Malaysia - Education Sector Support Project

Report No. PID7313 Project Name Malaysia-Education Sector Support... Project Region East Asia and Pacific Sector Education Project ID MYPE58681 Borrower Malaysia Implementing Agency Ministry of Education Education Planning and Research Division (EPRD) Level 2, Block J, Pusat Bandar Damansara, 50604 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Tel: 60-3-2513-175 Fax: 60-3-2554-960 Date PID Prepared October 23, 1998 Date Initial PID Updated February 3, 1999 Projected Appraisal Date November-December 1998 Projected Board Date March 11, 1999 Background 1. Country and Sector Background The Government of Malaysia (GOM) has requested Bank assistance to mitigate the negative effects of the East Asian economic crisis on education expenditures and to support GOM's ongoing reforms in the sector. Bank support has been requested, in particular, to restore many of the proposed programs under the Seventh Malaysia Plan (1996-2000) which were interrupted or severely constrained by the crisis and, thus, jeopardizing past gains in the quality of education services. GOM has demonstrated impressive improvements in the enrollment ratios of relevant age groups at all levels of education over the past 35 years. Universal primary education (UPE) has been a reality since 1990. The ratio for lower secondary enrollments is now about 82.5%, and for upper secondary 56 %. The enrollment ratio for tertiary education is about 23% at the polytechnics and 3.7% at the universities. If students in private and foreign universities are included, the latter ratio could be double this figure. Despite these impressive achievements, the education sector still faces a number of challenges including, inter alia: (a) inequities in access due to the shortage of infrastructure in remote and sparsely populated regions; (b) need for improved professional competence of teachers; (c) need for greater access to high-quality technological education; and (d) inefficiencies in sector management due to shortages of technical and managerial skills required to maintain past achievements and achieve future goals. Measures to deal with  these issues have been constrained as a result of the crisis. These adverse developments need to be addressed in the short-term, but also have medium-term consequences since they will affect the development of Malaysia's human capital needed for self-sustaining economic growth. 2. Objectives The project development objectives are: - to mitigate the negative impacts of the economic and financial crisis on the education sector; and - to assist in the medium-term economic recovery through the cost-effective development of technical skills. 3. Project Benefits The project will benefit over 40,000 children, largely from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, through the provision of school and hostel places and the pilot school-to- work program. Improved quality in basic education would result from the training and upgrading of about 5,210 teaching staff. These interventions will help Government to maintain universal primary education, increase enrollments in secondary education and improve educational outcomes. The project will also create over 18,000 student places in polytechnics and provide over 1000 teaching staff with improved skills and training. These staff and students will be able to maximize the productivity of the large public and private investments in knowledge-based industries to help in the medium-term economic recovery. The sector wide management support would improve the effectiveness and professionalism of staff in the Ministry of Education (MOE) and domestic universities. The entire education sector will also benefit from more efficient and modern management methods. The construction activities under the project will have domestic multiplier effects which will also assist in the economic recovery. 4. Project Risks The project risks are minimal. One risk is that public expenditures on education erodes further during the project period. Another risk is possible implementation delays and disbursement lags leading to delays in project completion. 5. Description The project has three main components: 1) Improving access to and the quality of basic education; 2) Expanding access and improving the quality and relevance of polytechnic education; and 3) Institutional strengthening. The project would support the following activities: Basic Education -- (1) construction and equipment of schools, staff housing and student hostels, primarily in states which are lagging behind in economic development, education achievement and basic school infrastructure; and (2) staff development including teacher training and upgrading and training for a pilot school-to work program. Polytechnic Education -- (1) construction and equipping of a new polytechnic at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, and upgrading and capacity expansion of six existing polytechnics; (2) staff and curriculum development; and (3) an enhanced -2 -  polytechnic planning and management system. Institutional Strengthening -- (1) an improved Education Management Information System; (2 ) MOE staff development including short and long-term programs in selected areas such as program evaluation and monitoring, policy and data analysis and strategic planning; (3) higher education staff and institutional development; and (4) strengthening project management. 6. Financing The total project cost is estimated to be US$348.2 million. The proposed IBRD contribution is US$244.4 million and the Government of Malaysia's counterpart funding is estimated at US$103.8 million. 7. Implementation Overall project implementation will be the responsibility of a Project Coordinating Committee (PCC). MOE's Education Policy and Research Division (EPRD) will serve as the PCC's secretariat. PCC membership will comprise MOE departments and divisions which will be responsible for implementing the different components. EPRD will have responsibility for project coordination, monitoring and evaluation in cooperation with the other MOE departments and divisions 8. Environmental Aspects Environmental category: C The project is expected to have no environmental impacts. 9. Program Objective Categories Human Resource Development and Institution Building. Contact Point: The InfoShop 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 activities and/or components may not be included in the final project. Processed by the InfoShop week ending February 5, 1999. - 3 -