Burkina Faso - Post-Primary Education Project

Report No. PIC4633 Project Name Burkina Faso-Post-Primary Education Project Region Africa Sector Education Project ID BFPA304 Borrower The Government of Burkina Faso (GBF) Implementing agency:Ministere des Enseignements Secondaire, Superieur et de la Recherche Scientifique (MESSRS) Address: o3 BP 7130, Ouagadougou. Tel: 226-324866 Fax: 226- 324861. Contact: Mr. Pascal S. Millogo, Project Coordinator. Date PID prepared October 1996 Appraisal Date July, 1996 Board Date December 1996 1. Country/Sector background. Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world with a per capita income of US$300. During most of the 1908s, Burkina Faso's economy enjoyed relatively rapid growth of 3.7 percent a year. By 1990, the composition of public expenditures became a subject of concern, due to the rapid increase in wages and salaries and the consequent crowding-out of investment and non salary operating costs. In 1991, the Government adopted a structural adjustment program which was supported by IDA and the IMF. This structural adjustment program coupled with the succession of four PFPs helped protect primary education expenditures and better link the macro and education sectoral reforms. In January 1994, the GBF decided, together with other countries of the CFA zone, to devaluate the CFA franc by 50 percent with the support of IDA. Despite the progress made to date, much remains to be done in all sectors, particularly in human resource development, and to overcome the legacy of the country's past policies. 2. Education Development and Government Policy. Burkina remains one of the countries in the world with the lowest education indicators at all levels. Gross primary school enrolent, which was about 5% at the time of independence in 1960, has increased to 38%. At the secondary level, enrolents have increased fourfold over the last decade to about 9% of the relevant age group. The demand for places in public secondary schools is far greater than the availability of places. About 8,800 students are enrolled in technical schools (73% in private schools). A National University, created in 1974 with 533 students, now has over 9,400 students, or about 19 of the relevant age group. The quality of education is low, as is evidenced by high dropout and repeater rates and low examination pass rates at all levels. It takes 9.5 years, on average, to produce a lower secondary school graduate (2.4 times longer than elsewhere), and an additional 5.8 years to produce an upper secondary graduate (1.9 times longer). In secondary schools the instructional year is very short-it extends only from the second week of October to the end of May. MESSRS' capacity to use its resources cost-  effectively is hampered by its weak capacity for management. It has had limited experience with the implementation of foreign-financed projects. In the late 1980s, the Government developed a five-year plan to expand and improve primary education. This plan became a National Basic Education Program, designed to raise the gross enrolent rate to 46t of the school-aged population by the year 2000, improve the quality of education, increase the enrolent of girls, and promote more cost- effective use of public education resources. Following several studies and technical discussion on the education system, in 1994 the Government organized a national consultation (Etats Generaux de l'Education EGE) that recognized that resources for education will remain constrained; the EGE proposed a number of measures to increase cost-effectiveness and recommended giving priority to primary education. In response, the Government developed a subsectoral reform program (SSRP) to improve education within severe economic and budgetary constraints. In the context of the SSRP, the Government developed a Post-Primary Education Strategy (PPES) to (a) restructure the sector to use resources more efficiently; (b) increase the participation of the private sector in secondary education to free up resources for the expansion of public primary education; and (c) improve quality and efficiency. The PPES was accompanied by an Investment Plan (IP) for 1996-2005. 3. Project Objectives. The project supports the implementation of the Government's Post-Primary Education Strategy (PPES). It aims to have more and better-trained students graduated from secondary schools at reduced subsidy costs, with increased equality between genders and income levels. Progress in achieving this development objective by 2001 will be evaluated on the basis of the following indicators: (a) the proportion of primary school graduates who continue on to lower- secondary education rises from 27t to 30w; (b) grade repetition decreases from W to 20w; (c) total student social subsidies in higher and secondary education are reduced from CFAF 4.8 billion to CFAF 2.2 billion; (d) the proportion of girls enrolled in secondary school rises from 35t to 40t of total enrolent; and (e) 8,000 additional students are enrolled in secondary schools in the 10 provinces with the highest incidence of poverty and lowest school coverage. 4. Project Description. The project supports expansion of both public and private provision of services to increase access to secondary education and promotes greater participation by girls and by low-income young people. In addition, various measures are designed to improve the quality of education offered and enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education and of Scientific Research (MESSRS) to carry out its functions in the education sector. 5. The project includes the following components: (a) Access to Lower-Secondary Education, supports construction of new public schools, operation of schools by nonprofit organizations, and expansion of private schools; (b) Quality of Post-Primary Education, supports reforming and improving preservice and inservice training for teachers, increasing the availability of textbooks, and reforming curricula and improving testing; and (c) Institutional Strengthening of MESSRS, supports improving the sectoral planning and managerial capacities of MESSRS at the regional and central levels. - 2-  6. Project Implementation. Implementation period: Five years. Project coordination: A project coordinator (PC), to be assisted by a small administrative staff, will be posted in the Minister's Cabinet and report directly to the Minister. The PC will be responsible for planning and coordinating project activities within the MESSRS, with other Government agencies/units, and with other groups. Under the PC's guidance, MESSRS line units will be responsible for day-to-day coordination and implementation of activities for which they have prime responsibility. Project coordination will be ensured at all operational levels: central, regional, and community/school, through committees with representatives from relevant Government agencies/units, beneficiaries, private sector groups, and NGOs. Project oversight and policy guidance will be the responsibility of MESSRS' Steering Committee, which is chaired by the Minister; the committee will be supported by the Interministerial Committee, comprising MESSRS, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Service, and the Ministry of Basic Education (MEBA) 7. Project Sustainability. The project is designed to promote long- term sustainability by (a) developing a capacity in MESSRS to constantly evaluate the quality and effectiveness of secondary and tertiary education, and to take immediate remedial actions as necessary; (b) reducing expenditures on scholarships, and other social expenditures, freeing resources for improvement in quality; (c) ensuring that all public secondary schools have sufficient resources to finance nonteaching expenditures; and (d) ensuring quality education in nonpublic secondary schools to encourage increased enrolent without placing an additional burden on the Government's budget. The savings associated with the planned policy measures include (a) direct revenue and savings from increasing university and registration fees, reduction of grants and scholarships, and a cost-recovery scheme for textbooks; and (b) indirect savings associated with such measures as the privatization of the management of the university restaurant canteens and of the student health insurance scheme, and the redeployment of some of the teaching staff. These savings (13t of recurrent budget) actually outweigh the incremental recurrent costs (7t of recurrent budget) associated with the investments proposed in the project. 8. Lessons from Previous IDA Involvement. Lesson 1: the Government should, at an early stage, develop a comprehensive policy framework that forms the basis for the intervention of all donors in the subsector. Reflecting this lesson, the project is based on the Government's Post- Primary Education Strategy and Investment Plan developed following a national consultation on education. Lesson 2: to guide implementation and build momentum, reasonably detailed implementation arrangements covering especially the first two years should be developed before the project becomes effective. Reflecting this lesson, MESSRS has prepared a satisfactory draft implementation manual focusing on a detailed programs for the first two years of the project. Lesson 3: implementing sensitive reform measures affecting, in particular, secondary and higher education students (e.g., reduction of scholarships) is politically risky; such reforms are not likely to succeed unless they are preceded by extensive consensus-building efforts among the various affected groups. Reflecting this lesson, national and regional workshops were held during project preparation; and extensive discussions on the project's objectives, policy measures, and investment program were - 3 -  conducted with the Burkinabe authorities at the national and local levels (including mayors), the teachers' union, Parents' Association, NGOs, and private sector representatives. 9. Poverty Category. Focusing on issues of efficiency, equity, and quality, the project will particularly benefit the poorer groups of the Burkina population, both in the urban as well as the rural areas. Target populations: (a) primary school graduates who pass the national entrance exam for secondary school; (b) boys and girls in the 10 provinces with the lowest access to secondary education and in the zones with the highest percentage of population living below the poverty line; (c) boys and girls from households in the two highest income groups and living in urban areas, who will have increased access to non public schools; and (d) girls in tertiary education. Social benefit: (a) Increased numbers of girls educated: dormitory rooms and scholarships reserved for girls; and (b) Greater equality of educational opportunity: government education resources concentrated on most underserved populations, with 86t of the school construction program targeted to provinces where the proportion of poor people is the highest. 10. Project Objective Category. The project will contribute to human capital development, capacity building, and poverty reduction. 11. Environmental Aspects. This is a Category C project. No environmental risks are foreseen. Construction would comply with national environmental laws. Schools would be built following acceptable standards. Many classrooms would be associated with existing schools. Provision of latrines and promoted hygiene will have positive environmental impact. There would be no displacement of people. Contact Point: Public Information Center The World Bank 1818 H Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20433 Telephone No.: (202)458-5454 Fax No.: (202)522-1500 Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain components may not necessarily be included in the final project. Processed by The Public Information Center week ending January 17, 1997. - 4 -