Tunisia - Higher Education Reform Project

Report No. PID5823 Project Name Tunisia-Higher Education Reform Project (@+) Region Middle East and North Africa Sector Education Project ID TNPE5741 Borrower Government of Tunisia Implementing Agency Ministry of Higher Education Contact:Mr. Ridha Ben Jerad, Chef de Cabinet, Ministere de l'Enseignement Superieur, Address: Ave. Ouled Hafouz, 1030 TUNIS, TUNISIA Tel. 216.1. 793 910 Fax. 216.1. 801 701 Date initial PID prepared November 1997 Date this PID prepared December 30, 1997 Project Appraisal date October 1997 Project Board date March 1998 Sector Background 1. Higher education in Tunisia, an overwhelmingly state-owned, state-operated and state-funded sector, is currently relatively well organized, well staffed and oriented towards quality. However, the combined effect of demographic pressure, increased internal efficiency at pre-university level, and automatic access for all secondary education graduates to higher education will result in the doubling of enrollments within the next 10 years; such an expansion will create a considerable strain under current financial, managerial and pedagogical conditions. Government strategy 2. Public policy in Tunisia has emphasized human resources development since Independence. Tunisia has adopted a progressive approach to develop and modernize its education system, starting in the 1980s from the base of the edifice (basic education), while striving to avoid quality degradation as the number of students enrolled increased. So far, this approach has been successful; primary education is nearly universal, and girls' participation rates are high. However, this performance was achieved at the price of heavy repetition and drop-out rates, while enrollment rates at the post-basic level are still relatively low. Following reforms at the primary and secondary levels, the Government has started more recently to introduce changes in higher education, to adapt the sub- sector to both enrollment increases and the changing environment that the opening of the economy to Europe and to the rest of the world will bring about. These changes parallel the mise a niveau  strategy launched in 1995 to modernize the Tunisian economy, and are the logical continuation of efforts supported by a long-standing partnership with the Bank. 3. Recent innovations in higher education include: (i) the organization, in 1989, of the more than 60 departments and schools into 6 new universities; (ii) the creation of the higher institutes of technology (ISET) geared towards labor market needs and offering short programs aimed at training technicians and middle managers; (iii) the introduction of a partial modular system of credits at the undergraduate level, and attempts to modernize post-graduate studies; and (iv) the launching of a loan scheme in 1988, and the first introduction of fees (virtually nil until then) in 1995. The ongoing Higher Education Restructuring Project (Loan 3456) has played an important role in the creation of the ISETs, and it also has buttressed efforts to upgrade programs and to introduce the basis for a management information system. 4. The Government is now ready for the more comprehensive reforms reflected in the IXth Plan currently being finalized, which devotes an entire chapter to higher education. The Plan calls for: (i) pedagogic reforms, including true modularity and transferable credits, allowing flexibility between streams, recasting curricula and a bolder use of new technologies; (ii) institutional reforms conducive to more autonomous schools and departments; and (iii) financial reforms, including substantial increases in cost-recovery, a larger recourse to income-generating activities at the department level and a more significant role for private sector provision and financing of academic and ancillary services. In support of higher quality of teaching, a new school to train faculty in pedagogic matters is planned. In support of better management of the entire sector, a National Observatory of Employment and Education will be activated to provide information on institution performance and students access to the labor market. In support of a more sustainable financing basis, the Government is reevaluating its current public subsidy/loan and scholarship mix and will conduct a study to reshape its cost-recovery policy. Project Objectives and Description 5. The objectives of the Project are to: (a) promote access to, and quality of, higher education; (b) improve coherence, management, and flexibility of the higher education sector; and (c) enhance financial sustainability of public higher education institutions. The three Project components are: (a) supply - expanded facilities, more efficient pedagogical organization, better and more diversified products (selected additional facilities, full modularity in first cycles, diversified streams with more emphasis on technical and management fields, bridging mechanisms between streams, balancing research and teaching in staff careers, introduction of systematic staff evaluation mechanisms, staff initial training, and a center for pedagogical resources); (b) management and governance - a more accountable sector (decentralization of procedures, more efficient funding mechanisms from central Government to institutions, systematic evaluation of each institution, rationalization of staff - 2 -  use, and strengthening managerial capacity at the institutional level; and (c) financing - a more sustainable and equitable financing system (putting in place a global financing strategy, cost recovery of cost of tuition, contribution to cost of non-academic services, elimination of financial barriers to entry, establishing a framework providing incentives to generate institution-based revenues, and a framework for a more active role of private provision of education). Benefits and Target Population 6. Benefits: (i) By allowing larger cohorts of students to enroll in and to graduate from higher education institutions, the Project will respond both to social demand and to the growing needs of the opening market economy for highly skilled labor, thus contributing to the enhancement of Tunisian competitiveness; (ii) by making the pedagogic organization more flexible and more efficient, the Project will both contribute to lower unit costs of graduation and make tertiary education more relevant to changing needs; (iii) by making higher education institutions more responsible for managing their resources, the Project will promote initiative and accountability, and will allow the State to concentrate on strategic planning and on creating enabling conditions for institutions to grow and to adapt; (iv) by encouraging cost-recovery and improving targeting and management of the scholarship scheme, the Project will increase the financial viability of public higher education, eliminate financial obstacles for poorer students, and hence introduce greater equity of access. 7. Target population: (i) short-term beneficiaries: providers of higher education, i.e. institutions; (ii) medium-term beneficiaries: users of the higher education institutions, i.e. students; and (iii) long-term beneficiaries: employers. Project Cost and Financing 8. Total project cost is tentatively estimated at US$150 million, with a tentative Bank loan of US$80 million. Project Implementation 9. The Project will be implemented through the existing structure of the Ministry of Higher Education (MHE) by the implementation unit (PIU) in charge of the ongoing Higher Education Project (Loan 3456). The PIU has demonstrated its capacity to run complex, externally- funded operations. In addition, given the sector-wide nature of the Project and the importance of programming reforms and expenditures, it is proposed to form an oversight committee responsible for all aspects of the Project. Lessons Learned 10. Lessons learned from both the ongoing Higher Education Project in Tunisia and from other projects elsewhere are related to both sectoral issues and implementation aspect. Sectoral aspects -3 -  include: (i) world-wide experience suggests that lending for systemic reforms is more successful if policy changes are taken up- front; however, country-specific constraints are key in the design and dosage of reform packages; and (ii) it also suggests that adequate attention must be given to improving management capabilities of training institutions if they are to be empowered. Implementation aspects include: (i) the ongoing operation shows that initial Government ownership of the project's concept and vigorous political commitment to implement measures are critical for the project's success; and (ii) it also demonstrates that personal commitment, competence and leadership of the head of the implementation team (and of its members) and clear designation of responsibilities are also necessary prerequisites. Poverty Category 11. Not applicable. Environmental Category 12. Category B has been proposed for this project. Contact Point: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington DC, 20433 Telephone: (202) 458-5454 Fax: (202) 522-1500 Note: This is an information on an evolving project. Certain components may not necessarily be included in the final project. Processed by the InfoShop week ending January 16, 1998. - 4 -  Annex Environment Aspects The project will include substantial civil works (higher education facilities). Because of the possible impact of these works on the environment, the project has been rated "Category B". Constructions will be prepared and executed by the Department of Building and Equipment of the Ministry of Higher Education, with an input from the Ministry of Environment for the selection of the sites. Eligibility of each civil work sub-project under the loan will be subject to an independent environmental assessment, to be reviewed by the Bank. In addition, financing of constructions by the loan will be conditioned upon a written confirmation that such constructions will not necessitate resettlement. - 5 -