China - Basic Education - Western Areas Project

ISUS THE WORLD BANK GROUP AWord Frce ol Poverty ---__ =-. ---. : nfnShnn ,1h0vWM n,Rlakr _ Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (Updated) Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 07/09/2002 24 A ef0 Section I - Basic Information - 8-, a 200)2) ~July 0, A Rodir Prnior )nnta Country: CHINA |Project ID: P073002 rroject: CN-Basic Education/Western Provinces l Task Team Leader: Haisey L. Beemer Authorized to Appraise Date: November 21, 2002 [ IBRD Amount ($m): 100.00 Bank Approval: May 15, 2003 IDA Amount ($m): Managing Unit: EASHD Sector: Central government administration (1O%)' Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan (SIL) Primary education (90%) [Lendi Lng in __ - __- Staeus: Ledn Thm:Cvcenaeet() par ticipJation andt community driv (S); Gender (S); Indigenous peoples _(P); Education for all (P) I.A.2. Project Objectives: To support the universal completion of nine years of quality compulsory education for poor children in Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan Provinces, Ningxia Hui and Gaungxi Zhaung Autonomous I.A.3. Project Description: Background. China is making a major transition to a socialist market economy with the intention of becoming a middle-income country by 2020, while monitoring and promoting social development and cohesion. To do so, China needs an education system that: (a) produces high-quality results in a flexible manner, (b) uses resources efficiently, and (c) is sufficiently equitable to maintain social cohesion. To do this, there needs to be (a) effective governance structures at all levels and (b) adequate resources. The most immtediate pnriritv for the government ic to provide increase fiuntding for the poorest parts of China to increase access to quality basic education for all of China's poorest children. The second priority is to increase Llih eficiency of tle use of lcurlrent goveI-rnme,tL eAxpeIUILUl all IevIe. IlICradINU eicieInIclly Will ensure that current funds are spent wisely while increasingthe quality of education. The third priority is the introduction of more effective outcome indicators to assure the government that efficiencies have been achieved by investments made in the system. Once effective outcomes indicators are in place and efficiencies have been achieved, substantial increased funding for the education system can be carried out with some assurance that increases in funding will achieve improved educational outcomes. The long term priority is to address the substantial and widening educational disparities among regions and areas to promote greater equality in the education system. Not all of these priorities can be addressed by a single project but this proposed project fitsw a  2 iSDS program of five basic education projects supported by the World Bank and one supported by DFID which is informed and guided by the priorities listed above. The project will introduce new ideas in the provinces and allow the provinces to test and learn from them. It will aim at improving school efficiency and w,a,ys of working.. The project will be focused on increased access to and completion of affordable, quality, basic education for all boys and girls with a special focus on minorities and out of school children. it wili require an outcome focused approacn. it will continue earlier work done Dy DO F; and Bank-supported projects to address the constraint of inadequate financing. Participation. Although not a direct project output, increased participation is an agreed principle. Participation and consultation in decision making and development, increases the commitment of those involved. The participation of parents, teachers and children is particularly important in improving both quality and access at the local school level and the mission recommends that the project seek ways to encouraging this All activities wniild he designed to sunnnrt eqnuia numhers of hnvo and girk in hbth the primary and junior secondary cycles and encouraging equitable opportunities for girls and minorities e.g. uI-linguaI curriculum Uevelopment1 an'Uc c LIUren with special learning nIUAU ICAuuU m 1,.;s principle. The principle of inclusion should be adopted. No children should be excluded from basic education in the participating counties. [PROJECT COMPONENTS ARE INDICATIVE ONLY AS THIS STAGE AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER DISCUSSION WITH THE GOVERENMENT. THE PROVINCES. UK/DFID AND OTHER RELATED PARTIES.] Project Components. The proposed project design will be formulated around four key principles which will nals form the hbasi nfthe nrniect noitniits Pnosihle pnrojet ctlivities are also lsted althnnoh the details of these activities will await the participatory process of project design which will be undertaken w:ith the? A:nistry ofIE: Eucation andAthe fi've provincial eAucation bureaus. Droject content shoulA ke VV 1.1 L11l 1vIiII 2L I U LIU .LilI a,u LII.I V'. j ~IV zII a .,uuaLIUI UUIa I I.JIVIL3 I.I 1' determined during the project design period and will address the main constraints to the achievement of universal basic education. Main constraints and proposed solutions may be different in eacn participating county. Component I - Universal access to and completion of nine years of education. This would include such things as: school construction and upgrading, teaching equipment, strategies for encouraging out-of school children to enroll including incentives such as schemes to reduce the costs of education for poor families to enable children to enroll and stay in school, etc; and improved transition arrangements from Primary to Junior Secondary school - esneciallv for girls - with consideration for the issues related to village and boarding schools at the junior secondary level. The project would favor the retention and strengthening of teaching points (incomplete -r;-mar chonlcs in natura! vi!!age)C rather than b-,uilrding dormitories for primary school aged children. Component 11 - Qualitv. This would include; all aspects of improved teaching and learning including training principals and teachers; the development of curricula; teaching and learning materials; and assessment of learning outcomes. Possibilities exist for the introduction of school based development and community involvement to improve the way that schools are managed. This component would include measurements of achievement against the current curriculum over time. Component III - Efficiencv and Effectivenesq This could include: better ways of exnanding and targeting intergovernmental grant schemes to increase the amount of national and provincial level financing available for supo.ndti InI u,.aLIUIU UUUdgets CL Lat VthcuIILny anIU Vi!!age lv ls; beLLtte ways VI managing budgets and increasing the allocation of funds for basic education in a sustainable manner,  3 iSDS better planning through the use of accurate data and quality, monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment, including the use of research to inform decision making and better dissemination of lessons learned; better ways of managing budgets and improved allocation and use of non-personnel budgets; and increased capacity of managers to provide better services particularly in addressing the needs of the poor. Much of the work carried out by the IDF grant-supported Education Economics Network - which ueveiopeu education iinancing anaiyticai andu teachiiing maLer iais - will help inoI tLhie Uesign o01 t his component. Other work on the provincial financing of basic education has been supported by ASEM grants and the results are ready to disseminate. Consideration will be given to creating a Chinese Experts Panel (CEP) with the responsibility to develop and lead a national discussion on issues of the underlying costs structure of education and through workshops and seminars disseminate the work of IDF and ASEM supported activities which focused on financing compulsory education. Comrponent IV - Information Technology. (NOTE: Although not discussed with the MOP in any detail, this topic was specifically raised during the recent discussions between the Bank and the Ministry of Finance. It is also a k-ey area of concern1 of +the MO'iFn their ongoing dilouewth bth the DFID -an .1II i t~. II~a~ A.~ a I ~au. ~ i I ua.% 1I. L II%I u 1a UIUII'.JU~ V~11,iii LSLI LII~ ' L'l UIL A ll the Bank and is therefore included at this time for further discussion with the borrower.) MOE and the project provinces are iikely to discuss expansion of tne MOE's current pians of connecting primary and middle schools in cities and towns across the country to a distance learning network; expansion of the current pilot which crates a virtual community of principals and teachers in remote and minority areas; support of the State Council's "Connecting Every Village" program that would make radio and television broadcasting available in rural communities; and using the expanding GDLN network to provide teacher training programs and education management - especially financial management - training for provincial and county level education authorities. However, previous Bank and other international experience in distance education calls for great caution in develoning of such nrograms. Teacher training nrograms and the support of teachers service are areas which have shown some success in the past and could be an appropri-ate target for support in -his - proet. I.A.4. Project Location: (Geographic location, infonnation about the key environmental and social characteristics of the area and population likely to be affected, and proximity to any protected areas, or sites or critical natural habitats, or any other culturally or socially sensitive areas.) The project will be located in villages and townships in approximately 100 of the poorer counties in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Gansu and Ningxia. The target townships are chosen by a combination of poverty data (i.e., per capita rural income) and reported educational attainment (i.e., net primary enrollment, net fifth or sixth year comoletion rate. and transition rates to iunior secondarv school). As has been the case in the four previous basic education projects in a 10 year, Bank-supportred Program to expand access to quni;tyi eAiueatinn for China'c nnprer chidrpn this nrnPoet will hp imnpemented in areas with substantial numbers of ethnic minorities, the scope and proportion of which will be laid out in the Social Assessment, tthe TORn of ...c L is now being ...use with the Minstr oEdctn.Terc will 1,_ -irtuall no L I~ i'J1X 01 WI1iiLii lb II0W U'ZI11g UilbkUbbUU WILII Lilt; IVIIIIaiL1y 0I1 t~uu%aLIUll. 1III III UV, VII Luatiy~ negative environmental impact in that primnary school construction will be limited to sites where dilapidated schoois now exist, or construction and repairs will be made to or on existing buildings. No asbestos is used in the construction of Chinese schools in the poor areas and so no issues will arise from such potential concerns. Positive environmental impact can be envisioned as the result of the expansion of primary education which contains environmental components in the curricula and by increasing literacy rates which generally have a positive affect on the choice of agricultural inputs used in the rural areas. There are currently no known resettlement issues in this nroject nor are any envisioned. Some parts of the project mav well be implemented in culturally or socially sensitive areas. However, previous basic education projects in V- *- I- 1 V..n. 1na. 1iA,~T,n M e XT n e r nc. air h.,n, Aarlmcnctr,.taA th it lacnsn ,in.- nIu.;ang, Qmgh....a;, i unnan, Inner 4 VSng-lJ5tia, N -aa, 'J--, t.Lt.. E _A ncfrnrl flit AI i n % a._.I A preparation procedures take into account cultural, linguistic, gender, historical issues in such ways as to  4 iSDS enhance the learning environment. This is done by increasing the number and quality of minority language textbooks, training more minority teachers, increase enrollments, esneciallv among girls and minorities, and strengthen the local content in curricula so as to support ethnic minority culture. B. Check Environmental Classification: C (Not Required) Comments: This project is expected to have no adverse environmental impact. Civil works will be limited in size and scale with much of the work related to repairs and renovations to exisiting buildings. No land acquistion is envisioned as the civil works will take place on existing school grounds. C Safeguard Policies Triggered __.______..... _ l Policy I Appicaoiilty Environmental Assessment (OP/BP/GP 4.01) 0 Yes * No C, TBD [Forestry (OP/GP 4.36) | O Yes * No C TBD| Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) 1 Y Ye * No )TRD I Safety of Dams(OP/BP 4.37) C O Yes * No C TBD Pest Mvianagement (ur 4.09) l Y es w No I TBD I Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) * Yes 0 No C TBD Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20) 0 Yes * No C' TBD Cultural Propertv (OP 4.11) I OYes * No C TBD Projects in Disputed Territories (OP/BP/GP 7.60)* | 0 Yes * No C' TBD 1 'Projects in lnternational 'YVaUtervways ( OP/BP/G t.Jr Jr 1.30) [lUS Yes O :0 I TDjl *By supporting the proposed project, the Bank does not intend to prejudice the final determination of the parties'claims on the disputed areas Section ll - Key Safeguard Issues and Their Management D. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues. Please fill in all relevant questions. If information is not available, describe steps to be taken to obtain necessary data. II.D. I a. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts. The project will be implemented in poor and rural mountainous areas with some percentage of ethnic minoritip.' It is similar thprefnreo, tn the foiur nrPvious Bank-supnnnrtPd nrnpocts which havp hbeen implemented (satisfactorily in all cases) or are under implementation in such provinces and autonomous rg,uion as Xircjiar,, i1 IIL'-Ja, smir'IIaI, I1n1ner. MVongluIka, i unnain, GjuangAiu,etJUlLllUU, 'I. I ire I rsib impacts will be positive in that an increased number of poor children, many from minority backgrounds, will gain the literacy and numeracy skills necessary for full integration into the national economy. II.D.lb. Describe any potential cumulative impacts due to application of more than one safeguard policy or due to multiple project component. Potential cumulative impacts of the project will be increased literacy and numeracy or poor rural people which international experience demonstrates increases economic returns to agricultural work, decreases birthrates, increases health indicators, and allows for better integration into the national economy where skislk in standard Mandarin are required. 11.Li.I. 1c iescriue any potential long tL,ipas UUd to atLiUipad IULUV LIVILI III LIn1h prIJec.tL area. see I1.D.1.b. above II.D.2. In light of 1, describe the proposed treatment of alternatives (if required)  5 iSDS During discussions of the project design with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the project provinces, several alternatives to nroiect components have been - and will continue to be - discussed. For instance, in trying to minimize the distance that rural village primary school children have to walk to school (and therefore cut dowvmn on poor enrollment and retention rates associated wvith long distans f-o.. s ls the project plans on supporting incomplete primary schools or teaching points in natural villages rather than dormitories in auministrative villages and township centers. This is especially important for young girls whose parents do not like them far from home at grade one and two. Another alternative which the project has dealt with is the best ways of overcoming the issue of poverty preventing children from going to school. Scholarship and grant programs have been tried in the past with some success but in this project efforts will be made instead to eliminate the school based fee structure entirely. Another example of alternatives faced and dealt with is the language of instruction for children in minority areas. Rather than support the mass immersion of young children into mandarin at grade one, the project will support the use of mother tongue instruction with the inclusion of mandarin as a course rather than as a language of instruction. This will mean increased training of minority teachers who can deal effectively both in moLl.er tLon1igl alu iiiaiiuai 11l. ui.D.3. Describe arrangement for the borrower to address safeguard issues As a part of the Social Assessment process, the borrower will produce ethnic minority profiles which will be used in the development of all work that is to focused in minority areas. The TOR for the Social Assessment, which includes substantial participatory activities in sample villages, is being discussed now with the borrower and will be agreed before March 15, 2002. The TOR for the Economics and Finance Analysis has been agreed and work will start on that in mid-March 2002 and it will include a household survey of 150 households in each of four counties in two provinces. Il.D.4. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguar, policies, with an -an-is- onA potentially, affted peopnl- aai,nua LI UI IL3 II all ~l1jl1431Ua3 Ull jJUL~ulLually U1 i~t~U FJ~Upu1. Participatory research in poor communities wiii be particularly important in ensuring that project design promotes the access of poor children to educational opportunity. DFID has already funded two participatory studies that have considered the effectiveness of educational components in recent World Bank rural poverty reduction projects and this proposed project will build on that experience. E. Safeguards Classification. Category is determined by the highest impact in any policy. Or on basis of cumulative impacts from multiple safeguards. Whenever an individual safeguard policy is triggered the provisions of that policy apply. f 1 Si - Significant ciimiiultive and!or irreversihle imnacts; or siynific2nt technic1 and institutional risks in management of one or more safeguard areas r[vi S2 - One or_ Aafard policies are triggereA, but effects are limitedm intheir impact and are j/xJ OzL. %-.\Inc or moreI sa1vlguar poIsl.~ aI L I U~LI.J UUL LllSL OL hI llLeU Il LuS uIJl-l 41411S technically and institutionally manageable ] S3. - No safeguard issues [ ] SF. - Financial intermediary projects, social development funds, community driven development or similar projects which require a safeguard framework or programmatic approach to address safeguard issues. F. Disclosure Requirements Environmental Assessment/AnalysisiManagement Plan: Expected Actual Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure Date of submission to InfoShop  6 !SD-S Date of distributing the Exec. Summary of the EA to the ED (For category A projects) Resettlement Action Plan/Framework: Expected Actual Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure Date of submission to InfoShop Indigenous Peoples Development Plan/Framework: Expected Actual Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure VatC Vl % UUIIJI 31 JI hi ILsoIIfhjt Pest Management Plan: Expected Actual Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-coUuntry" discliosure Date of submission to InfoShop Dam Safety Management Plan: Expected Actual iDate of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure Date of submission to InfoShop Tfin,-countr ydisclocsirp of anxy Nfthe aoive,p dorncments is nnt enpectedr lease exnlain whv Signed and submitted by Name Date Task Team Leader: Halsey L. Beemer 5/20/02 Project Safeguards Specialists 1: Daniel R. Gibson/Person/World Bank 6/05/02 Project Safeguards Specialists 2: Robet D. Crooks/Person/World Bank 5/29/02 Project Safeguards Specialists 3: Svend E. Jensby/Person/World Bank 5/29/02 Approved bv: Name Date Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Glenn S. Morgan 6/5/02 Sector Manager/Director: Emmanuel Y. Jimenez 5/20/02 For a list of World Bank news releases on projects and reports, click here fArCiS e ! FiEDsAek , rsrrE MAP _ SHOWCA"E