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT APRIL 7, 1995 Population and Human Resources Operations Division Western Africa Department AAfrica Region  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (February 1995) US$1 = GNF978 GNFI US$0.001 GNF1000 = US$1.05 MEASURES I m 1.09 vd I m2 10.76sqft I km2 = 0.38 sq mi ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACDI Canadian Intemational Development Agency (Agence canadienne de developpement international) ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Agency AfDB African Development Bank APE Parents' Association (Association des parents d'eleves) CECI Canadian Center for Studies and Intemational Cooperation (Centre canadien d 'etudes et de cooperation internationale) CRE Unit for school improvement (Cellule de enovation educative) CP-PASE Steering Committee for the Education Sector Program (Comite de pilotage du PASE) DAA4F Department of Financial and Administrative Affairs (Division des affaires administratives et financieres) DAEE Department of Primary Education (Direction nationale de l'enseignement elementaire) DNES Department of Secondary Education (Direction nationale de l'enseignement secondaire) DPE Prefectoral Education Office (Direction prefectorale de l'education) FED European Union Development Fund (Lome IV) (Fonds europeen de developpement) GI)P Gross Domestic Product ICB Intemational Competitive Bidding lDA International Development Association [EC Information, Education and Communication IMF International Monetarv Fund INR4P National Institute for Research and Pedagogy (Institut national de la recherche et de I 'action pedagogique) IRE Regional Education Inspectorate (Inspection regionale de I 'education) LCB Local Competitive Bidding AIEPU('FP Ministry of Pre-University Education and Vocational Training (A.finistere de l1enseignement pre- universitaire et de la formation professionnelle) AI'ESRSC Ministry of Higher E ducation, Scientific Research and Culture (Mkfinistere de 1 'enseignement superieur, de la recherche scientifique et de la culture) NGO Non-Govemrmental Organization PASE Education Sector Adjustment Program (Programme d 'ajustement sectoriel de I'education) PEIRD Policy and Huuman Resources Development (Japanese grant) PPF Project Preparation Facility SAAF Administrative and Financial Service (decentralized) (Service des affaires administratives et financieres) SAI Structural Adjustment Loan SDA Special Deposit Account SNIES School Construction Unit (Service national des infrastructures et des equipements scolaires) SOE Statement of Expenditures SSP Statistics and Planning Service (Service des statistiques et de la planification) ST Technical Secretariat for the Education Sector Program (Secrtariat technique du P.4SE) VET Vocational Education and Training USAID UJnited States Agency for International Development Government Fiscal Year January I - December 31 School Year October I - June 30  REPUBLIC OF GUINEA EQUITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT CONTENTS CREDIT AND PROJECT SUMMARY ..............................i I. INTRODUCTION .1 II. SECTORAL CONTEXT A. Background .2 B. Economic Developments .2 C. Education Sector .2 1. Structure .2 2. Administration .3 3. Sector Development Issues ...................................... , .3 4. Government's Educational Policy and Strategies .7 D. Lessons Learned from Previous IDA Involvement .8 II1-. THE PROJECT A. Objectives and Scope .10 B. Project Description .12 1. Increase Primary School Enrollment and Completion Rates .12 2. Improve Teaching and Student Learning .16 3. Strengthen Education System Management .20 C. Project Cost and Financing Plan 24 IV. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION A. Status of Project Preparation .26 B. Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation .26 C. Implementation Schedule .28 D. Procurement .28 E. Disbursements 33 F. Accounting, Auditing and Reporting .34 V. PROJECT BENEFITS AND RISKS A. Benefits ......... 35 B. Risks ......... 35 VI. AGREEMENTS REACHED AND RECOMMENDATION .36 This report is based on the findings of the Bank appraisal nmission which visited Guinea in June-July, 1994. This mission comprised Messrs./Mines. Robert Prouty (Education Specialist, Co-Task Manager and Mission Leader), Catherine Laurent (Economnist and Co-Tak Manager), Joy del Rosso (Nutrition), Sakhevar Diop (Textbooks), Annette Poitras (Commuunications), Jean Laroche (infonnmaion Systems), Yvette Cogne (Vocational Training), Jean-Claude Hameidat (Implementation), Philippe Theunissen (Architect), Alpha Canma (Parasitologist), Carmen Malena (NGOs), Marilou Bradley (Operations Analyst), and Cherif Diallo (Economist. Resident Mission). The Lead Adviser is Mr. Torn Eisemon. Peer Reviewers include Mme./M. Elizabeth King and Edward Heneveld (technical components). Mr. Jean-Louis Sarbib and Mr. Ok Pannenborg are the Department Director and managing Division Chief, respectively, for this operation.  CONTENTS (continued) VII. ANNEXES 1-A Basic Data 1-B Flow Chart of the Formal Education System (Organigramme du systeme educatif) 1-C Organization Chart of the Ministry of Pre-University Education and Vocational Training (Organigramme du Minisftre de l'enseignement pre-universitaire et de laformation professionnelle) 2 Education Data 3 Statement of Education Sector Policy (Lettre de politique de developpement du secteur de l 'education) 4 Budget Framework for MEPUFP for 1994-2000 and MEPUFP Budgets 1991- 1994 5 Monitorable Outcome Indicators for Project (and Program) 6 Textbook Provision 7 Small Grants Staff Development and School Improvement Program 8 Nutrition and Health Component 9 Project Cost and Financing Tables 10 Project Monitoring and Supervision Plan 11 Implementation Schedule and Calendar of Activities 12 Estimated Schedule of IDA Disbursements 13 Implementation Manual: Table of Contents 14 Status of Bank Loans and Credits 15 Selected Documents Available in the Project File  REPUBLIC OF GUINEA EQUITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT CREDIT AND PROJECT SUMMARY Borrower: Government of Guinea Implementing Ministry of Pre-University Education and Vocational Training Agency: (MEPUFP) Beneficiaries: Primary and secondary school students, in particular female students, under the aegis of MEPUFP Credit Amount: SDR 28.5 million (US$42.5 million equivalent) Terms: Standard IDA terms with 40 years maturity Parallel Financing: In US$ million equivalent: AfDB1 11; Canada 1.6; European Union (Lom6 IV) 15.6; France 9.5; Japan 15; USAID 20; Germany, to be determined Project Objectives The Government of Guinea adopted the National Program for & Description: Education for All in 1990. The objectives of this program were to expand the gross primary school enrollment rate from 28% to 53% by the year 2000, to increase the efficiency of resource use within the sector, to increase overall Government support for basic education, and to improve quality. The strategy has been updated in a Statement of Education Sector Policy. This policy will be supported through the implementation of the second phase of a multidonor sector investment program. The long-term objectives of the integrated sector program are to: (a) increase primary school enrollment and completion rates, with a strong focus on girls and students in rural areas; (b) improve teaching and student learning in primary and lower secondary schools; and (c) strengthen education system management. In support of these overall objectives, the current project will finance activities with short-term implementation goals as follows.  ii 1. To increase primary school enrollment and completion rates, the project will: (a) build and rehabilitate primary schools; and (b) improve community-level capacity for school maintenance and upkeep functions. 2. To improve teaching and student learning, the project will: (a) provide textbooks at both the primary and lower secondary levels; (b) support primary school staff development and school improvement; and (c) increase student learning capacity through a school-based micronutrient supplement and deworming program. 3. To strengthen education system management, the project will: (a) create the capacity for systematically monitoring student learning; (b) develop a viable communications system within the sector; (c) improve sector planning, budgeting and monitoring; and (d) support pre-investment studies for establishment of closer Ministry/private sector links. Benefits There are two main benefits. The first benefit will be the provision of and Risks: more and better education, which in the long term will contribute to poverty reduction. The gross primary school enrollment rate will rise from 40% to 53% during the project period. Rural students' participation will increase from 20% to 40%, and the gross primary school enrollment rate of girls, currently at 29%, will reach 42% at the primary level. The quality of education will be improved by providing an initial stock of textbooks at the primary and lower-secondary levels, promoting school-level initiatives, and increasing student learning capacity by improving the health and nutrition of schoolchildren. Support for school-level initiatives will develop innovative teaching practices and provide for continuing stakeholder participation in improving the quality of learning and teaching. The second benefit will be the further development of capacity within the Ministry of Pre- University Education and Vocational Training to plan, monitor, and manage the sector and sector outputs in a sustainable manner.  iii There are two main risks. The first risk is failure to attain project goals if the budget allocations for the sector, analyzed thoroughly to ensure their coherence with the recurrent cost implications of the project, are not executed. This risk will be addressed by agreements reached with Government regarding budget allocations. Primary education's share of the total education budget will increase from 35% to 42% by the year 2000. The Government will allocate sufficient funds in its budget for 1997, 1998 and 1999 for the creation of 600 additional primary school teacher positions for each of these years. Prior to the start of the 1997- 98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 school years, the Government will recruit 600 additional primary school teachers. The Public Expenditure Review currently being implemented will also strengthen the Government's capacity to assess the priority of education in the budget allocations. Budget targets have been developed by Government with the full participation of all major donors. Budget execution will be monitored on a semi-annual basis, subject to joint annual reviews by the donors and Government. A second risk is the current weakness of decentralized education units in the management of budget resources. This risk is addressed by ongoing efforts to strengthen the prefectoral education offices (DPEs) together with the Department of Financial and Administrative Affairs (DAAF), and the use of short-term technical assistance to transfer skills to staff. The Small Grants Staff Development and School Improvement Program provides an additional mechanism for careful monitoring of new approaches for managing decentralized expenditures. Poverty Program of Targeted Interventions. The operation will address Category: poverty/human resources issues and gender. The emphasis on primary education, particularly in rural areas, has been shown elsewhere to be one of the most effective ways of tackling poverty issues. The provision of an initial stock of textbooks, together with the school health and nutrition program, will have its greatest impact on the poorest households, providing better health, increasing poor children's access to primary school and enhancing their learning capacity. Further, every project component has been analyzed in terms of gender impact and specifically designed to maximize girls' participation in schooling and the later benefit they will derive from their primary schooling experience.  iv Economic Rate of Return: Not applicable Program Objective Poverty Reduction and Human Resources Development; Categories: Gender Issues Map: IBRD No. 26473 Sector Program Financing Plan (US$ million) Local Foreign Taxes & Duties Total % of total program .___ _ __ __ _ __ _ _cost GUINEA 9.5 2.9 13.7 26.1 18% Government 8.3 2.0 13.5 23.8 17% Communities 1.2 0.9 0.2 2.3 1% IDA 18.9 23.6 - 42.5 30% DONORS 15.9 56.8 - 72.7 52% AfDB 2.4 8.6 - 11.0 8% Canada 0.6 1.0 - 1.6 1% FED 8.4 7.2 - 15.6 11% France 0.5 9.0 - 9.5 7% Germany - - tbd n.a Japan 15.0 - 15.0 11% USAID 4.0 16.0 20.0 14% Total Program Cost 44.3 83.3 13.7 141.3 100%  v Summary of IDA Financed Project Cost Estimates (Including taxes and duties, in USS million) % of total base Local Foreiizn Total costs 1. INCREASE PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT AND COMPLETION RATES (a) Build and rehabilitate primary schools 16.3 7.2 23.5 52% (b) Improve community-level capacity for school 0.8 0.4 1.2 3% maintenance and upkeep 2. IMPROVE TEACHING AND STUDENT LEARNING (a) Provide textbooks to primary and 0.8 11.0 11.8 26% lower secondary schools (b) Support primary school staff development and 2.0 0.8 2.8 6% school improvement (c) Increase student learning capacity 0.6 1.0 1.6 4% 3. STRENGTHEN EDUCATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT (a) Monitor student learning outcomes 0.7 0.4 1.1 2% (b) Improve communications systems 0.2 0.6 0.8 2% (c) Improve sector planning, budgeting and monitoring 0.7 0.9 1.6 3% (d) Support pre-investment studies for establishing closer Ministry/ private sector links 0.5 0.4 0.9 2% 4. REFUNDING OF PPF 0.2 0.1 0.3 Total Base Costs 22.8 22.8 45.6 100% Physical contingencies 1.4 2.0 3.4 8% Price contingencies 2.3 1.7 4.0 9% TOTAL PROJECT COSTS 26.5 26.5 53.0 117% ESTIMATED IDA IDA FISCAL YEAR DISBURSEMENTS FY96 FY97 FY98 FY99 FY2000 FY2001 Annual 2.8 8.3 13.7 7.1 6.7 3.9 Cumulative 2.8 11.1 24.8 31.9 38.6 42.5 Rate of return: Not applicable   REPUBLIC OF GUINEA EQUrrY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT L. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Government of Guinea has requested IDA financing over five years to support implementation of its ongoing education sector reform. This will be the second phase of a multidonor financed program initiated under the Education Sector Adjustment Program (Programme d'ajustement sectoriel de l'education, PASE, 1990-1994) and will cover the period 1995-2000. The project will include support for primary and lower secondary schooling. Its objectives are to: (a) increase primary school enrollment and completion rates, with a strong focus on girls and students in rural areas; (b) improve teaching and student learning in primary and lower secondary schools; and (c) strengthen education system management. Attainment of these objectives also implies ongoing support for strengthening the already considerable capacity of the Ministry of Pre-University Education and Vocational Training (Ministere de 1'enseignement pre-universitaire et de la formation professionnelle, MEPUFP) to gather and analyze data, to communicate effectively, and to plan and monitor expenditures. All the components are designed to strengthen girls' schooling and enhance the role of the individual school as the locus of change. 1.2 The Country Assistance Strategy (March 1994), recognizing the central role that human resources play in the economic development of Guinea, emphasizes the need for a strong commitment to human resource development. In particular, it calls for long-term support to the education and health sectors including "greater attention to the institutionalization of programs designed to enhance girls' education". This project will be the fourth IDA-financed operation for educational development in Guinea. It builds on lessons learned through the Education Sector Adjustment Credit (Cr.2155-GUI, 1990-94), an Education Project (Cr.849-GUI, 1978-84) and a Second Education Project (Cr.1341- GUI, 1983-90). 1.3 The proposed IDA credit of US$42.5 million will finance 30% of the total program cost, including 28% of the foreign exchange cost (US$23.6 million equivalent) and 43% of the local cost (US$18.9 million equivalent). Total program cost is estimated at US$141.3 million equivalent, with a foreign exchange component of US$83.3 million equivalent. Guinea (the Government and communities) will finance 18% of the program cost, almost entirely for incremental teacher salaries and pedagogical materials, including 21% of local cost (US$9.5 million equivalent), plus taxes and duties (US$13.7 million equivalent). The six cofinanciers [AfDB, Canada (ACDI), European Union (Lom6 IV), France, Japan, and the United States of America (USAID)] will finance 52% of the total program cost, including 68% of the foreign exchange cost (US$56.8 million equivalent) and 36% of local cost (US$15.9 million equivalent).  2 II. SECTORAL CONTEXT A. BACKGROUND 2.1 Guinea is a country with 6.2 million inhabitants and a high population growth of 2.8% per year (1993). It has long been one of Africa's most conspicuous underachievers. Guinea has one of the highest concentrations of mineral resources in Africa (bauxite, diamond and gold) and a high agricultural potential. The mining sector accounts for 22% of GDP, agriculture for less than 30%. Yet Guinea's per capita income is only US$537. Its low social indicators have caused it to be ranked last in the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index from 1992 through 1994. Indicators such as life expectancy (44 years), infant mortality (133 per 1,000 live births) and illiteracy (76%), reflect the poor living standards of its people. B. EcoNoMIc DEVELOPMENTS 2.2 Since the beginning of 1986, the Government of Guinea has been implementing an ambitious program of economic and financial reform. IDA and the IMF supported the adjustment through a SAL I (1986) and two stand-by arrangements in 1986 and 1987. This program was aimed at improving the incentive framnework for private sector development (including the health sector), phasing out state involvement in commercial enterprises, instituting better management of the administration (including a reduction in the size of the civil service) and developing a strong human resource base. The reform program has resulted in a full transition from a command to a market economy, increases in non-mining revenues, the privatization or liquidation of a large number of public enterprises, and a comprehensive reform of and reduction in the size of the public administration from 95,000 to 52,000 individuals. While progress in the first phase of the adjustment program was encouraging, some of the more difficult institution-building and politically sensitive reforms of the second phase have not been implemented at the rhythm anticipated. Consequently, the reform process has slowed, with some key measures remaining to be taken. A SAL II was approved by IDA in August 1988. Since July 1994, Guinea is implementing the second year program of an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility arrangement approved by the ILMF in November 1991, suspended in early 1992 and replaced by a shadow program until June 1994. Overall, the Government's program has resulted in real economic growth, averaging 3.8% per annum from 1987-1992, an increase in real per capita income of about 1% per annum. C. EDUCATION SECTOR 1. Structure 2.3 The educational system consists of six years of primary schooling, a four-year cycle for lower secondary and vocational training, a three-year upper secondary cycle, and five years of tertiary education. There is no upper secondary vocational training, but there are a number of post-secondary vocational programs of varying length (Annex 1-B).  3 During the 1993-94 school year, Guinea's pre-university educational system accommodated 589,000 students, with 471,000 students in primary school, 109,900 students in secondary school, and 8,100 students in technical schools. Gross enrollment rates for primary and secondary schooling were 40% and 10% respectively. The total number of teaching staff during the 1993-94 school year for the primary and secondary levels was 14,800, with fewer than 2,900 (19%) female teachers (Annex 2). 2. Administration 2.4 The administration of Guinea's educational system is divided between two Ministries: the MEPUFP and the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Culture (Ministere de l1enseignement sup&rieur, de la recherche scientifique et de la culture, MESRSC). The MEPUFP (see Annex 1-C for organizational flow chart) directs all pre-university structures through eight regional Academic Inspectorates which in turn administer 38 prefectoral-level Directorates of Education (Direction pr6fectorale de l'education, DPE) and 210 sub-prefectoral Pedagogic Delegates. The MESRSC is responsible for the two Guinean universities (Nasser University, in Conakry and Nyerere University, in Kankan), three specialized institutes (the Teacher Training Institute in Maneah, the Giscard d'Estaing Agriculture and Veterinary Institute in Faranah, and the Mining and Geology Institute in Boke), and a number of scientific research centers. 3. Sector Development Issues 2.5 From independence in 1958, the Government pursued a unique educational policy that included instruction in national languages in all primary schools, agricultural work as a part of the curriculum at all levels, and the linking of the education system to the political party at the local, regional, and national levels. Primary education was, in theory at least, compulsory. Enrollment rates expanded rapidly and a large number of technicians and professionals were trained under this policy. Female schooling was encouraged notably by setting a lower achievement requirement for access to secondary school and reserving a quota for female students at the University level. However, the sweeping nature of the reform, combined with rapid enrollment growth and poorly trained teachers, resulted in a low quality of education, inadequate external efficiency, and inefficient allocation of resources. Furthermore, the transition to French at the end of primary school was poorly prepared, resulting in reduced comprehension in secondary school and poorly qualified university students. Finally, girls' schooling became suspect as a consequence of the lower standards set for them. 2.6 The 1958 policies were abandoned when the first regime ended in 1984 and the Government launched a program of reform and rehabilitation to improve access to education and to relate it to employment opportunities. French was re-introduced as the language of instruction but two generations of Guinean teachers did not speak fluent French, thereby compromising their ability to perform well in the new system. Other reforms included placing the educational administration under a single ministry, reorganizing educational management, consolidating and rationalizing higher education,  4 extending secondary education by one year, and implementing a program of in-service training for teachers. However, resource allocation was slow to follow these policies and the reform package of 1984 was only partially implemented. The Governmnent, in a renewed attempt to improve the sector, announced a new educational policy in September 1989. This attempt has been much more successful. (a) Access 2.7 Government has succeeded in reversing the declining primary school enrollment trends of the 1980s. Although gross primary school enrollment had fallen to 28% by the 1988-89 school year, it increased to 40% by the 1993-94 school year, an increase of 70% in nominal enrollments. Government is currently ahead of schedule for attaining its target of 53% gross enrollment by the year 2000. This was made possible through: (i) an ambitious school construction program supported by community groups, non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and donors, accompanied by development and implementation of low-cost construction norms; (ii) the redeployment of over 2,000 teachers from administrative posts and secondary schools to primary school classrooms; and (iii) a reallocation of budgetary resources in favor of non-salary operating expenditures, particularly at the primary level. (b) Equity 2.8 Gender. Thirty-two percent is the most stubborn statistic in Guinean education. It represents the percentage of primary school students who are girls and hasn't changed in the last ten years. In 6 of Guinea's 38 prefectures, gross primary enrollment for girls was 10% or less in 1992-93 (see Annex 2 for female enrollments by region). The percentage of female teachers (ust under 23%) is even lower than the percentage of female students. In 1993-94, there were 2,292 female teachers at the primary level out of a total of 9,972. In rural areas (1992-93), only 314 of 5,002 teachers were female (6%). While statistics on the evolution of girls' participation in secondary schools are not yet available, the figures for the post-primary vocational training centers are eloquent: female students represented 12% of all students in 1985 and 1.7% in 1992. 2.9 During PASE implementation, Government established a Commission on Equity, with USAID support. In order to better understand why girls' participation is weak in the school system, this highly influential commission helped design studies for the current project that took girls' issues as a proxy for all issues facing the sector. For example, in order to learn about the classroom experiences of students, an in-depth, five-month study of girls' experiences in classrooms was conducted. While the focus was on female students, the recommendations of the study have proven to be of operational relevance for all students. Other studies conducted from this general perspective include: (a) a statistical analysis of determinants of girls' education; (b) an analysis of local constraints to girls' participation in primary schooling and identification of initiatives to increase girls' education; (c) a review of employment opportunities for female graduates of vocational training; (d) preparation of an operational manual and guidelines for a small grants  5 program to train staff and improve school quality and girls' schooling; and (e) development of proposals for greater support to private schooling, which accommodates a higher percentage of female students. In each case, girls' participation has served as the prism through which the issue is analyzed, but operational recommendations have been developed that are meaningful for all students. 2.10 Rural/Urban. The bias against rural students in the system is even more striking than that against girls: fewer than 20% of all students in primary schools are from rural areas, even though the rural population represents more than half of all potential students; only 13% of girls in primary school are from rural areas. The regions of Middle and Upper Guinea, which are largely rural, have gross enrollment rates of 27% and 28% respectively, while the Conakry region, entirely urban, has an enrollment rate of 73% (see Annex 2 for details). (c) Quality 2.11 The most important indicator of educational quality is student learning outcomes. Government does not yet have any reliable way to measure these. Available input indicators would imply relatively low quality overall: nationwide, for instance, students average less than one textbook apiece and 24% of classrooms are classified as being in bad condition. However, Guinea uses both double shifting (in urban areas) and multigrade classrooms (in rural areas) to increase efficiency, with the result that the average number of primary students per teacher is 49 and varies by region from 39 to 64. Repetition rates have remained near 20% for the past three years, with a marginally higher rate for girls (23% in 1992-93). Drop-out rates are considerably higher for girls. (d) Budgetary and Financial Issues 2.12 Budget. The budget process for the education sector in Guinea has improved significantly over the past three years. Annual budgets are prepared well in advance, based on careful analysis of each budget line, which is backed by a corresponding action plan. The MEPUFP's budget preparation process is carefully monitored by the Steering Committee for the PASE and is considered within Government to be an example of best practice in this area. The execution of the annual budget is also carefully monitored, with quarterly reports on commitment and expenditure levels generally available within several months. 2.13 An increasing portion of education sector procurement is handled at the regional and prefectoral levels through decentralized budget allocations, orders of payment, and payment (dil6gation de credit, ordonnancement etpaiemenf). Capacity for implementing this approach was considerably strengthened through the PASE, with initial training supported by USAID of MEPUFP accountants at the regional and prefectoral levels. These accountants were trained in budget preparation and execution, and submission of quarterly financial reports. Still, external audits are virtually non-existent and the internal audit system is embryonic. The budget unit is at present only able to perform preliminary  6 audits on a "spot check" basis and has limited capacity for conducting financial analysis. USAID will continue to provide support for the budget unit in its efforts to further improve the absorptive capacity of the MEPUFP at the decentralized level. Additional personnel with responsibility for conducting regular audits at the prefectoral level have been recruited for the DAAF [para. 6.1 (a)]. 2.14 Finance. Tuition at all levels is free and Government finances almost all recurrent spending for education; Government financing of the sector increased from 12.9% of the overall national recurrent budget in 1990 (compared to an average of 18% in Sub-Saharan Africa) to 26.1% of the 1993 recurrent budget (not including debt and investment payments). Higher education continues to receive a disproportionate amount of both recurrent and investment budgets, although its share has been steadily reduced in recent years. All financial targets established for the sector under the PASE were met and surpassed, with the result that expenditures for non-salary operating costs improved significantly from 2% of pre-university expenditures to 15%. The budget distribution moved from 32% for primary education in 1990 to 35% in 1993. A further increase to 42% of sectoral expenditures is planned by 1999. Maintenance and construction are managed by the Ministry, by donors, and by NGOs, but almost wholly funded by donors, communities, and NGOs. (e) Planning and Resource Management 2.15 Personnel Management. The redeployment of 2,200 sectoral personnel to primary school classrooms in 1992-93 was an example of the priority Guinea's education sector has given to improved personnel management. The 1993 decision to base future hiring on a probationary period of supervised classroom teaching is further evidence of the sector's attention to improving teaching skills and to pushing responsibility for decision- making as far down in the system as is feasible. However, an extremely underdeveloped communications system makes it difficult to establish a give-and-take of feedback between central, regional and prefectoral offices. 2.16 A major handicap for personnel management is the lack of a systematic program for upgrading teacher skills through in-service training. For instance, virtually none of the 2,200 underutilized administrators and secondary teachers redeployed to primary classrooms received short-term training. Most teachers receive only sporadic training under the best of circumstances. This is due in part to overlapping responsibility for teacher training between the inefficient National Institute for Research and Pedagogy (Institut national de la recherche et de I 'action pedagogique, INRAP), the inspectorates, and the directorates of Primary and Secondary Education. The creation in 1994 of a new directorate for personnel training clarifies these responsibilities and revamps the INRAP. USAID technical assistance will focus on strengthening the INRAP, which is particularly important if it is to contribute fully to the improvement of teaching quality. 2.17 Statistical Data. Reasonably good school mapping and school statistics data are received and published each year, but to date, this information is underutilized and the  7 capacity for meaningful analysis is limited. The school mapping information is used throughout the country for reaching decisions about school rehabilitation and new school construction but is not easily accessible. The statistical unit (Service des statistiques et de la planification, SSP) produces an accurate statistical yearbook within six months of the end of the school year, but this is generally too late to be useful for planning the new school year and only a few of the potential end users appear to take these data into account for decision-making purposes. The SSP has given itself the objective of producing the yearbook and an accompanying computerized data base by May of the current school year, and of strengthening end use and analysis. The SSP wil assume a new role, that of an information clearinghouse, through this process. This goal is within reach but will require short-term training of the statistical unit personnel in order to allow them to produce the annual yearbook without relying on technical assistance as in the past. This training has begun under project preparation. 4. Government's Educational Policy and Strategies 2.18 The Government of Guinea published its current educational policy in 1989. The key objective was to increase gross primary school enrollment from 28% in 1989 to 70% in the year 2000. This has since been scaled back to a more manageable but still very ambitious 53%. As of 1994, the Government was slightly ahead of target, with gross primary enrollments at 40%. Special emphasis was placed on increasing access for girls and rural children. The quality of teaching was to be improved by increasing the number of students in teacher training schools, improving the living conditions of teachers, improving pre- and in-service teacher training programs, and improving teaching materials and educational infrastructure. Other areas addressed by the current policy are restructuring of the educational administration to improve efficiency, promotion of private education, and reorganization of the educational budget according to the newly defined sector priorities. 2.19 The Government's commitment to the 1989 policy was reconfirmed in 1990 when it adopted the National Program for Education For All. This policy included as a target a reduction in the adult illiteracy rate from 74% in 1990 to 37.5% in the year 2000. The Government discussed its educational strategy with major donors in June 1994 as a part of the preparation process for the current program phase. This updated strategy will bring qualitative goals for education into sharper focus and will establish quantitative targets adjusted in the light of three years' experience with the reform process, together with the budget allocations needed for sector development for the next five years. A draft Statement of Education Sector Policy, with monitorable indicators and budget projections for the MEPUFP for 1995-2000 was submitted prior to negotiations [par 6.1 (b)] and agreed upon between IDA and the Government [para. 6.2 (a)]. 2.20 Higher Education. The number of institutions of higher education in Guinea was reduced sharply in 1984, to five, with the closing of some thirty agricultural institutions of higher education. Higher education continues to be a highly inefficient enterprise in Guinea, however, absorbing 24% of the sectoral budget while producing a relatively low  8 number of graduates, of limited employability outside the public sector. A technical assistance project in support of higher education reform was appraised by IDA in June 1994 and is expected to be presented to the Board in Fiscal Year 1996. 2.21 Vocational Training. There are seventeen lower secondary Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions scattered throughout the country, along with a small number of post-secondary programs. There are no upper-secondary VET schools. Programs offered in the schools have remained static for many years; the schools operate separate from and without regard for labor market needs, although Canada and IDA have collaborated during the course of project preparation to help the Government prepare a statement of VET sector reform. This document calls for a significant change in the way the sector does business, to move toward a demand-driven rather than a supply-driven approach. However, the sector at present does not possess adequate management capacity to implement such a far-reaching change; the Government has committed itself to develop such managerial capacity and establish basic quality assurance controls and maintenance and upkeep functions. 2.22 NGOs. Guinea has a long history of close collaboration with NGOs, including both national and intemational NGOs. Several NGOs have developed cost-efficient scalable methods for school construction and maintenance, with a history of close collaboration with communities (Aide et Action, CECI, and ADRA, among others). An evaluation of NGO capacity was conducted as a part of project appraisal. The results of this study were made available in country--they provide contacts and an implementation history for over fifty national and international NGOs. Two NGOs (ADRA and CECI) are currently taking part in a pilot project to test new approaches to management of school construction processes. D. LESSONS LEARNED FROM PREVIOUS IDA INVOLVEMENT 2.23 The Equity and School Improvement Project will be the fourth IDA-financed education project in Guinea. The first project (1978-84) focused on developing vocational training capacity and equipping the Planning Office of the Ministry of Education and the Project Management Unit. The Project Performance Audit Report (#6492-GUI) recommended that future projects concentrate on addressing a narrow range of issues within the sector. In spite of this, the second IDA-financed education credit (1983-1990) financed a wide range of activities including vocational training, manpower development, education planning, and primary school improvement. According to the Project Completion Report (#10200-GUI), the high number of donors (three) and local actors made the project too complex for existing management capability. The main recommendation was that project design and organization be adapted to the existing institutional, economic, managerial, and implementation capacities. Ironically, the first two credits met most of their quantitative goals but did not have a major impact on the sector, where virtually all indicators of access and quality were in free fall.  9 2.24 The third intervention in the sector, the PASE (1990-94), set out to reverse the decline in educational access and quality by first strengthening institutional and management capacity. Government developed a ten-year strategic design covering the total education sector, with explicit attention to the macroeconomic context. This program has succeeded in reversing the declining enrollment trends of the 1980s (para. 2.18). This was made possible through: (a) an ambitious school construction program supported by community groups, NGOs and donors, accompanied by development and implementation of low-cost construction norms; (b) West Africa's most ambitious redeployment program to date, with over 2,200 teachers shifted from administrative posts and secondary schools to primary school classrooms; and (c) a reallocation of budgetary resources in favor of the education sector, including large increases in non-salary operating expenditures. In line with Government-wide civil service reform measures, the MEPUFP has overhauled its teacher management procedures. Data collection and analysis have been dramatically improved. Government support for education has increased from 13% (1989) to 26% (1993) of the national budget, with marked improvements in preparation and monitoring of education sector budgets. The sectoral budget distribution moved from 32% for primary education in 1990 to 35% in 1993; expenditures for non-salary operating costs increased from 2% of pre-university expenditures in 1990 to 15% in 1993. 2.25 The key lesson to be learned from implementation of the PASE is that a complex range of interventions can be successfully undertaken, provided that they are situated within a coherent policy matrix and given intensive supervision. The PASE also demonstrated the importance of a long-term framework for education system support, covering fifteen to twenty years. A further lesson learned from perhaps the least successful initiative of the PASE is that unless girls' issues are framed in such a way that they are integral to the reform process, only marginal improvements can be expected in girls' schooling: after the PASE, almost no change can be demonstrated in the management and teaching culture linked to girls' schooling. 2.26 The proposed project will address these weaknesses by: (a) strengthening both the central Directorate and the decentralized financial services of the MEPUFP (Division et services des affaires administratives etfinancieres, DAAF and SAAF); (b) contracting the management of primary school construction to NGOs with a proven track record and hired under procedures acceptable to IDA; (c) procuring textbooks through International Competitive Bidding (ICB); (d) taking girls' issues as a proxy for all issues facing the education sector; (e) developing school-level initiatives to improve teaching and student learning; and (f) conducting joint annual reviews by Government and all key donors of annual work programs and budgets (Annex 10).  10 m. THE PROJECT A. OBJEcTivEs AND SCOPE 3.1 Objectives. Research has consistently shown that support for primary and lower secondary education is the single best investment a developing country can make for future economic growth, with the greatest rates of return associated with girls' schooling. Further, the evidence is overwhelming that such support is most effective when investments are targeted at the school level. To this end, the project will support the Guinean Government's carefully designed approach to human capital formation as it implements the second phase of its ten-year educational development program. The overall objectives of this phase are as follows: (i) increasing primary school enrollment and completion rates, with a strong focus on girls and students in rural areas; (ii) improving teaching and student learning at primary and lower secondary schools; and (iii) strengthening education system management. The short-term implementation goals for the IDA credit are as follows: (a) build and rehabilitate primary schools; (b) improve community-level capacity for school maintenance and upkeep functions; (c) provide textbooks at both the primary and lower secondary levels; (d) support school-based innovations in teaching at the primary level; (e) increase student learning capacity through a school-based micronutrient supplement and deworming program; (f) create the capacity for systematically monitoring student learning; (g) develop a viable communications system within the sector; (h) improve sector planning, budgeting and monitoring; and (i) support pre-investment studies for establishment of closer Ministry/private sector links. All project components are designed to support girls' participation in schooling; all components also strengthen the role of the individual school as the locus of change. The Government's policies and programs are described in a Statement of Education Sector Policy (Annex 3) presented during the donor meeting organized by the Guinean Government in June 1994. Monitorable indicators (Annex 5) for project performance were submitted prior to negotiations [para. 6.1 (b)] and agreed between IDA and the Government during negotiations [para. 6.2 (a)]. These include, among others, teacher staffing, classroom construction, enrollment rates, and textbook production and distribution. 3.2 Scope. The project will provide broad-based support for primary and lower secondary education. The emphasis will be put on access and completion for rural students and for girls, designed in keeping with project preparation studies indicating that, among other factors, girls' participation and attainment are far more sensitive than that of boys to: (a) the availability of a full six-year primary cycle; (b) shorter distance between the home and the school; (c) higher quality of teaching; and (d) the availability of adequate sanitation facilities. The project will increase the number of classrooms, building a greater number of smaller three-teacher multigrade schools rather than larger six-teacher schools in those cases where the smaller schools would allow for significantly shorter distances between school and home. It will put a strong emphasis on school-level improvements to  11 teaching and learning and will rehabilitate existing schools and install or upgrade sanitation facilities. 3.3 Donor interventions have been coordinated through a series of meetings and joint planning sessions and can be broken down roughly as follows (Annex 3). USAID will provide financing in support of improved management sector-wide, at the central ministry, regional, and prefectoral levels: development of textbooks and teachers' guides; in-service training for teachers and principals; training for financial managers and planning personnel; long-term technical assistance for financial management training within the DAAF; training for the school statistics unit within the SSP; and support for girls' initiatives. The only long-term technical assistance to be provided by USAID will be for training personnel, with specific evaluation criteria based on achievement of training objectives and the transfer of technical skills. France will provide technical assistance focusing particularly on the design and delivery of pre-service teacher training, program planning and program evaluation. Canada will provide support over two years to strengthen VET management within the MEPUFP and girls' participation in vocational training courses. In addition, the FED will build approximately 200 primary classrooms per year in rural areas and construct a new training institute for secondary school teachers, as well as finance training and support of primary school teachers. The Japanese government will build approximately 75 primary classrooms per year, mostly in urban areas in the interior of the country. The AfDB will support classroom construction, primary-level textbook provision, and girls' initiatives. Donors' contributions and schedules of intervention were assessed during appraisal in terms of their coherence and relevance (see Annex 3). All donors remain in close communication. Overlapping responsibilities have been largely eliminated and donor programs are complementary. IDA will be responsible for working with the Government on overall donor coordination. 3.4 IDA will provide financing to the Government's education development program that is targeted to the school and classroom levels, strengthening the role of school-level personnel in introducing and managing change and improving quality: improved classroom teaching and classroom management, purchase and maintenance of textbooks, evaluation of student learning, improvement of student learning capacity, and development of maintenance and upkeep functions. IDA will provide only short-term technical assistance.  12 B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 3.5 The project components are summarized below: Project Summary (total cost USS53.0 million)." 1. Increase Primary School Enrollment and Completion Rates (US$29.3 million) by: - building and rehabilitating primary schools; and - improving community-level capacity for school maintenance and upkeep functions. 2. Improve Teaching and Student Learning (USS18.7 million) by: - providing textbooks at both the primary and lower secondary levels; - supporting primary school staff development and school improvement; and - increasing student learning capacity through a school-based micronutrient supplement and deworming program. 3. Strengthen Education System Management (US$4.7 million) by: - creating the capacity for systematically monitoring student learning; - developing a viable communications system within the sector; - improving sector planning, budgeting and monitoring; and - supporting pre-investment studies for establishment of closer Ministry/private sector links. "Includes taxes and duties, base costs, contingencies and two PPF advances totaling US$329,000. 1. Increase Primary School Enrollment and Completion Rates (US$29.3 million) 3.6 Scope and Objectives. This component supports the Government's objective of increasing the gross primary school enrollment rate from 29% in 1989/90 to 53% in 1999/2000 and to increase the gross primary school enrollment rate of girls from 18 to 42%. Overall gross primary school enrollment in 1993-94 stood at 40%; girls' gross primary school enrollment stood at 29% (their percentage of total enrollment has remained unchanged at 32% for four consecutive years). This increase will lead to the hiring of additional primary school teachers over the program life. The recruitment of 600 additional primary school teachers for the 1995/1996 school year is a condition for credit effectiveness [para. 6.3 (a)]. An additional 1,800 teachers will be recruited over the project duration. The majority of teacher candidates will have already received pre-service training prior to the year of in-service training (there is currently a pool of 2,000 graduates of pre-service training who have not been hired), and an additional 350 new candidates will continue receiving training each year during the five years of the project, as per existing capacity. Government has sponsored studies financed by a grant from Japan under the Policy and Human Resources Development Fund to provide operational approaches to increase girls' enrollment (see below). A field survey among communities to identify factors positively influencing girls' participation was conducted under a PPF.  13 3.7 Support for Girls' Schooling. Studies conducted during project preparation demonstrated that girls' enrollment is highly sensitive to the physical environment of the school. In particular, parents in Guinea want: (a) adequate sanitary facilities for girls; (b) a safe and comfortable physical environment; and (c) schools that are relatively close to home. They are also much less likely to send their girls to school if the local school does not offer a complete primary cycle. The construction program responds to these concerns by: (a) initiating a program to provide adequate sanitary facilities at all schools; (b) involving parents in a program of upkeep and maintenance; and (c) emphasizing smaller multigrade classrooms in rural areas so that schools can be closer to individual communities and yet still offer a complete primary cycle. In addition, the recruitment of teachers will be done under new guidelines adopted already by Government to increase the number of female teachers in rural areas where they had previously been virtually non- existent. 3.8 The project will finance the following two components: (a) building and rehabilitating primary schools; and (b) improving community-level capacity for school maintenance and upkeep functions. (a) Build and rehabilitate primary schools (US$28.0 million) 3.9 Scope and Objectives. Government aims to increase total primary school enrollment by 270,000 over the life of the project, moving from 471,100 in 1993/94 to 740,000 in 1999/2000, for a gross primary school enrollment rate of 53%, and to increase girls' participation. The Government is increasing the use of multigrade teaching in rural areas from 74 classrooms to 574 classrooms, or approximately 100 additional multigrade classrooms each year. This is in line with experience gained under the pilot multigrade program in the PASE and will represent an economy of 500 classrooms and teachers over the project lifespan while boosting girls' enrollment by offering a complete primary cycle where it is not yet available. These measures, together with other cost efficiency gains and the development of the private sector will mean the need for 3,900 new primary classrooms in the public sector over five years, or 780 per year (for practical purposes, and because of the varying number of classrooms per school, this document refers only to classrooms; in practice, however, the emphasis will be on the individual school as a coherent unit). Government will provide these classrooms as follows. Current commitments by donors, other than IDA and NGOs, provide financing for approximately 550 classrooms annually. IDA will finance an average of 120 classrooms annually; communities will make annual contributions for the purchase of local material. The difference (110) can be made up by direct community funding of schools, since during the past four years, communities have funded approximately 300 classrooms per year (1,200 out of 2,400 classrooms built since 1990). Site acquisition is not considered an issue in Guinea. 3.10 In addition to construction of new schools, the Govermnent's program calls for school rehabilitation. This follows a long period of neglect of school infrastructure; it had  14 initially been intended that school rehabilitation be begun under the PASE but this proved not to be possible because of the lack of technical capacity, standardized norms, and detailed school mapping information. These issues have now been addressed: norms for school rehabilitation and maintenance have been prepared, personnel at the central and regional offices of the school construction unit within the Ministry (Service national des infrastructures et des &quipements scolaires, SNIES) have received training, and school mapping information has been updated to allow identification of schools where investments in rehabilitation can be expected to be particularly cost-effective. Upgrading of technical capacity for rehabilitation will continue throughout the life of the present operation. At the same time, local NGOs will work closely with communities for all new schools to ensure that they assume responsibility for ongoing maintenance needs (see below). All communities receiving rehabilitation or construction funds will sign a contract with the Government accepting responsibility for a specific program of maintenance, according to norms already developed. This will ensure the sustainability of current construction and rehabilitation efforts and will obviate the need for major rehabilitation initiatives beyond the life of this project. The primary school construction and rehabilitation program for 1995-2000 was agreed upon during negotiations [para. 6.2 (a)]. Schools constructed or rehabilitated under the project will include sanitary facilities. The joint annual reviews of the project will assess the progress made against monitorable indicators for school construction and rehabilitation outlined in Annex 5. 3.11 In the past, the SNIES had the responsibility of directly overseeing ongoing school construction at sites throughout the country. This approach proved not to be scalable, and was the source of continuing delay as the Government sought to expand the number of primary schools. Under the PASE, the Government and the donors developed norms and standards for construction of primary schools and tested several pilot approaches to school construction, working with local enterprises and with local and international NGOs. In the course of this experimentation, the role of the Ministry's construction unit shifted from that of school builder to that of manager and planner. The day-to-day functioning of this unit was completely restructured. Regional offices were created with the responsibility of overall quality control based on the agreed norms. The SNIES was given responsibility for programming, overall management of school properties, and development of norms and standards for construction and rehabilitation. It was re- organized under two main divisions: Operations and Programs. The Programs division handles scheduling, budgets, evaluation and information flows. The Operations division is responsible for the implementation of programs and projects, delegating direct oversight to the private sector, and implicating communities much more fully than in the past. As a part of project preparation, these changes were incorporated into the legal texts organizing the sector. 3.12 A participative construction seminar bringing together the principal donors and stakeholders was held during project preparation. A key issue discussed was to find viable partners for construction in the rural areas, where there are almost no viable small or medium-sized construction companies. It was agreed that the most promising approach over the lifespan of the current project is to work with existing international and local non-  15 governmental organizations who have a proven track record in school construction and maintenance. They will in turn coordinate with local micro-enterprises and will manage on-site construction activities. The operational details associated with this approach have been finalized under PPF funding. 3.13 Project Support. The project will finance: (a) the construction of 600 primary school classrooms; (b) the rehabilitation of 1200 primary school classrooms; (c) school furniture for the 1800 classrooms to be constructed or rehabilitated; (d) related fees for the management of works by NGOs; (e) fees for short-term technical assistance to oversee overall progress; and (f) a series of school rehabilitation seminars in each of the 8 regional capitals. A draft sample contract with NGOs for the management of primary school works was submitted to IDA prior to negotiations [para. 6.1 (c)]. (b) Improve community-level capacity for school maintenance and upkeep functions (US$1.3 million) 3.14 Scope and Objectives. Support will be provided under the project for development of a viable maintenance and upkeep function within the sector. Communities will be responsible for the regular maintenance of primary schools; they will receive training and other support under the project through the intermediary of local NGOs. All new school construction will include establishment of a maintenance function at the school level, under the aegis of the NGOs responsible for overseeing the construction program. The SNIES will assume responsibility for overall management of school properties and for updating maintenance norms and procedures. For lower secondary vocational schools, the focus will be on the maintenance and upkeep of equipment. Detailed criteria for upkeep and repair/replacement of parts and equipment will be developed and monitored on a school-by-school basis by the VET directorate, with those VET schools that successfully follow an equipment maintenance program eligible for matching funds for equipment purchase under the Government budget. For primary and secondary schooling, the regional offices of the SNIES will assume a quality control role, and verify that maintenance functions are being carried out. This will have the effect of transforming the existing support for school maintenance under the budget (implemented under the PASE ) into a matching program, under penalty of loss of the modest level of funding currently being made available. The project will include all primary and lower secondary schools and the seventeen lower secondary VET institutions. 3.15 Project Support. The project will finance: (a) training of school and community personnel in maintenance and upkeep through the intermediary of local NGOs; (b) training for SNIES staff and personnel working in the regional offices; (c) incremental operating costs for establishing SNIES regional antennae in Lower and Middle Guinea; and (d) training of a maintenance person at each of the VET institutions.  16 2. Improve Teaching and Student Learning (US$18.7 million) 3.16 This component supports the Government's objective of improving student achievement. In addition to providing textbooks, it will help reform teacher behavior and build the capacity of the system to stimulate and respond to school and community-level initiatives. Preparatory studies for the project financed under PPF funding and the Japanese PHRD grant demonstrated parental dissatisfaction with both learning achievements and teacher behavior. The studies revealed differences in teachers' interaction patterns and attitudes toward boys and girls; these studies also revealed that the teachers were not necessarily aware of their attitudes toward girls and indeed towards children in the classroom in general. The studies proposed initiatives to improve communication between the school and the community, to change the way school is perceived by parents, and to modify teaching methods. In view of these findings, the project will finance initiatives to improve the quality of teaching and learning that can be expected to reduce the inequities in existing programs. The project will finance the following three components: (a) providing textbooks; (b) supporting primary school staff development and school improvement through a school-based small grants initiative; and (c) improvement of student learning capacity through a school-based micronutrient supplement and deworming program. 3.17 Support for Girls' Schooling. Repetition rates in primary schools in Guinea are higher for girls (22.5%) than for boys (13.5%). Dropout rates are much higher, partially because inefficiencies of the system are such that girls often reach the age of fifteen or sixteen while still at primary school. This leads to parental concerns about pregnancy, or increasing pressures for early marriage. Preparatory studies revealed a number of factors believed to contribute to lower levels of learning among girls: (a) less access to textbooks; (b) differences in teachers' interaction patterns and attitudes towards boys and girls, with teachers largely unaware that they are paying significantly less attention to girls and expecting less from them; and (c) greater household obligations for girls. Parents were also more likely to cite health concerns as a reason for low attendance by girls than as a reason for low attendance by boys. Another more subtle factor contributing to differential attitudes toward girls may be the systematic bias in favor of boys found by an ACDI- financed study of textbooks. The program integrates these concerns by: (a) ensuring textbook availability to all students; (b) developing textbooks free of gender bias; (c) designing in-service training for teachers that focuses on student/teacher interaction patterns; and (d) developing a school-based initiative to improve student health status and consequent capacity for learning through a deworming and iodine supplementation program. (a) Provide textbooks at both the primary and lower secondary levels (US$13.7 million) 3.18 Scope and Objectives. The Government plans to improve learning quality through the provision of textbooks, with a minimum target of one book each per student  17 for math and French at the primary and lower secondary levels. Yet past experience has shown that distribution bottlenecks and poor use of textbooks by teachers can negate the impact of books. Therefore, distribution procedures are being tested prior to implementation by the French Ministry of Cooperation, with responsibility for distribution being given both to commercial firms and NGOs. The primary schools will be responsible for working with parents to ersure that: (a) the books are used regularly by students; and (b) the stock is maintained over a six-year period, after which it will be renewed by the Government. The books will be made available to schools free of charge and rented to students through parents' committees. All children will receive books regardless of ability to pay. Similarly, at the secondary level, books will remain the property of schools and will be rented to students at subsidized rates. Income from the rental will be used to finance maintenance and renewal of the initial stock. 3.19 USAID will finance the preparation/adaptation of the primary school textbooks as part of a process to help the Ministry overhaul its curriculum content, developing a problem-solving approach and increasing relevance to real-life situations. USAID will also finance construction of storage facilities at the prefectoral education offices (Direction pr4fectorale de I'education, DPE) and collaborate with the French Ministry of Cooperation to provide in-service training to primary school teachers in the use of the books. The AfDB will provide parallel financing for preparation, printing and distribution of an additional 11 primary school titles, with similar arrangements at the school level for managing and maintaining the stock of books over a six-year period. 3.20 Sustainability. Textbooks are an essential component of any program to improve school quality, without which efforts to upgrade teacher effectiveness cannot succeed. The first step toward sustainability is to ensure that the sector develops the capacity to distribute books effectively and particularly, to use and maintain textbook stocks efficiently for as many years as possible. This component aims to assist Government in training school personnel to maintain textbooks over a six-year period, while ensuring their effective use. Parents' committees will be responsible for replacing damaged and lost books through the proceeds of a textbook rental system. This will greatly reduce the recurrent costs associated with replacement of textbooks and bring the overall availability of textbooks up to an acceptable threshold level. The component thus establishes a sound basis for introducing incremental textbook purchases into the sector budget within five years at a sustainable level of cost. 3.21 Project Support. The project will finance 17 different titles for primary school, including the six-year French series, the six-year math series, and the four-year science series prepared by the INRAP with USAID support and 20 different titles for lower secondary education. Specifically, the project will finance: (a) printing and distribution to DPEs of approximately 2.4 million primary school textbooks; (b) purchase and distribution of approximately 572,500 lower secondary school textbooks; (c) printing and distribution of approximately 44,000 primary school teachers' guides; (d) development, printing and distribution of approximately 12,500 lower secondary school teachers' guides; (e) training and regional seminars on textbook management and use; and (f) provision of  18 foreign short-term technical assistance to help establish the technical and pedagogic specifications of the bidding documents and to assist Government in bid evaluation (see Annex 6). During appraisal, preliminary discussions were held with the Government and the principal donors on the arrangements regarding textbook distribution and financing policies; draft operational guidelines for textbook rental and replenishment were submitted to IDA prior to negotiations [para. 6.1 (d)]. These will be included in the implementation manual. (b) Support primary school staff development and school improvement (US$3.2 million) 3.22 Scope and Objectives. This component will be the operational means for making the school the locus of change in the Guinean education system. It will provide an innovative approach to staff development by which teachers and school directors will assume day-to-day responsibility for instructional leadership, with inspectors and pedagogic advisors moving toward a role of pedagogic support, thus reversing the unproductive and unsustainable top-down approaches of the past. 3.23 The "Small Grants Staff Development and School Improvement Program" was developed through an intensely participatory process consisting of a series of seminars, workshops, focus group interviews and discussions with key stakeholders at all levels of the primary education system in Guinea. It is conceived as a five-year process of focusing attention on teaching and learning processes and equity, and will be the cornerstone of qualitative improvement in Guinean schools. Derived from the Government's statement of education sector policy regarding the quality of teaching and learning, it is a key transitional program to redefine the role of teacher, principal, pedagogic advisor, and inspector. 3.24 The long-term objectives of the program are to: (a) help teachers focus on improving subject matter teaching; (b) introduce promising new approaches to teaching into the educational system; (c) explore promising approaches to teaching in resource- poor environments; and (d) promote communications about promising approaches to teaching among all stakeholders. The medium-term objectives of the program are to operationalize the Government's commitment to bringing about school-based change and to pass the message of the need for qualitative change in teaching to all stakeholders. 3.25 Program Content and Structure. Under this component, a program of competitive small grants for staff development and school improvement activities will be put in place. Teams of teachers and school directors (potentially including representatives of communities or parents' commnittees) will prepare proposals for funding. They will be given training and technical support for the development of these proposals. In the two- step selection process (prefectoral and regional levels), the following criteria will be used: (a) the educational value of the proposed project, including (i) the significance of the problems addressed by the proposal, (ii) the potential contribution to improving teaching and learning at the school(s) in question, (iii) the probability of success in addressing  19 identified problems, (iv) the sustainability of the approach beyond the end of the grant period, (v) the potential for generalization of the approaches proposed, and (vi) the potential benefit for target groups, especially the poor, rural students, and girls; (b) the feasibility of the proposed project, including (i) the fit between the activities proposed, the time available, and the resources available, and (ii) the capacities, commitment and potential of unit members; and (c) community support. The results of the small grants program will be discussed at regional and national seminars with emphasis on what could be generalized to the system as a whole. 3.26 Improvement projects will have multiple objectives, including the improvement of instructional leadership, personnel management, teaching quality, and girls' access. In general, each grant will represent a contract in which the Government provides supplementary resources to teachers on condition that the teachers engage in a well- defined and verifiable program of activities to increase their knowledge and competence, and thereby to improve teaching and learning in the school. The Government has already appointed two full-time coordinators (one at the national level and one for the pilot region). The program will be modified in light of pilot region experience before being extended to the rest of the country (Annex 7). The first annual review will evaluate the results of the pilot program. 3.27 Project Support. The project will finance: (a) small grants averaging GNF 750,000; (b) foreign short-term technical assistance, most of which will be provided by African nationals from countries within the region; (c) training activities; (d) travel expenses for trainers and coordinators; (e) motorcycles for regional-level trainers; (f) equipment and furniture; (g) annual seminars to disseminate results of the pilot program at the national and regional levels; (h) incremental salaries for support services at the regional level; and (i) general operating costs. Draft operational guidelines for the management of small grants for school-level initiatives were submitted to IDA prior to negotiations [para. 6.1 (e)]; these guidelines are included in the implementation manual. (c) Increase student learning capacity through a school-based micronutrient supplement and deworming program (US$1.8 million) 3.28 Scope and Objectives. Malnutrition and poor health in younger school-age children are linked to low rates of enrollment, high rates of absenteeism, early dropout and low school attainment. A survey of the Guinean school-age population prior to project preparation revealed levels of parasite infection sufficiently high to significantly lower the active learning capacity of students. This means that investments in other inputs such as teacher training and textbooks will be only partially effective in improving student learning outcomes unless accompanied by parallel efforts to increase student health and nutrition. In addition, efforts to raise the nutrition and health status of schoolchildren have been shown to have potential benefits that are disproportionately greater for girls than boys. This is particularly true for iodine supplementation. Since the enrollment of girls lags significantly behind that of boys in Guinea, such improvements may help to close the  20 gender gap in education. Introducing nutrition and health interventions through schools also offers opportunities to correct health and nutrition problems of public health significance in the community by establishing a partnership between the school and the local health centers and by making teachers more aware of individual student health concerns. 3.29 Unlike in many countries, the Department of School Health in Guinea enjoys strong support both from the Ministry of Health and the MEPUFP, and is staffed with qualified personnel who have been seconded from the Ministry of Health to the MEPUFP. Given this unique structure and history of institutional support, the project will strengthen the capacity of this unit to effectively implement school-based nutrition and health programs, and support several studies to set the stage for implementing additional interventions to improve school nutrition and health in future operations. This program is expected to have an immediate impact on student health and will dovetail with the development of student health and environment curricula to be funded by USAID. 3.30 As part of the effort to learn how to improve student learning in Guinea, and to continue to increase primary school enrollment, the Government will develop and implement, on a broad scale, two high priority interventions-- the mass treatment of parasitic infections and iodine supplementation through schools. This program will serve as a pilot within the West Africa region and will inform future school health/school improvement initiatives. Studies on a limited scale over the first year of implementation will guide the expansion of these interventions to cover one million children by the time of the mid-term review. Since it is a pilot project, the first of its kind in the region, careful attention will be given at the time of the mid-term review to monitoring its impact and communicating the results (see Annex 8). 3.31 Given the process-oriented, developmental nature of this component, the first annual review will specifically focus on: (a) timely delivery of adequate supplies of antihelminths and iodine supplements; (b) Government's monitoring of pharmaceutical stocks; (c) ability of Ministry of Health and MEPUFP to formulate agreed guidelines on mutual responsibilities for managing the component; and (d) monitoring procedures to provide accurate information about the component's impact on student nutritional status. 3.32 Project Support. The project will finance: (a) one year of pilot testing and baseline data collection; (b) purchase and distribution of antihelminths and iodine supplements for an estimated total of 1,000,000 children; (c) studies and ongoing operational research and impact evaluation; (d) training and workshops; and (e) a vehicle, equipment, and operating costs for the Department of School Health. 3. Strengthen Education System Management (US$4.7 million) 3.33 This component will further strengthen the capacity of the MEPUFP to plan and manage resources more effectively, and to improve: (a) its monitoring of student learning outcomes; (b) its communications with regional and sub-regional units; (c) its school  21 mapping and statistical data processing, critical to a better understanding of girls' participation. Support will include computerization of data entry to enable the statistics unit to produce and disseminate statistical data during the current school year, in time to influence budgetary allocation decisions and school construction decisions for the subsequent school year; (d) its budgeting and accounting capacity; and (e) its links with the private sector. To this end, the project will: (i) create the capacity for systematically monitoring student learning; (ii) develop a viable communications system within the sector; (iii) improve sector planning and budgeting; and (iv) support pre-investment studies for establishing closer Ministry/private sector links. (a) Create the capacity for systematically monitoring student learning (US$1.2 million) 3.34 Scope and Objectives. The Government has not yet established specific goals for improving teaching and student learning. This is due, in part, to the almost complete lack of reliable indicators. An initiative to be undertaken with USAID support, the Fundamental Quality Levels (Niveauxfondamentaux de qualite), will establish indicators of input quality (textbooks and materials, etc.) while the present component will establish indicators of actual teaching and learning quality. The French Ministry of Cooperation will support a complementary initiative to measure external efficiency, i.e. the impact of schooling on subsequent employment. This will serve as a follow-up to a broad-based evaluation of primary schooling in Guinea carried out as a part of the preparation for this program. The generally negative results of this evaluation point to the need for more information about what students are learning in school and how well they are learning it. 3.35 This sub-component will establish the capacity to periodically sample student learning by developing reliable indicators of student learning in Reading and Mathematics for all levels of primary schooling. Indicative tests will be prepared by MEPUFP with the help of an international research center. The tests will be based on the local curriculum and administered to randomly selected Grade 2, 4, and 6 classes throughout the country. An evaluation center will be established to conduct tests every second year, thus providing a clear indication of student learning outcomes and showing both the impact of project activities and the evolution of the system as a whole. A sampling methodology will be developed within the first year to help Government establish a permanent curriculum- based testing capacity. Institutional and structural arrangements for the testing unit will be determined during the pilot testing period. The French Ministry of Cooperation will provide support for developing the capacity of the unit to evaluate the external efficiency of schooling. 3.36 Project Support. The project will finance: (a) development and printing of six curriculum-based tests of student learning, and establishment of a test item bank; (b) pilot applications of each test on a limited scale; (c) two testing cycles for each of the six tests; (d) short-term training of personnel responsible for testing and evaluation; (e) a total of 20 weeks of foreign technical assistance; (f) refurbishing of a building, with equipment and furniture, for the evaluation unit; and (g) publication and distribution of test results.  22 (b) Develop a viable communications system within the sector (US$0.9 million) 3.37 Scope and Objectives. Without a dramatic improvement in communications within the education sector, it will be difficult to ensure the close coordination needed for project success. During the course of project preparation, a comprehensive study of communication patterns revealed enormous amounts of lost time and opportunity as a result of communication difficulties. Since sufficient improvements in the quality, cost and coverage of the telephone system are unlikely to occur in the short term, it is proposed that improved communications be developed by means of two related initiatives that can function independently of the telephone system, although telephone system improvement, where feasible, will also be sought: (a) radiocommunication among all subprefectoral and prefectoral education offices, regional education offices, and the central Ministry offices in Conakry; and (b) installation of electronic communication capacity for those offices which have computer capacity and for the five regional education offices. In Conakry, the system can function by means of radio modems, bypassing the need for functioning telephones. Training will be provided in the use and maintenance of radiocommunications systems and daily interprefectoral and intraprefectoral schedules for communications will be established. With regards to electronic communications, a feasibility study for establishing an Internet connections was conducted as a part of project preparation, along with an overall report on the Ministry's communication needs. An initial link was installed under the PPF and successfully provides communications between the country and external sources, including IDA. The internal links will be greatly extended under the project, in line with recommendations of the preparatory studies which highlight the need for careful attention to building efficient communications processes. This would support a rapid two-way flow of communication and generate a much higher degree of horizontal communication than currently exists. 3.38 Project Support. The project will finance: (a) radio communications for subprefectoral, prefectoral and regional offices; (b) training in the use of new communications systems; and (c) establishment of Internet links for central and regional offices. (c) Improve sector planning, budgeting and monitoring (US$1.6 million) 3.39 Scope and Objectives. Under the PASE, a budget unit was established within the Finance Directorate (DAAF) of the MEPUFP with responsibility for ensuring the flow of budgeted funds to the interior of the country. There is now a need for a corresponding internal audit capacity within the Ministry. Auditing teams will be created with responsibility for overseeing accounting procedures and disposition of funds at the prefectoral level (SAAF). This will be complemented by USAID and French support for central DAAF functioning.  23 3.40 In addition to these activities, since improvements in the capacity for decentralized financial management will depend in large part on the availability of accurate, current information about the school system, IDA funding will help the SSP develop the role of information clearinghouse for the sector. The focus will be on ensuring that statistical information gathered through the school mapping and statistical data collection exercises is available and disseminated in such a way as to inform the Ministry's decision-making processes. IDA will finance equipment and training for the school mapping unit to decentralize the analysis of data and to more fully implicate prefectoral and regional planners in school siting decisions. It will also help develop the capacity to update maintenance and rehabilitation needs on an annual basis. USAID will provide funding for technical assistance to the school statistics unit. 3.41 Project Support. The project will finance: (a) equipment and furniture for the eight regional education offices; (b) short-term technical assistance for the development of methodology guides; (c) training and initial establishment of teams to audit the SAAFs; (d) training of key personnel and equipment in the school mapping unit; (e) annual audits of the project and semi-annual audits of the special account; (f) study visits; (g) a beneficiary assessment to be carried out before the mid-term review; and (h) incremental operating costs. (d) Support pre-investment studies for establishing closer Ministry/ private sector links (US$1.0 million) 3.42 Scope and Objectives. Management weakness in two subsectors of the Guinean educational system, i.e. private schooling and vocational training, has been such that activities in these areas have often been at cross-purposes with stated Government objectives. The private school support unit in MEPUFP, rather than encouraging greater private sector involvement in and support for schooling, has frequently erected barriers to the opening of private schools through costly administrative procedures, onerous reporting requirements, and lengthy approval processes. As a result, the private education sector in Guinea is among the least developed in the region, accounting for only 4.3% of primary students, 2.3% of secondary students and 22% of VET students. Similarly, the VET directorate has failed to establish links with the labor market and has maintained expensive programs from which graduates have consistently failed to find employment. Preparatory studies also demonstrated that the relevance and quality of VET are critical to girls' participation: in the absence of significant employment prospects, parents show an even stronger reluctance to send their girls to these programs. 3.43 Government, in its statement of sectoral policy, recognizes these shortcomings. During the course of project preparation, a series of participative policy development workshops were held, bringing together, often for the first time, private sector representatives and Ministry personnel. This component will finance the ongoing process of policy dialogue with a view to identifying reform initiatives worthy of investment support (by Government or donors) in the future. In the VET subsector, support wili also be given to the functioning of a broad-based commission evaluating the relevance of VET  24 programs on an institution by institution basis and introducing demand-driven changes as well as ensuring the involvement of private sector companies. This process was begun under PPF funding. 3.44 Project Support. The project will finance: (a) pre-investment studies of private sector primary schooling; (b) policy-dialogue workshops for private school operators and Ministry personnel; (c) pre-investment studies of VET programs; (d) training; and (e) operating costs for the commission on VET school relevance. C. PROJECT COST AND FINANCING PLAN 3.45 Total program cost is estimated at US$141.3 million equivalent, with a foreign exchange component of US$83.3 million equivalent. The IDA credit of US$ 42.5 million will finance 30% of the total program cost, including 28% of the foreign exchange cost (US$23.6 rnillion equivalent) and 43% of the local cost (US$18.9 million equivalent). Guinea (Government and communities) will finance 18% of the program cost, including 21% of local cost (US$9.5 million equivalent), plus taxes and duties (US$13.7 million equivalent). A five-year budget framework has been designed by the Government, together with IDA, USAID and France. The Government has agreed on an average increase for the operating budget of MEPUFP of GNF 2.0 billion per year during the project duration. This represents an average increase of 3.5% per year. The MEPUFP (which does not include higher education) will represent an average 17.5% of the national operating budget. Primary education's share of the total education budget will increase from 35% to 42% by the year 2000. The current teacher:student ratios will be maintained, both in urban and in rural areas. Prior to negotiations, the Government submitted budget projections [para. 6.1 (b)] and a draft investment program [para. 6.1 (f)] for 1995-2000 consistent with the policy and program priorities of the sector. During negotiations, agreements were reached between IDA and the Government on budget projections for the MEPUFP and the school construction and rehabilitation program for the period 1995- 2000 [para. 6.2 (a)]. The joint annual reviews of the project will assess the progress made against monitorable indicators for teacher hiring outlined in Annex 5. The six cofinanciers [AfD)B, Canada, European Union (Lom6 IV), France, Japan, and USAID] will finance 52% of the total program cost, including 68% of the foreign exchange cost (US$56.8 million equivalent) and 36% of local cost (US$15.9 million equivalent). Base costs of the project are estimated at US$45.6 million and contingencies at US$7.4 million. Physical contingencies of 10% have been included for works and goods. Price contingencies for foreign exchange costs and local currency have been estimated at 2.2% and 4.0%, respectively. 3.46 Recurrent Cost Implications. The first important recurrent cost implication of the program investments is the incremental salaries for additional primary school teachers. To ease the budget impact of hiring the primary school teachers needed to reach the Government enrollment target, the FED will finance 1,000 teacher candidates per year for on-the-job training, or a total of 5,000 over five years. The Government will allocate sufficient funds in its budgets for 1997, 1998 and 1999, for the creation of at least 600  25 primary school teacher positions annually over the three-year period. Prior to the start of the 1997-98, 1998-99, and 1999-2000 school years, the Government will recruit not less than 600 additional primary school teachers. At current rates for salaries and benefits of beginning teachers, this will cost 132,500 Guinean francs (GNF) per teacher per month. The total incremental cost of GNF 5.7 billion (US$5.8 million equivalent) will represent, with pedagogical material and taxes and duties, the Government's counterpart funding in the program, beginning in the second year of the project. The capacity of the national budget and measures to absorb this increase and the Government commitment to reassign civil service positions in favor of the education sector were assessed favorably at appraisal. The recruitment of 600 additional primary school teachers for the 1995-96 school year is a condition of credit effectiveness [para. 6.3 (a)]. The second important recurrent cost implication is the maintenance of the initial stock of textbooks at the primary level and the textbook rental program at the secondary level (US$2.8 million equivalent over the life of the project). This cost will be limited through the building of a stock maintenance capacity at the school level for primary education and at the APE level for lower secondary schooling. The third important recurrent cost implication of program investments is the cost of school maintenance during the project duration (US$0.5 million equivalent). This cost will be kept at this low level by strengthening the communities' capacity for school building maintenance and upkeep.  26 IV. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION A. STATUS OF PROJECT PREPARATION 4.1 Project preparation benefitted from: (a) an intensive dialogue, during PASE implementation, among various government departments and the principal donors to the sector, leading to an updated framework for education development (the Government's Statement of Education Sector Policy); and (b) Bank/Government workshops supporting policy development, strategic and financial planning, and investment programming. These client consultation activities were financed by a grant from Japan under the PHRD Fund (V61.5 million). Additional support was provided by two PPF advances totaling US$329,000. 4.2 A draft implementation manual was submitted prior to negotiations [para. 6.1 (g)]. During negotiations, agreements were reached between IDA and the Government on: (a) the draft implementation manual [para. 6.2 (b)]; and (b) draft terms of reference for all technical assistance (all short term) funded under the project [para. 6.2 (c)]. The adoption of the implementation manual [para. 6.3 (b)] and the signature of contracts for all consultant services required for the first year of the project [para. 6.3 (e)] are conditions of credit effectiveness. B. SUPERVISION, MONITORING AND EVALUATION 4.3 The monitoring and evaluation of program performance, including investments and policy reforms, will be carried out by the implementing units of MEPUFP over the project life with the Steering Committee (Comite de pilotage du PASE, CP-PASE) playing a coordinating role. IDA's supervision plan (Annex 10) and MEPUFPs monitoring system (paras. 4.4-4.7) will be observed closely to ensure the most efficient use of resources and the timely execution of project activities. Adequate supervision resources have been programmed for each of the eight regional education offices as well as key central Ministry personnel to ensure their active and continuous participation in supervising project activities. Key monitorable indicators based on the Government's program (para. 3.1) are shown in Annex 5. 4.4 Government's Monitoring System. The organization of the PASE implementation has been quite efficient and will be continued under this project. The coordination and management of the project will be carried out by the operational units of the MEPUFP as part of their functions. The Steering Committee, in its capacity as the principal decision-making body of the MEPUFP, will be responsible for the overall coordination and evaluation of this project. It will also be responsible for the implementation of activities related to sector planning and education improvements. The Technical Secretariat for the PASE (Secretariat technique, Si), headed by the project coordinator, is now part of the MEPUFP structure. It will coordinate the day-to-day activities of the project and monitor project implementation and outcomes. The ST will  27 collaborate with the DAAF in preparing annual work programs and budgets and will have the ultimate responsibility of compiling and providing reports and documentation to the Bank as required by the project. The ST will serve as liaison between the MEPUFP and the Bank. 4.5 In its project coordination role, the ST will organize joint annual reviews on the status of project implementation and a mid-term review as well as IDA supervision missions. During negotiations, agreements were reached between IDA and the Government regarding ST's responsibility for ensuring that: (a) progress reports on the implementation of the projet are transmitted to IDA not later than January 31 and July 31 of each year; (b) annual projected work programs and budgets are submitted not later than November 30 of each year; (c) during the fourth quarter of each calendar year, a review of progress made in carrying out planned activities for the current year is organized and carried out with IDA [para. 6.2 (d)]; and (d) a mid-term review to evaluate the progress made in implementing the project and the program is carried out with IDA and the other principal donors not later than 30 months after credit effectiveness [para. 6.2 (e)]. 4.6 The DAAF will be responsible for all of the project's financial matters and will coordinate with the ST in the preparation of annual work programs and budgets for all project components. A project accountant within the DAAF will maintain project accounts and prepare disbursement requests. A contract manager within the DAAF will handle all procurement activities. Finally, the DAAF will assist the ST in preparing progress reports and the documentation required for the joint annual reviews of project implementation as specified in Annex 10. 4.7 The Department of Primary Education (Direction nationale de l'enseignement elmentaire, DNEE) will be responsible for ensuring that the set of actions identified for the Small Grants Staff Development and School Improvement Program and *the improvement of student learning capacity is implemented. The DNEE, the Directorate of General Secondary Education (Direction nationale de /'enseignement secondaire, DNES) and the INRAP will collaborate in designing and evaluating the in-service training component. Under the leadership of the ST, which will ensure coordination with DNEE and DNES, INRAP will be responsible for preparing the pedagogical and technical specifications for textbooks to be purchased; they will also participate in the evaluation of bid proposals. Textbook procurement will be carried out by the procurement unit of the DAAF (Annex 6). The SNIES will be responsible for developing construction and rehabilitation norms and overseeing the overall construction and rehabilitation program. Responsibility for monitoring student learning outcomes will be that of the evaluation unit; this process will also help monitor project outcomes (see para. 3.35). The VET Directorate and the Private Education Unit (Service de 1'enseignement prive) will be responsible for the implementation of the studies on Ministry/private sector collaboration; the School Health unit will implement the school health and nutrition component, serving as liaison for this purpose between the Ministry of Health and MEPUFP. The DPEs win implement and monitor project activities at the prefectoral level.  28 4.8 Mid-Term Review. The Government and IDA will, not later than 30 months after credit effectiveness, conduct a mid-term project implementation review to evaluate the progress made in carrying out the project and meeting its objectives. During negotiations, agreements were reached between IDA and the Government that the mid- term review will include an evaluation of: (a) MEPUFP progress in implementing policy measures; (b) the impact of policy measures on staffing, cost and efficiency within the sector, and the increase in girls' participation; (c) the progress with recruitment of teaching staff, (d) the implementation of the Small Grants Staff Development and School Improvement Program; (e) the progress of the school construction and rehabilitation program; (f) the progress in identifying reform initiatives in support of private schooling at the primary level; (g) the progress in the evaluation of future VET programs; (h) the progress in implementing the pilot school health and nutrition program; and (i) the findings of the beneficiary assessment [para. 6.2 (e)]. The mid-term review will be organized by the ST. It will be conducted with other donors affiliated with the project and will also review progress in the implementation of their programs. 4.9 Implementation Completion Report. Sufficiently ahead of the scheduled final supervision/completion mission, the Government will prepare an independent evaluation of project implementation and outcomes. During the completion mission, IDA will ensure that IDA/Govemment views are well understood by both parties, before being recorded in an agreed aide-memoire. Within six months after the credit closing date, an Implementation Completion Report will be finalized by IDA. C. IMLEMENTATION SCHEDULE 4.10 The project will be implemented over a five-year period (1995-2000). This time period has been selected based on lessons learned from the two education investment projects, the PASE, and over the course of preparation of this project. The five-year period was also selected based on the expected outcomes of project activities to build MEPUFP capacity, notably staff training and professional development. Annex 11 provides the framework for implementing project activities and the basis for planning the physical aspects of project implementation. The disbursement schedule for the project is provided in Annex 12. D. PROCUREMENT 4.11 Table 1 on the following page summarizes the project elements as well as their estimated costs and proposed methods of procurement. Procurement management arrangements and procedures are explained in paras. 4.12-4.15. All Bank-financed procurement within the project of goods, works, and consulting services will be in accordance with Bank guidelines. ICB procurement will use the Bank's relevant standard bidding documents. Selection of consulting firms for complex, time-based assignments will be done on the basis of the Bank's standard letter of invitation and form of contract.  29 TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF PROPOSED PROCUREMENT ARRANGEMENTS (USS million, including taxes and duties) Procurement Methods Total Project Element ICB LCB Other N.LF. cost 1. WORKS (a) School Construction and Rehabilitation 8.1 6.4a/ 3.5* 18.0 (8.1) (5.3) (13.4) (b) Emergency Rehabilitation 1.2 b/ 1.2 (0.9) (0.9) 2. GOODS (a) Equipmentand Vehicles 1.2 0.7* 1.9 (1.2) (1.2) (b) Furniture and Materials 5.0 5.0 (4.4) (4.4) 3. TEXTBOOKS (a) Printing of Textbooks 9.8 2.9 12.7 (9.8) (9.8) (b) Distribution of Textbooks 0.7 0.7 (0.6) (0.6) 4. PHARMACEUTICALS (a) Antihehninths and Micronutrients 0.7 0.1 0.8 (0.7) (0. 1) (0.8) 5. SCHOOL GRANTS 1.0b/ 1.0 (1.0) (1.0) 6. CONSULTANT SERVICES (a) Policy Support 0.1 0.1 (0.1) (0.1) (b) Project Preparation and hIplementation 4.5 4.5 (4.5) (4.5) (c) Institutional Development 0.5 0.5 (0.5) (0.5) (d) Training Abroad 0.4 b/ 0.4 (0.4) (0.4) 7. MISCELLANEOUS (a) Local Training and Seminars 2.1 2.1 (2.1) (2.1) (b) Incremental Salaries 1.2 1.2 (c) Operating Costs 2.6 2.6 (2.4) (2.4) 8. REFUNDING OF PPF 0.3 0.3 (0.3) (0.3) TOTAL 19.8 5.7 19.2 8.3 53.0 IDA _(198 (5.0) (17.7) (0.0) (42.5) Note: Figures in parentheses are the respective amountsfinanced by IDA, excluding taxes and duties. Slight differences may occur as a result of the rounding offigures. N.I.F. = Not IDA-Financed. * Taxes and duties. a/ Includes NGOs 'feesfor the management of the school construction and rehabilitation program. bh Using procedures and models as detailed in the Implementation Manual prepared by Government, in accordance with Bank Procurement Guidelines.  30 4.12 Procurement Procedures. Under the project, procurement procedures will be undertaken as described in the following paragraph. Aggregate amounts are including taxes and duties. IDA standard bidding documents will be used. Works: The civil works program, totaling US$19.2 million equivalent, covers: (a) the rehabilitation or construction of 1800 classrooms; and (b) the emergency rehabilitation of classrooms to be managed by NGOs hired under procedures acceptable to IDA. ICB: Imported construction material contracts (for an aggregate amount of US$11.6 million equivalent) for the works in (a) above, estimated to cost US$250,000 each or more, will be procured by NGOs following ICB procedures. Other: Contracts for small works estimated at US$10,000 equivalent or less, totaling not more than US$7.6 million equivalent will include procurement of local materials to be managed and awarded by NGOs according to local shopping procedures in accordance with section III of the IDA Procurement Guidelines. Beneficiary communities will initially provide preliminary/complementary works like site preparation, construction of wells, etc. Along with needs indicated by the school mapping unit, expressed interest in, mobilization for, and significant progress of such participation will be major criteria for the selection of the schools to be rehabilitated and/or constructed. Goods: ICB: Contracts for goods estimated at US$250,000 equivalent or more will be procured through ICB. Goods procured through ICB will be exempt from price verification under preshipment inspection by a third party inspection procedure. Vehicles, office and other imported equipment for an aggregate amount of US$1.9 million equivalent will be procured through ICB procedures as described above for construction materials, with about 3-5 contracts. Eligible domestic manufacturers will receive a price preference in bid evaluation of 15% (or the amount of customs duties, whichever is lowest). LCB: Locally procured furniture, materials and supplies (US$5.0 million equivalent) will be procured through about 30 smaller contracts in which foreign firms will not be interested. Such contracts, not exceeding US$150,000 equivalent each, will be procured using LCB procedures acceptable to IDA. Other: Small training materials and supplies will be procured through local shopping procedures, for an aggregate amount of US$20,000 equivalent.  31 Textbooks: ICB: The printing or procurement of initial stocks of textbooks and teachers' guides for primary and lower secondary schools (US$12.7 million equivalent) will be through ICB procedures. It is expected that each contract will exceed US$250,000 equivalent. LCB: Services for distributing the initial stocks of textbooks directly to the schools (US$0.7 million equivalent) will be procured through LCB procedures, acceptable to IDA (see Annex 6). It is expected that each of the 7 contracts will be less than US$100,000 equivalent each. Pharmaceuticals: Micronutrients and antihelminths for an aggregate amount of US$0.7 million equivalent will be purchased under ICB procurement procedures. Contracts for drugs expected to cost less than US$30,000 each up to an aggregate amount of US$100,000 will be procured by international or local shopping procedures. Small Grants: The small grants (US$1 million equivalent) will finance school-level initiatives to improve the quality of primary education and girls' schooling. Small contracts (less than US$2,000 equivalent each) comprised of various miscellaneous items required for schools and related services will be awarded by local shopping and off-the- shelf procedures. Applications will be evaluated for technical content and eligible criteria outlined in the implementation manual. Procurement and Services: Management, architectural, procurement, auditing and various sectoral and technical services (including training abroad), for an aggregate amount of US$5.5 million equivalent, wiil be procured in accordance with principles and procedures satisfactory to IDA on the basis of the 'Guidelines for the Use of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers and by the World Bank as Executing Agency" published by the Bank in August 1981. Technical assistance and training programs and calendars are outlined in Annex 11. Miscellaneous: Consumables, incremental staff salaries, supervision and local training allowances, etc. will be acquired and paid for following regular Government procedures which have been found acceptable to IDA and are defined in the implementation manual. 4.13 Procurement Management: The services of the DAAF will be responsible for all procurement with the exception of that related to primary school civil works. Two procurement specialists will receive training in IDA procedures. Short-term technical assistance will also be provided to strengthen the DAAFs capacity to develop equipment specifications and other bidding documents. The project auditor will be invited to assess their performance prior to credit effectiveness. The DAAF will report bid evaluations and contract award publication. It will also review procurement progress in semi-annual reports to IDA. NGOs will be contracted to manage the primary school construction and rehabilitation program under the supervision of the SNIES. Standard bidding documents for LCB procurement of goods and services were submitted to IDA prior to negotiations  32 [para. 6.1 (h)] and agreed upon during negotiations [para. 6.2 (f)]. Table 2 details the standard time frame for each procurement method. Table 2: Maximum Period of Time in Weeks LCB ICB Preparing Bidding Docunents 8-16 8-16 Reviewing Bidding Docunents 2-3 2-3 Revising Bidding Documents 1-2 1-2 Preparing Bids 4-6 6-8 Bid Evaluation 1-2 1-2 Proposed Contract Award 1-2 1-2 Review of Contract Award Decision by IDA - 1-2 Contract Signature 24 24 19-35 22-39 4.14 Local Procedures: A Country Procurement Assessment has not yet been completed. However, the Borrower's procurement regulations and procedures have been reviewed by IDA and the Government, and proposals for improvement are currently being discussed. Pending an agreement, IDA standard bidding documents will continue to be systematically used, as is being done satisfactorily under current projects. 4.15 Procurement Schedule: The schedule of major procurement activities is provided in the annexed Implementation and Disbursement Schedules (Annexes 11 and 12). The following are conditions for credit effectiveness (para. 6.3): (a) Submitted bidding documents acceptable to IDA for all major packages to be procured through ICB during the first year of the project; (b) Signed contracts with NGOs for the management of civil works related to the primary school construction and rehabilitation program; and (c) Signed contracts for all consultant services required for the first year of the project. 4.16 Review by IDA: During project execution, IDA-financed contracts for works and goods above a threshold of US$150,000 will be subject to IDA's prior review procedures. The review process will cover 80% of the total value procured by ICB and LCB (about 95% ICB; about 30% LCB). Selective post review of awarded contracts below the threshold level will be carried out for one in five contracts for civil works and for one in seven contracts for goods. Post review of contracts for works (excluding building materials) awarded through NGOs will be carried out by external auditors as a random review of approximately 20% of the contracts. All consultant contracts will be subject to IDA's prior review procedures. However, prior review or approval of budgets, short lists, selection procedures, letters of invitation, proposals, evaluation reports and contracts will not be required for contracts below a threshold of US$100,000 equivalent for consultant finns, and US$50,000 equivalent for individual consultants, for which post-review procedures will apply. Nevertheless, prior review will continue to be required for all terms  33 of reference, the employment of individuals, single source selection of firms, or assignments determined by IDA to be of a critical nature or to amendments of contracts raising the contract value to or more than US$100,000 and US$50,000 equivalent respectively for consultant firms and individual consultants. 4.17 Procurement Information. During negotiations, IDA and the Government reached agreement on procurement reporting tasks [para. 6.2 (g)]: (a) Prompt reporting of contract award information including packaging, advertising, procurement method, estimated costs, and for every approved contract the duly completed forms required by IDA; (b) Submission of comprehensive semi-annual reports by March 31 and September 30 of each year indipating: (i) revised timing of procurement actions, including advertising, bidding, contract award, and completion time for individual contracts; (ii) revised cost estimates for individual contracts and the total project, including best estimates of allowances for physical and price contingencies; and (iii) compliance with aggregate limits on specified methods of procurement; (c) Preparation of an Implementation Completion Report within six months after the credit closing date (Annex 10). E. DISBURSEMENTS 4.18 The project is expected to be completed over a five-year period, with the IDA credit disbursed over six years, according to the categories shown in Table 2. The estimated disbursement profile is shown in Annex 12. Disbursement of the credit will be fully documented except for expenditures valued at less than US$150,000 equivalent which will be made against Statements of Expenditures (SOEs). Documentation for withdrawals under SOEs will be retained at the DAAF for review by IDA supervision missions and for project auditors. To facilitate disbursement, the Government will open a Special Deposit Account (SDA) in a commercial bank to cover IDA's share of eligible expenditures managed by the MEPUFP. The authorized allocation for the SDA will be US$1.5 million with an initial deposit of the GNF equivalent of US$750,000. IDA will make an initial deposit of that amount from the proposed Credit upon credit effectiveness and will replenish the SDA upon receipt of satisfactory proof of incurred eligible expenditures. Replenishment requests will be accompanied by up-to-date bank statements and reconciliations of the SDA. Applications for direct payments and reimbursement or requests for special commitments will apply to contracts above US$150,000 equivalent.  34 Table 3: Withdrawal of Proceeds of the IDA Credit Category Amounts of the Credit % of expenditures to be allocated (in USS million financed (net of taxes and quivalent) duties) 1. CIVIL WORKS 12.6 100% of foreign expenditures; 75% of local expenditures 2. EQUIPMENT, VEHICLES, FURNITURE AND 5.1 100% of foreign expenditures; MATERIALS 80% of local expenditures 3. TEXTBOOKS 9.1 100% of foreign expenditures; 90% of local expenditures 4. DRUGS 0.8 100% of foreign expenditures 5. CONSULTANT SERVICES AND TRAINING 6.8 100% 6. SCHOOL-LEVEL GRANTS 1.0 95% 7. OPERATING COSTS 1/ 2.3 90% 8. REFUNDING OF PPF 0.3 1000/0 9. UNALLOCATED 4.5 TOTAL 42.5 1/ Consists of incremental project-related administrative and running costs such as per diems, travel costs, offiice supplies, fuel, equipment and vehicle maintenance costs, and some other small administrative expenses. F. ACCOUNTING, AUDITING AND REPORTING 4.19 The accounting system in DAAF was created during PASE and is working satisfactorily. The DAAF will be responsible for the financial management of the project and will maintain consolidated project accounts. Project accounts, including the SDA, will be audited annually by independent auditors acceptable to IDA; all disbursements under SOEs as well as the SDA will be audited semi-annually. During negotiations, IDA reached agreement with the Government that it will submit to IDA annual audit reports, of reasonable scope and detail, within six months of the end of the fiscal year and, in the case of the SOEs, that it will submit semi-annual reports within three months after the end of each audit period [para. 6.2 (h)]. The appointment of an independent auditor under a multi-year contract acceptable to IDA is a condition of credit effectiveness [para. 6.3 (f)].  35 V. PROJIECT BENEFITS AND RISKS A. BENEFITS 5.1 Project Benefits. There are two main benefits. The first benefit will be the provision of more and better education, which in the long term will contribute to poverty reduction. The primary school gross enrollment rate will rise from 40% to 53% during the project period. Rural students' participation will increase from 20% to 40%, and the gross primary school enrollment rate of girls, currently at 29%, will reach 42% at the primary level. The quality of education will be improved by providing an initial stock of textbooks at the primary and lower secondary levels, promoting school-level initiatives, and increasing student learning capacity by improving the health and nutrition of school children. Support for school-level initiatives will develop innovative teaching practices and provide for continuing stakeholder participation in improving the quality of learning and teaching. The second benefit will be the further development of capacity within the Ministry of Pre-University Education and Vocational Training to plan, monitor, and manage the sector and sector outputs in a sustainable manner. B. RISKS 5.2 Project Risks. There are two main risks. The first risk is failure to attain project goals if the budget allocations for the sector, analyzed thoroughly to ensure their coherence with the recurrent cost implications of the project, are not executed. This risk will be addressed by agreements reached with Government regarding budget allocations. Primary education's share of the total education budget will increase from 35% to 42% by the year 2000. The Government will allocate sufficient funds in its budget for 1997, 1998 and 1999 for the creation of 600 additional primary school teacher positions for each of these years. Prior to the start of the 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 school years, the Government will recruit 600 additional primary school teachers. The Public Expenditure Review currently being implemented will also strengthen the Government's capacity to assess the priority of education in the budget allocations. Budget targets have been developed by Government with the full participation of all major donors. Budget execution will be monitored on a semi-annual basis, subject to joint annual reviews by the donors and Government. A second risk is the current weakness of decentralized education units in the management of budget resources. This risk is addressed by ongoing efforts to strengthen the prefectoral education offices (DPEs) together with the DAAF, and the use of short-term technical assistance to transfer skills to staff. The Small Grants Staff Development and School Improvement Program provides an additional mechanism for careful monitoring of new approaches for managing decentralized expenditures.  36 VI. AGREEMENTS REACHED AND RECOMMENDATION 6.1 Prior to negotiations, the Government submitted the following documents to IDA: (a) Evidence of the recruitment of two additional personnel in the MEPUFP to be responsible for conducting regular audits at the prefectoral level (para. 2.13); (b) A draft Statement of Education Sector Policy (para. 2.19), with monitorable indicators (para. 3.1) and budget projections for the MEPUFP for 1995-2000 (para. 3.45); (c) A draft sample contract with NGOs for the management of primary school works (para. 3.13); (d) Draft operational guidelines for textbook rental and replenishment (para. 3.21); (e) Draft operational guidelines for the management of small grants for school- level initiatives (para. 3.27); (f) An investment program for 1995-2000 consistent with policy and program priorities of the sector (para. 3.45); (g) A draft implementation manual (para. 4.2); and (h) Standard bidding documents for LCB procurement of goods and services (para. 4.13). 6.2 During negotiations, IDA and the Government reached agreement on: (a) The draft statement of education sector policy (para.2.19), the monitorable indicators (para.3.1), the primary school construction and rehabilitation program for 1995-2000 (para.3.10), and the budget projections for the MEPUFP (para. 3.45); (b) The draft implementation manual (para. 4.2); (c) The terms of reference for all technical assistance (all short-term) funded under the project (para. 4.2); (d) SPs responsibility for ensuring that: (i) progress reports on the implementation of the project are transmitted to IDA not later than January 31 and July 31 of each year; (ii) annual projected work programs and budgets are submitted not later than November 30 of each year; and (iii) during the fourth quarter of each calendar year, a review of progress made in carrying out planned activities for the current year is organized and carried out with IDA (para. 4.5);  37 (e) ST s responsibility for ensuring that a mid-term review to evaluate the progress made in implementing the project and the program is carried out with IDA and the other principal donors not later than 30 months after credit effectiveness(paras. 4.5 and 4.8); (f) The standard bidding documents for LCB procurement of goods and services (para. 4.13); (g) Procurement reporting tasks (para. 4.17); and (h) Submission to IDA of annual audit reports, of reasonable scope and detail, within six months of the end of the fiscal year and, in the case of the SOEs, submission of semi-annual reports within three months after the end of each audit period (para. 4.19). 6.3 As conditions for credit effectiveness, the Government will have: (a) Recruited 600 additional primary school teachers for the 1995-96 school year (para. 3.46); (b) Adopted the implementation manual (para 4.2); (c) Signed contracts for all consultant services required for the first year of the project (para. 4.2); (d) Submitted bidding documents acceptable to IDA for all major packages to be procured through ICB during the first year of the project [para. 4.15 (a)]; (e) Signed contracts with NGOs for the management of civil works related to the primary school construction and rehabilitation program [para. 4.15 (b)]; and (f) Appointed an independent auditor under a multi-year contract acceptable to IDA (para. 4.19). 6.4 Recommendation. Subject to the above terms and conditions, the proposed project is suitable for a credit of SDR 28.5 million (US$42.5 million) to the Republic of Guinea on standard IDA terms, with 40 years maturity.  38 Annex 1-A Page 1 of 1 REPUBLIC OF GUINEA EQUITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT BASIC DATA Total Area (thousands of square kilometers) ....................................... 246 Per Capita GNP ....................................... US$537 Total Population (millions) ........................................ 6.2 Urban Population as% of Total Population ....................................... 27.3% Average Annual Population Growth Rate (1987-92) ........................................ 2.8% Life Expectancy (years) ........................................ 44 Infant Mortality (per thousand live births) ........................................ 133.2 Fertility Rate ....................................... 6.5 Crude Birth Rate (per thousand) ....................................... 49 Crude Death Rate (per thousand) ....................................... 21 Age Structure of Population (% of total) 0-14 years ....................................... 46.7% 15-64 years ........................................ 50.7% Total Adult Illiteracy Rate ........................................ 76% Female Adult Illiteracy Rate ....................................... 87% Gross Enrollment Rate Primary ....................................... 40% Secondary ....................................... 10% Female Participation (as percentage of total enrollment) Primary ......................................... 32.8% General Secondary ....................................... 23.7% Vocational Training Centers ........................................ 1.7% Pupil/reacher Ratio Primary ....................................... 49 Secondary ........................................ 19 Transition Rate (primary to secondary) ....................................... 62.3% Primary Repetition Rates Total ....................................... 18% Female ....................................... 22.5% Secondary Repetition Rates Total ....................................... 22.5% Female ........................................ 24.3% Sources: The World Bank, World Development Report 1993: Investing in Health. The World Bank, Social Indicators of Development, 1994. Ministry of Pre-University Education and Vocational Training, Conakry, Guinea, Annuaire stahshque, 1991-1992, 1992-1993, 1993-1994.  39 Annex 1-B LABOR Page 1 of I DES MARKET DES UNIVERSITY 5-7 YEARS LABOR S T MARKET E BTS H C I 0 BAC2 26 G N 1 re HD -D____ E A R R Y LABOR MARKET S E CAP L C 36 0 0 BEPC 26 Legend W N lere E D _ Drop out R A , R L _ W VET - General education CEPE P R _ I l_ _ _ - X A R y  REPUBLIC OF GUINEA EQUITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT ORGANIZATION CHART OF THE MEPUFP MINISTRE CABINET INSPECTIONI IS ATI SECRETAIRE| | GENERALE T TECHNIQUE GENERAL CCOITE DE PILOTAGE DUW i IDi nMEPUFP IDivision des Affaires Administratives Direction Nationale de l'Enseignement o |et Financieres (DAAF) ! j | jElementaire (DNEE) jServices des Statistiques | Direction de l'Enseignement ; let de la Planification (SSP) !I condaire General (DNESG) iService National des Infrastructures Direction de Enseignement let des Equipements Scolaires (SNIES) Technique et Professionnel (DNETP iService de la Logistique (SERLOG) H Institut National de la Recherche et de ! | i g l~~~~~~~~~~~~~'Action Pedagogique (INRAP) II | iservice de l'Infomation, de la I---- - Service National d'Alphabetisation (SNA) IDocumentation et des Archives (SINDA)l Service des Examena et concours Scolaires (SECSO)i W Service do l'Enseignement Prive (SEP) i X 0Il  41 Annex 2 Page 1 of 1 REPUBLIC OF GUINEA EQUITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT EDUCATION DATA Global description of pre-university students and teachers in Guinea, school year 1993-1994 PRMARY SCHOOILS Students Teachers Teaching Regions Schools Classes Groups Total Girls % Girls Total Female % Fem Conakry 161 1516 1854 111040 47632 43 1987 974 49.02 Kindia 512 1821 1917 89127 27857 31.26 1845 341 18.48 Labe 757 2297 2101 93324 28179 30.19 1969 401 20.37 Kankan 555 1730 1683 77265 21434 27.74 1618 284 17.55 Nzerekore 851 2587 2605 100364 28956 28.85 2553 292 11.44 Total 2836 9951 10160 471120 154058 32.7 9972 2292 22.98 LOWER SECONDARY Students Teachers Teaching Regions Schools Classes Groups Total Girls % Girls Total Female % Fem Conakry 32 422 433 32774 10487 32 801 251 31.34 Kindia 44 295 290 14460 3261 22.55 515 47 9.13 Labe 61 338 317 13442 3361 25 424 26 6.13 Kankan 30 180 177 9749 1613 16.55 243 17 7.00 Nzerekore 55 297 287 14121 2231 15.80 508 29 5.71 Total 222 1532 1504 84546 20953 24.78 2491 370 14.85 UPPER SECONDARY Students | Teachers Teaching Regions Schools Classes Groups Total Girls % Girls Total Female % Fem Conakiy 10 165 173 10210 2563 25.10 365 75 20.55 Kindia 14 123 121 5578 1131 20.28 249 15 6.02 Labe 16 83 81 2836 708 24.96 189 8 4.23 Kankan 11 81 71 3110 483 15.53 237 30 12.66 Nzer&ore 10 82 82 3633 503 13.85 179 4 2.23 Total 61 534 528 25367 5388 21.24 1219 132 10.83 VET Students Teachers Teaching Regions Schools Classes Groups Total Girls % Girls Total Female % Fem Conakry 23 173 213 4257 1388 32.61 586 48 8.19 Kindia 7 54 60 1135 224 19.74 185 6 3.24 Labe 7 31 52 870 287 32.99 124 6 4.84 Kankan 7 38 49 915 291 31.80 175 6 3.43 Nzerekore 6 29 49 928 131 14.12 123 2 1.63 Total 50 325 423 8105 2321 28.64 1193 68 5.7  42 Annex 3 Page 1 of 6 REPUBLIC OF GUINEA EQUITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT STATEMENT OF EDUCATION SECTOR POLICY Reference documents: - Statement of education sector policy adopted by the Government on September 19, 1989; - Previous letter of education development policy dated October 21, 1989; - Joint aide-memoire dated May 11, 1993 reporting on the second joint donor review of PASE I - Findings of surveys and studies done on the education system in Guinea in the context of preparing for PASE II. These documents define the framework within which the Programme dAjustement Sectoriel de lEducation I - PASE I (Education Sector Adjustment Program) was implemented from October 1990 to June 1994 and record the efforts made during this period and the recommendations proposed for continuing the development and improvement efforts during the next phase from 1995 to 2000. The accomplishments of PASE I: Started by the Government in October 1990, with the joint participation of three donors: the World Bank, the French Ministry of Cooperation and USAID, the Education Sector Adjustment Program was concluded successfully in June 1994. It entailed the participation of all the actors in the education sector, the rehabilitation of sector management and the transparency of activities The main results included the following: (a) The Budget management was reformed, as a result of the reorganization that took place (creation of a budget unit and a counterpart funds management unit) and the level of performance achieved in terms of the computerization and budgeting of the action plans. After increasing from 14% in 1990 to 26% in 1991, the proportion of the national operating budget allocated to education stabilized in 1992 at 25.2%, with 35% of this going to elementary education; this distribution was maintained in 1993. (b) The human resource development plan introduced in 1991 led to the publication of a special statute for pre-university teaching personnel and the redeployment of 1,806 teachers to the primary grades. In parallel, 8,000 primary school teachers received refresher courses in French and mathematics; 64 teacher training school teachers and 111 teaching advisors/mentors were trained at the Institut Superieur des Sciences de l'Education. (c) 1,500 classrooms were built during the PASE period, with the assistance of the international community and as many again were built with national funds, the national budget and voluntary individual contributions, i.e. about 3,000 classrooms in all. In addition, a  43 Annex 3 Page2 of 6 prograrn for the rehabilitation of school and administrative buildings now covers all regions of the country, under the supervision of regional branches of the School Construction Service. (d) A vast program to provide school furniture, textbooks and supplies is gradually improving working conditions in the classrooms, significantly impacting local economic life and making a start on gradually getting the families to assume certain operating costs. (e) Thanks to the national campaign to gather statistical data on schools (students, personnel and infrastructure) conducted in 1991, it has been possible to establish reliable annual statistics and an operational school mapping system. (f) All these measures have had a spectacular effect on the gross school enrollment rate, which rose from 28% in 1990/91 to 40% in 1993/1994; the enrollment rate in the first year of primary education rose from 38.92% in 1991 to 50.72% in 1994. (g) The priority the Government has given to elementary education has not interfered with efforts to assist the other education subsectors: teacher trainers have been trained for secondary education, in conjunction with plans to set up scientific laboratories and pedagogical documentation centers. Following exhaustive studies, a Statement of National Policy on Technical Education and Vocational Training was also adopted in March 1994 with a view to improving the linkage between the programs of this subsector and the job market. (h) Nonformal education has also benefited from the momentum generated by the PASE as regards the gradual implementation of the "Basic Education for All" National Action Plan: the creation of a Centre Experimental dEducation Technologique et Artisanale - CETA (Experimental Technological and Artisanal Education Center) to help young people enter the job market; the experimentation with two "NAFA" centers, second chance schools for young people not in school, or who have dropped out, in the 10-17 age bracket; surveys and awareness-raising campaigns to encourage school enrollment among girls. The literacy rate has risen from 26% to 28%, with particular efforts to extend initial literacy training with special or vocational training courses. Plans and priorities of PASE II: (a) In reaffirming the priority given to the education sector as a means of furthering socio- economic development, the Government will maintain rigor and transparency in the management of the education budget in order to make more efficient use of the resources available, improve the quality of teaching and increase the enrollment and literacy training rate as part of the plan for Education for All. (b) The increased resources now made available to the sector should guarantee. the implementation of minimum standards as regards investment in capital equipment and operating expenditures designed to promote the three levels of pre-university education, with priority being given to the elementary level. Measures to compensate for the transitory costs of  44 Annex 3 Page3 of 6 the program will be adopted to benefit the underprivileged groups: girls, young people in the rural areas who have dropped out of school or are not enrolled, and illiterate adults, especially in the rural areas. (c) The expansion of the multigrade class program in rural areas, the continuation of experiments in environmental education, population education and training in technological and practical skills will help to tailor education to social and economic development, making it part of a process to reform Guinean schools. (d) In order to continue efforts to restructure the administration of the sector and to strengthen its management, inspection and extension capabilities, training activities for all categories of education personnel will be developed as part of a human resources development plan. Building on the accomplishments of PASE I, the results of surveys, studies, an evaluation of the education system and the recommendations made by various experts, the Government has identified the following priority areas: the efficiency of the education system; t he quality of teaching and training; -more equitable access to education. In order to achieve this, the following actions are envisaged for the period 1995-2000: Quantitative improvements and gains in efficiency (a) The establishment of a new MIEPUFP organizational structure as the result of the operational audit of the central services and the extension of the functional reorganization to the decentralized services (IRE and DPE), in conjunction with a systematic plan for the training of professional and technical staff and the improvement of worldng conditions and communications, particularly between the Ministry and the decentralized services. The ultimate objective is to make the department's general structure more performance-oriented by more clearly defining the responsibilities of the various services, improving the circulation of information and upgrading staff skills. (b) The construction of 780 classrooms per year and the gradual rehabilitation of existing premises, particularly schools housing multigrade classes. All this will be backed by large-scale awareness-raising efforts targeting local authorities, parent associations and friends of the schools with a view to their assuming responsibility for building maintenance. (c) Building expansion and the rehabilitation of school premises at other education levels: colleges and lyc&es, vocational training centers. (d) The computerization of personnel management and the rationalization of qualifications and jobs via reference to the legislation that governs training services and schools.  45 Annex 3 Page4 of 6 (e) The strengthening of decentralized services in the area of personnel management and qualifications, compliance with the school mapping system and the supervision of construction and rehabilitation works on school and administrative premises. (f) The establishment of an emergency fund for the most urgent rehabilitation needs caused by storms, etc. Qualitative improvement through: (a) Research/action aimed at adapting schools to their environment to enable them to play a bigger role in the area of social and economic development: environmental education, population education, technological education and manual skill training, Basic Education for All, etc. (b) Extending multigrade classes at the rate of 100 per year and strengthening supervision with a view to improving the organization of the work of students and teachers, learning techniques and methods. (c) Establishing a network for the distribution and management of school textbooks so as to guarantee their delivery to and use at all schools, in parallel with an expanded program to train teachers in the use of the books and an awareness-raising campaign among families through parent associations. (d) Improving the health of students in order to increase their capacity to learn, by introducing health education and providing schools with pharmacies. (e) Improving the operating conditions in secondary schools through closer supervision of the teachers, the supply of school textbooks and provision of equipment for the laboratories and the Documentation and Information Centers. Students will also be evaluated on arrival and departure from colleges and lycees with a view to adapting their training to the professional requirements of the productive sector. (f) Establishing a small grants program aimed at jump-starting the process of introducing innovations in teaching and learning while developing initiative at the prinary school level. (g) Implementing the national policy on technical education and vocational training in keeping with the school mapping system, which is linked to regional economic development, and conducting research on training methods in partnership with the private sector. (h) Implementing the national Education for All plan within the framework of PASE II extended to the nonformal sector: the systematic development of literacy training for children and adults, the expansion of CETAs and the NAFA Centers.  46 Annex 3 Pages of 6 (i) Incorporating introductory cultural and physical education activities into the programs, particularly in the preliminary teacher training course. () Paying special attention, at every level of intervention, to the advancement of girls and women, with a view to reducing the inequity of which they are victims: transversal and multisectoral operations will be undertaken in order to provide them with greater access to education and vocational training. Upgrading of institutional capabilities (a) Examination and monitoring, on the occasion of joint meetings with PASE II donors, of budgetary allocations and expenditures incurred on operations and investments, looking at annual expenditures by education level and type of expenditure. These allocations and expenditures should be sufficient to accomplish the following objectives: - to maintain the share of the MEPUFP budget in the State operating budget at 17.5%; - to allocate an amount for non-salary operating expenditures equivalent to US$7 [per student] in primary education, US$5 of which for pedagogical materials; and the equivalent of US$12 per student in secondary education, US$8 of which for pedagogical materials; - to gradually increase the share of primary education in the total education budget from 35% to 42% by the year 2000; - to hire 600 primary school teachers per year in the 1997/98, 1998/99 and 1999/2000 school years. (b) Increasing local community participation in the construction and maintenance of primary schools and gradually getting the families, organized into student/parent associations, to assume responsibility for their operation. (c) Promoting and expanding private education by facilitating access to permits for sites and buildings and contributing to the smooth operation of these schools through pedagogic oversight and supervision; this will call for institutional and legislative support at the central level of the department responsible for private education, and of the decentralized agencies.  47 Annex 3 Page6 of 6 MATRIX OF MAJOR DONORS' ASSISTANCE IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR Areas of IDA France European Germany United Canada AfDB Intervention Union States of _________ (Lome IV) _America Planning X X SSP x x DAAF/SAAF X X X Curriculum X X X Training X X X X Textbooks/ X X X X Instructional Possibly Materials Student X X X Evaluation Private Schools X Equity X X Research X X X Construction X X X Communication X Student Health X Teachers' Salaries X VET X Estimated 42.5 9.5 15.6 To be 20.0 1.6 11.0 Funding (USSM) - _ _ deternined _ _  REPUBLIC OF GUINEA EQUITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT BUDGET FRAMEWORK FOR MEPUFP, 1994-2000 AND MEPUFP BUDGETS 1991-1994 A. Demographic projections: 1993/94 1 1994/95 1 1995/96 1 1996/97 1 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 Hypotheses Private share (of pupils) 4.22% 4.68% 5.14% 5.61% 6.07% 6.54% 7.00% 7.46% Public urban pupil-teacher ratio 58.5 58.5 58.5 58.5 58.5 58.5 58.5 58.5 m Rural pupil-teacher ratio 42.6 43.8 45.0 46.3 47.5 48.8 50.0 50.0 School-age population 1;1 75,366 1,207,871 1,243,436 1,279,882 1,317,245 1,355,565 1,394,879 1,435,334 Global GER 40.1% 42.3% 44.4% 46.6% 48.7% 50.9% 53.0% 53.0% School-age Rate of urbanization 26.8% 27.2% 27.6% 28.0% 28.4% 28.8% 29.2% 29.6% populations Urban school-age population 314,998 328,541 343,188 358,367 374,097 390,402 407,304 424,858 Rural school-age population 860,368 879,330 900,248 921,515 943,148 965,163 987,575 1,010,476 Urban GER 76.0% 76.8% 77.6% 78.4% 79.2% 80.0% 80.8% 80.7% Rural GER 27.0%