Burkina Faso - Primary Education Development Project

Docmment of The World Bank FOR OMCIAL USE ONLY Report No. P-4050-BUR REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL DMELOPMENT ASSOCIATION TO TEE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ON A PROPOSED CREDIT OF SDR 21.8 MILLION (US$21.6 MILLION EQUIVALENT) TO BURKINA FASO FOR A PRIMARY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT April 26, 1985 Thdocment a restricted distribution and wy be used by recipients wy in the perfora ce of jthei oficiad duties Its contents umy not othewrwe be discinsed without Worl Bank autoritonmbn  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Currency Unit = CFA Franc (CFAF) US$1.0 = CFAF 490 CFAF 1 million = US$2,041 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Metric British/US Equivalents 1 meter (m) = 3.28 feet (ft) 1 kilometer (km) = 0.62 miles 1 square kilometer (lm2) = 0.39 square miles LIST OF ACRONYMS AfDB - African Development Bank ("Banque Africaine de Developpement") BEPC - Lower secondary school certificate ("Brevet d'etudes du premier cycle") CFJA - Rural Youth Training Center ("Centre de formation des jeunes agriculteurs") DFOMR - Directorate of Rural Training and Organization ("Direction de la formation et de l'organisation du monde rural") DOB - Guidance and Fellowships Directorate ("Direction de lVorientation et des bourses") DPE - Educational Planning Directorate ("Direction de la planification de l'education") DPR - Education Project Directorate ("Direction du projet education") ENUP - National Primary Teachers College ("Ecole nationale des enseignants du primaire") FJA - Rural Youth Training ("Formation des jeunes agriculteurs") IPB - Pedagogical Institute of Burkina ("Institut pedagogique du Burkina") MAE - Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock ("Ministere de l'agriculture et de lV6levage") MEN - Ministry of National Education ("Ministare de l'educati^n nationale") MESRS - Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research ('1Ministere de 1'enseignement superieur et de la recherche scientifique") FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31  FORt OMCIAL US ONLY PRIKARY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT CREDIT AND PROJECT SUMMARY Borrower: Burkina Faso Beneficiaries: - Ministry of National Education ('Kinistire de 1'e1ducation nationale" - MEN) - Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock ("Ministare de l'agriculture et de l1elevage' - MAE) - Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (M'linistere de l'enseignement superieur et de la recherche scientifique' - MESRS) IDA Credit Amount: SDR 21L8 million (US$21.6 million equivalent) Terms: Standard Project Description: The major objective of the project is to implement a sector financing strategy for accelerating the expansion of primary education through: 1. Reduction of priAry education unit costs by means of: (a) The restructuring of primary teacher training and the reclassification of the main category of primary school teachers ("instituteurs-adjoints") at a lower entry level of the civil service, and related investment in tne National Primary Teachers 0ollege in Loumbila; (b) Cost-efficient provision of primary school textbooks through (i) promotion of a national textbook development capability at the Pedagogical Institute of Burkina; and (ii) procurement and distribution of textbooks and other learning materials to meet short-term needs through assistance to the School Equipment Division of the Ministry of National Education; and This document has a estitd distibutkn and may be used by reipients only in the performancc of thir oii duum Its contents may not otherwmi be diclose without Word Bank authorzaton.  - ii - (c) Experimentation with and introduction of low-cost primary school construction through (i) a pilot school building program designed to develop cost-efficient facniities and to encourage, by establishing a system of matching contributions for construction costs and teacher salaries. regional and local initiatives in primary school construction and maintenance; and (ii) a primary school building program in seven disadvantaged provinces totalling 150 school units and related equipment, and development of a school maintenance and repair system. 2. Development of the central institutions' capabilities for planning, managing and controlling education costs, in order to maintain reduced unit costs over the long-term and to reallocate resources among the various educational levels, thereby accelerating the expansion of primary education by: Ca) Reinforcing the planning capacity of the Educational Planning Directorate; Cb) Strengthening the management expertise of the Guidance and Fellowships Directorate within the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research CIIESRS); (c) Improving the planning and monito.ng capacity of the Directorate of Rural Training and Organization (DFOMR) within the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAE); and (d) Expanding project preparation and implementation capabilities in the MEN through assistance to the Education Project Directorate.  - iii - Estimated Project Costs: (Net of taxes and duties from which the project would be exempt.) Categories Local Foreign Total US$ million A. Reduction of Primary Education Unit Costs Restructuring of Teacher Training 0.1 0.5 0.6 Textbook Development, Procurement and Distribution 0.3 2.2 2.5 Primary School Construction and Maintenance Program 4.5 4.7 9.2 Sub-total 4.9 7.4 12.3 B. Institutional Development Educational Planning 0.2 0.4 0.6 Management of Higher Education 0.1 0.4 0.5 Rural Youth Training Management 0.3 1.2 1.5 Project Management 0.4 2.1 2.5 Sub-total 1.0 4.1 5.1 Total Base Cost 5.9 11.5 17.4 Physical Contingencies 0.3 0.7 1.0 Price Contingencies 2.1 2.7 4.8 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS 8.3 14.9 23.2 Financing Plan: Local Foreign Total US$ milliono IDA 6.7 14.9 21.6 Government 1.6 - 1.6 TOTAL 8.3 14.9 23.2  - iv - Estimated Disbursements: FY86 FY87 FY88 FT89 FY90 FY91 FY92 _ - _UUS$ mlioliio - Annual 1.6 3.0 3.7 4.3 3.9 3.0 2.1 Cumulative 1.6 4.6 8.3 12.6 16.5 19.5 21.6 Economic Rate of Return: Not Applicable Project Benefits: The project would establish a framework for expanding primary education by (a) restructuring and reducing costs of primary schooling through implementing cost-efficient modes of providing the major inputs (teachers, textbooks and classrooms), and (b) assisting in institution-building efforts throughout the education system which would lead to a more efficient use of resources and make possible a gradual reallocation of funds in favor of primary education. Risks: Risks include the inadequate tzchuical capacities of the main institutions responsible for resource use planning in the sector and the limited experience in school construction and project implementation in the Ministry of National Education. A sizeable staff training program for the implementing agencies and the provision of specialist services in key areas are included in the project to help overcome these handicaps. Staff Appraisal Report: No. 5443-UV Map: IBRD 18294, Burkina  IDTERNAIIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ON A PROPOSED CREDIT TO BURKINA FASO FOR A PRIMARY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT 1. I submit the following report and recommendation on a proposed development credit to Burkina Faso in an amount of SDR 21.8 million (US$ 21.6 million equivalent) on standard IDA terms to help finance a Primary Education Development Project. PART I - THE ECONOMY 2. A country Economic Memorandum entitled "Upper Volta: Investment in Human Resources" (4040-UV) was distributed to the Executive Directors on September 5, 1983. The following paragraphs are based on this report and on subsequent economic updates by Bank Staff. Background 3. With a GNP per capita of US$180 in 1983, Burkina (population 6.7 million) is one of the poorest countries in the world. As in most of the Sahelian region, this poverty is largely the result of a limited resource endowment. Soils are generally shallow, poorly structured, and easily depleted by traditional methods of cultivation. Rainfall is scarce and highly variable both among regions and from year to year. The lack of a permanent water flow in the country's river system severely limits the potenti.el for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The cost of mining known mineral deposits (e.g. zinc, silver, phosphorus) is relatively high. The country's landlocked position, scarcity of roads, and long distances from seaports further constrain the country's development potential in all sectors. 4. An estimated 80-90 percent of the population depends for its livelihood on the predominantly subsistence-oriented agriculture and livestocK sectors. Concentration of over half of the population on the central plateau has resulted in declining fallow periods, rapid deforesta- tion, and deteriorating soil fertility in this region. The impoverishment of the central region has given rise to spontaneous resettlement to the south and west, areas recently freed of riverblindness (onchocerciasis), and to emigration to coastal countries, primarily the Ivory Coast. Approx- imately 0.6 percent of the population emigrates each year and roughly half of the emigrants are working age males. Emigration has provided the required safety valve for population pressure and has resulted in an annual inflow of remittances of about 8 percent of CDP. Both demographic move- ments, however, represent only partial and temporary solutions to the challenge of raising the living standard of the population, which is growing at approximately 2 percent annually (adjusted for emigration).  - 2 - Past Economic Performance and Recent Developments 5. The 1970's were good years for Burkina's economy. Outperforming other Sahelian countries, the country's GDP grew at an annual 3.9 percent in real terms between 1970 and 1979 and GDP per capita at 2 percent. These favorable trends were due to relative political stability, increased inflows of foreign aid and workerst remittances (the latter accounting for most of the gains in national income), and the expanded production of cotton, the country's major export crop. Also, government economic policies were generally judicious. The three ruling administrations of the 1970's avoided major errors in the selection of investments, kept the economy free from price distortions, and stayed well within the conservative financial policy guidelines of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU), of which Burkina is a member. There was, however, one area of weakness in Burkina's otherwise creditable economic performance during the 1970's, namely, the inadequate planning of capital and recurrent public expenditure. This led to a neglect of certain sectors such as health and education, and, in the second part of the decade, to budgetary deficits amounting to 1-1.5 percent of GDP. 6. A string of adverse developments in the 1980-1983 period caused a reversal of the 1970's trends and helped plunge Burkina's economy into a severe recession. A rapid turnover of governments led to a climate of political instability which, in turn, slowed down the inflow of both foreign aid and workers' remittances - the two major stimulants of demand in Burkina's modern sector. In addition, because of irregular and below average precipitation, cereal harvests fell steadily from the peak reached in 1981, thus substantially reducing outputs in agriculture, the country's traditional sector. Public economic and financial policies deteriorated as well in 1980-1983, a period when the goverrment undertook questionable investments and inordinately expanded its debt burden by borro_ing from local banks and contracting foreign loans on non-concessionary terms. The budget deficits brought about by these policies and by falling custom revenues led to mounting reciprocal arrears between the Treasury and the state enterprises and contributed to further exacerbate demand for bank credits. All told, between 1980 and 1982, investment fell approximately 50 percent, GDP stagnated, and the budget deficit increased to 4.2 percent of GDP by 1983. 7. The present Government, which came to power in August 1983, initially directed its energies almost exclusively to establishing a solid political base. In mid-1984, however, the country's worsening economic conditions compelled the Government to redirect its attention to the economic front and to delineate a preliminary set of development and financial stabilization policies. Thus, the new Government announced that it would place increased emphasis on rural and human resources development, tighten budgetary expenditures, and start elaborating a National Development Plan. 8. A first concrete step to implement these policies was the launch- ing of a "programme populaire" comprising a "self-help" program of small  investments and operations at the village level (construction of small dams, grain storage, health and education facilities). A second important step was the passing of an "austerity budget" for 1985 calling for cuts in expenditures (other than investment) and increases in revenues. Thus, in a rapid succession of fiscal measures, the Government introduced taxes on land title and on cattle, raised the tax on alcohol, and required employees in both public and private sectors to forego their "13-month" bonus payment as well as between 1/12 and 1/24 of their basic salaries in favor of the Treasurrv. However, the Government has also taken steps to suppress rental payments and establish new land tenure arrangements, measures which are likely to prove counter productive. 9. Although it is difficult to assess the final impact of the foregoing measures on the economy and on public finances, preliminary data indicate that economic growth has not yet revived. This is not surprising given the continuation of drought conditicns in Burkina, which caused a 7 percent decline in 1984 cereals output (vis-a-vis the already depressed average of the two preceding years), and the persistence of an unstable political climate, which adversely affected both foreign aid and workers' remittances. As for public finances, the budget deficit appears to have remained at 4 percent of GDP in 1984 despite the austerity budget, as the economic slowdown caused revenues to drop further. Economic Policy Issues 10. While some of the recent measures are prelimnnary steps in the right direction and do indicate the Government's willingness to ulndertake reforms, the redressing of the economic and public finance situation requires a range of complementary policy changes in the areas of investment planning, financial management, and public enterprises. Corrective action in these areas could also pave the way for a possible IXF standby arrange- ment. 11. Investment Planning. Burkina's public sector has never shown great enthusiasm for -planning its investments. Continuing in this tradition, the current Government is prop'sing to embark on a number of highly visible, large-scale projects without h<-ving made 2 serious analysis of their economic merits or budgetary implications. The largest and most controversial of the proposed projects, representing a total cost of about US$320 million, is the Tambao project -involving the Ouagadougou-Kaya-Dori railroad extension, development of a manganese deposit at Tambao and construction of related infrastructure. Although more appropriate in the Burkinabe context, the recently launched "programme populaire" appears overambitiouis as well, when viewed against the rural communities' limited implementation capacity. 12. Recently, however, the new Government has appeared to be giving increased consideration to economic planning and has asked the Bank Resi- dent Mission to help. Clearly, one of the major goals of any planning process should be the definition of a realistic and well-conceived invest- ment program, i.e. one which would channel investment resources towards  priority uses, and would be commensurate with the country's absorptive capacity. The objective ranking of investment proposals according to clearly defined development priorities, estimated economic Inpact, and budgetary implication would undoubtedly lead tc a shift of attention from some high-risk propositions (e.g., Tambao) currently contemplated by tne Government to sounder project proposals, such as exist in the agriculture, transportation and human resources fields. The definition of a sound investment program could serve to rationalize not only the use of domestic resources but also that of external aid, which has financed 80-90 percent of Burkina's public investment in recent years. Such a program would be a valuable instrument for improved aid coordination; it would provide the donor community with a sounder basis for its decisions and would afford the Burkinaba Government the opportunity of taking an increasingly firmer hand in directing external assistance towards national economic priorities. 13. Financial Management. Burkina's public finances are - and will for some years continue to be - severely strained by the peaking of debt service payments. While this peaking is primarilv due to -he expiration of grace periods on foreign concessional loans obtained after the 1973-74 drought, it also reflects payments due on non-commercial external anc- internal debt incurred in the 1980-1982 period (para. 6). Debt-service payments due in 1984 amounted to CFAF 12 billion, with a further increase projected for subsequent years. 14. Restoring balance to the public finances requires a number of actions - complementary to those recently taken by the Government - on both expenditure and revenue sides. Thus expenditure cutbacks should be extend- ed to deFense spending and public transfers, notably student stipends. Non-concessional debt incurred in the 1980-82 period will probably need to be rescheduled, and new borrowing closely monitored. Despite the limited tax base, some scope exists for increasing budgetary revenues by raising import taxes and/or the indicative prices of imported consumption goods and petroleum products. Improved tax collection could also prove to be an important source of increased revenues. 15. Putting the public finances in order would also require a strengthening of such essential functions as budgeting, accounting and financial control, particularly in the area-. of external debt and public recruitment. The Government has recently proceeded to tighten control of personnel expenditures, procurement, and technical assistance contracts. An important complementary measure would now be the establic0-.ent of a budgetary and accounting system to monitor the exteraal financing of public investment and the associated counterpart and recurrent costs obligations for the Government. A close watch also needs to be kept on the evolution of debt service obligations to avoid the recent recurrence of late payments to foreign creditors. In addition, Burkinabe authorities should consider elaborating annual investment budgets (para. 12) which would allow them to adjust investment levels, from year to year, to the country's changing circumstances and evolving economic parameters.  16. Public Enterprises. Burkina has several major parastatals whi-h are managed quite efficiently and, in fact, could serve as models for Similar entities in the West Africa region - notably OPT and ONE, the telecommunications and water utiLities, respectively, and SOFITEX, the cotton marketing organization. However, most of the other public enterprises suffer from lax financial accounting and reporting to the central Government, which makes it difficult to assess the impact of their opc-ations on the consolidated public financial situation. The increasing financial troubles of the public enterprise sector in recent years are rooted partly in the liquidity problems of the Treasury and partly in inadequate policies relating to prices and tariffs, employment and internal management. To improve the financial performance of the public enterprise sector, the newly created Ministry of State Enterprises will need to take prompt action co ensure realistic pricing, curtail excess employment, and strengthen public enterprise finances. Long-Term Development Prospects 17. Barring the discovery of major economically exploitable mineral deposits, Bturkina must continue to rely for its growth on the development of its agricultural and human resource endowments. Therefore the develop- ment of these two assets should constitute the focal point of any long-term strategy to extricate the country from its present conditions of extreme poverty. 18. In agriculture, top priority should be given to reversing the deterioration of renewable resources - ground water, topsoil and forest cover - which has resulted from the pressure of growing human and livestock populations. The abandonment of traditional shifting cultivation, overcutting of forests and brush to meet fuelwood demand, and uncontrolled grazing have combined to create nearly irreversible damage to the carrying capacity of parts; of the central plateau. To arrest this environmental degradation and eventually raise productivity, requires erosion control and replacement of organic matter in the soil by integrating crop cultivation with reforestation and livestock husbandry. More and better focnsed research is needed to overcome the technical and economic constraints to the intensification of crop/forest/livestock production systems. Difficult social and political issues as well need to be addressed, particularly concerning land tenure and cGmmunal responsibility for management of forests and grazing areas. 19. A second major challenge for the country is to accelerate the development of its human resources. Increasing access to primary education and improving health through better primary health services, water supply and sanitation, and nutrition will ba critical to expanding the application of new agricultural technologies and to raising productivity levels. Progress in these areas will require policy reforms aimed at reducing unit costs, redirecting budgetary resources towards primary services, and in- creasing cost recovery. More widespread primary education is also an important means of changing attitudes regarding fertility and reducing the rate of population growth, which currently outpaces the expansion of  -6- agricultural output and makes it difficult to adspt measures to preserve the embattled agricultural resource base. 20. Other elements of a long-term strategy must include exploration and, where economically feasible, development of the country's mineral potential to generate public revenues, diversify exports, and reduce the country's vulnerability to its uncertain climate. Finally, development of transport infrastructure - with an emphasis on ensurirg adequate mainte- nance and rehabilitation of existing assets - is needed to complement actions in the directly productive sectors. Foreign Assistance and Aid Coordination 21. Burkina has received, and continues to receive, a considerable volume of external assistance. The bulk of this assistance is on highly concessional terms. However, the increasing constraints on counterpart contributions and recurrent expenditures due to the tight budgetary situa- tion call for a more selective and coordinated approach in planning foreign assistance, on the part of the Government and the donor community alike. The country's abilities to finance recurrent costs will remain very re- stricted for some years to come, especially as it undertakes the expansion of agricultural and social services which will inevitably increase demands on the domestic recurrent budget. Accordingly, local cost financing, recurrent cost financing, and high cost-sharing ratios will continue to be necessary features of external assistance to the country. PART II - WORLD BANlK GROUP OPERATIONS IN BURKINA 22. The Bank Group's commitments in Burkina, as of March 31, 1985, amounted to US$250 million for twenty-eight IDA credits. IFC has made one investment. About US$150 million have been disbursed. The IDA credits comprise fourteen projects in agriculture (including one supplementary credit), six projects in transportation (including one supplementary credit), two projects in education, three projects in telecommunications and one project each in industry, mining exploration, and urban develop- ment. The IFC investment was made for the production of plastic products destined for the local market. Burkina is also one of the major beneficia- ries of the Onchocerciasis Control Programme financed by IDA and other donors. Annex II contains a summary statement of IDA credits and IFC commitments. 23. Project implementation has generally been satisfactory over the past fifteen years. However, the recent political turmoil and resulting administrative and personnel changes have slowed the implementation or start-up of many projects, in some cases necessitating the extension of closing or effectiveness dates. Also, project implementation has been hampered by the Government's fiscal management problems which have made it difficult to meet promptly counterpart funding obligations. Burkina's disbursement rate, which historically has compared favorably with that of  other countries in the region, has deteriorated in recent months. Dis- bursements are expected to return to normal levels, however, as the politi- cal and administrative environment stabilizes. 24. In the face of uneven progress in different areas of the economic dialogue, Bank lending is being directed towards operations in sectors of certain priority where the dialogue is advancing the best. Also, opera- tions with heavy policy orientation, designed to improve overall sectoral environments, have been given priority over exclusively "hardware" projects. Thus, recent lending operations in mining, rural development, and the fertilizer subsector have addressed sectoral policy issues such as sector investment priorities, institution-building, financial policies and price distortions. The proposed Primary Education Project, now being considered, ard the Health Project, to be submitted shortly, will substan- tially improve the efficiency of the respective sectors, thus permitting expansion of primary school enrollment and rural health care services without excessive strain on the public finances. Other projects under active preparation are aimed at improving the delivery of agricultural research and extension services and expanding livestock production. 25. On the other hand, operations in sectors bogged down by major issues, which can only be solved in the context of substantial progress in the economic dialogue, are being hela in abeyance. Cases in point are the RAN Rehabilitation and the Ouaga-Kaya-Dori Road Projects, which must await the resolution of policy issues in the transport sector concerning the economic feasibility of the Tambao project (para. 12) and the currently inadequate maintenance of existing infrastructure. PART III - THE EDUCATION SECTOR General Characteristics 26. The Education System. Burkina's education and training system follows the pattern of other French-speaking countries in the region. A six-year primary cycle starting at age 7 is followed by four years of lower and three years of upper secondary school (general and technical) and higher education at the University of Ouagadougou or abroad. In addition to the formal education system, the country has developed rural youth training (Formation des jeunes agriculteurs - FJA), which comprises a network of about 600 rural youth training centers (Centres de formation des jeunes agriculteurs - CFJAs) with about 15,000 trainees, 10 percent of them girls. The three-year CFJA course focuses on literacy training and basic agricultural skills. In 1983, private schools (religious and non-denominational) accounted for less than 10 percent of primary enrollments but dominated the secondary level, with 52 percent of all enrollments in secondary general and '2 percent in technical education. Burkina's poverty is reflected in its education system: after more than two decades of development efforts and substantial enrollment growth, this system still lags behind that of most other countries and appears to be  falling further behind. Nowhere is this more ia evidence than in primary education. 27. Organization and Administration. The administrative responsibilities for education and training are divided among three ministries: the Ministry of National Education (MinLst6re de l'education nationale - MEN) for primary and secondary schoolirg; the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Ministrel- de l'enseignement superieur et de la recherche scientifique - MESRS) for university education, including studies abroad; and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Ministere de l'agriculture et de l'elevage -- MAE) for the FJA system. In addition, several other ministries such as Public Works, organize their own pre- and in-service training programs Issues in Primary Education Development 28. Access and equity. Burkina's gross primary enrollment rate of about 19 percent of the 7-12 age group is one of the lowest in Africa. Access to education is uneven. Rural areas are at a disadvantage compared to urban areas, and girls fare worse than boys. Enrollment rates for the 35 inspectorates range from 5 percent (Dori in the Sahelian Region) to 71 percent (Bobo-Dioulasso)- Girls account for 37 percent of primary enrollments, with only minor regional variations. Many villages with populations of 1,500 to 2,000 (sizes that would justify six-classroom primary schools) do not have any schools; many others have schools with three or fewer classrooms. 29. Financial constraints. In 1983, the Government allocated CFAF 11.3 billion to the education sector, a figure equivalent to 2.1 percent of the country's GNP and about 22 percent of the central Government budget. Capital investment in education amoun.ed to 7 percent of the total sectoral budget over the period 1977-83. While these Nercentages are not very high in the context of the other African countries, a comparison with the primary enrollment levels atained suggests severe constraints to further growth. The unsatisfactory relationship between efforts made and results achieved can be traced to two main factors: the relatively high cost of the main input (teachers) into primary schooling and anomalies of resource allocation in the rest of the education sector. 30. The primary teacher work force consists mainly of two categories: the "instituteurs" (level B1), recruited from graduates of the upper secondary schools or through examination promotion from the "instituteur-adjoint" level, and the "instituEeurs-adjoints" (level B2), recruited from graduates of the lower secondary schools and trained for two years. While primary teacher salaries are modest by international comparison (about US$2,100 for an "instituteur-adjoint" in mid-career), they are high in comparison to Burkina's income level (more than 10 times the GNP per capita vs. 2.4 in Latin America and 2.6 in Asia). Liberal standards for promotion from the "instituteur adjoint" to the "instituteur" category (reflected in an average annual net increase of the latter between 1980 and 1984 of over 9 percent) add another element of escalation to  - 9- primary education costs. Since maintenance of primary schools in Burkina is minimal and normally carried out directly by the village communities, the bulk (98 percent) of the primary education budget goes for teacher salaries. Consequently, any attempt at improved cost management in the subsector would have to focus on this input. However, reduction of teacher costs per pupil through an increase in the pupil/teacher ratio is not a viable means: the national average of 65 being already high. 31. Two other components of the education budget - fellowships and subsidies to private education - stand out, both because of their size and their indiscriminate use. The award of fellowships for higher education ignores criteria such as economic need, academic performance or labor market requirements, its only restrictive element being a rather generous age limit. As the number of secondary school leavers grows, so does the volume of university fellowships. Subsidies to religious secondary schools have been granted at the uniform rate of 50 percent of their budgetary requirements, again without taking account of the individual schools' needs or performance. 32. Thus, any major advance in primary education development would require a restructuring of the primary teacher corps to reduce unit costs, and a revision of present fellowship and subsidy policies. This conclusion was confirmed and developed in detail with the help of an education financing simulation model which has made a major contribution to the sector policy dialogue between the Government and IDA. Discussions have focused on a review of the major policy parameters in the education budgeting process. These parameters cover three areas: (a) inter-sectoral resource allocation (growth rate of the central Government budget and of the education sector); (b) intra-sectoral resource allocation (growth rates of budg?ts of various education sub-sectors and of their major elements such as teacher salaries, fellowships, and subsidies); and (c) efficiency of resource use (unit construction costs, pupil/teacher ratios, curriculum hours). These parameters were entered in the model which simulates the financial structure of Burkina's education system, and permits the effect of policy alternatives on the education budget to be projected. The model was presented during a policy seminar held in Ouagadougou in October 1983 with officials from the concerned Ministries (Education, Higher Education, Rural Development, Finance, Planning, Labor). 33. One of the main alternatives considered was a policy of non-intervention, i.e., holding the policy parameters constant at the base year (1982) levels while assuming a continuation of recent total budgetary growth. This course of action would raise the gross enrollment rate only slightly from about 19 percent to 27 percent. The unit cost remaining constant, the growth would be in proportion to the overall budgetary growth. By contrast, the other alternatives postulated policy changes in several areas, with the understanding that any budgetary savings in the system would be channelled into the development of primary education. One scenario of moderate intervention on a number of parameters was particularly instructive. It would (a) combine a slight increase in the share of the education sector budget in the total Covernment budget with a  - 10 - decrease in the budget for secondary and higher education fellowships, an increase in the remaining budget for secondary and higher education at an annual rate slightly lower than that for the total Government budget, and an increase in the subsidies to private education at the same rate as the Government budget increase; and (b) include the reclassification of the main category of primary school teachers ("instituteurs-adjoints") from level B2 to Cl which would decrease significantly the primary education unit costs (from US$38 to US$29 equivalent in constant 1982 US dollars). As a result, the primary gross enrollment rate would increase to about 66 percent by the year 2000, a level in line with the Government's unofficial target (para. 40). 34. These simulations demonstrate that a substantial increase in primary school enrollments before the end of this century is possible, pro- vided the Government introduces a new category of lower-paid teachers (recruited at Level Cl) to fill the additional posts and increases the budget for primary education through the reallocation of funds to and within the education sector. 35. Quality. Quantitative and qualitative shortcomings affect the two key inputs into primary education-teachers and textbooks. While the general educational level of newly recruited primary school teachers is acceptable, the insufficiency of training facilities (240 places at two secondary schools) has resulted in a shortfall of qualified teacher training graduates. Over the past three years an average of 180 primary classrooms remained vacant during part or all of the school year for want of qualified teachers. Moreover, the poorly balanced teacher training program emphasizes general subjects at the expense of pedagogical training and practice, training methods are inadequate, and pedagogical support to primary school teachers, particularly in rural areas, is weak, mainly because of inadequate transportation. With the opening, in Oc__ber 1985, of the new National Primary Teachers College (Ecole nationale des enseignants du primaire - ENEP) in Loumbila (para. 47), the physical basis fAor restructuring primary teacher training will become available. 36. Primary school textbooks are scarce, costly, heterogeneous and of limited relevance. Some stem from foreign donations spread unevenly over the country and showing undesirable diversity. The same holds true for commercially provided textbooks, which in addition are costly and therefore out of the reach of most families, particularly those in rural areas. Moreover, all textbooks are either directly imported or only slightly adapted to conditions in Burkina, thus curtailing their relevance and comprehensibility. Since October 1984, the Government has standardized the prices of textbooks and teaching materials throughout the country, and has selected a set of textbooks to be used in all primary schools. Never- theless, even the reduced prices (e.g., US$14.55 equivalent for all textbooks required for Grade 6) entail a considerable burden for most families. The organizational structures for the development, production and distribution of teaching materials are already in place. The Pedagogical Institute of Burkina (Institut pedagogique du Burkina - IPB)  - 11 - and the School Equipment Division of the Primary Education Directorate share responsibilities in this area. 37. As a result of inadequate and inappropriate inputs, the primary education system suffers from low internal efficiency. Repetition averages more than 18 percent over the six-year cycle and is as high as 45 percent in Grade 6. Within the normal time of six years, only a quarter of all entrants pass the final examination, which is not a qualifying examination for secondary school and therefore reflects achievement rather than a scarcity of secondary school places. It takes more than 13 student years to produce a primary school graduate in Burkina. 38. Institutional Weaknesses. While the simulation exercise (paras. 32-34) has demonstrated the possibility of a significant expansion of primary education through a policy of reallocation of the education budget and efficient use of resources and mobilization of incremental resources, two impediments stand in the way of its implementation. The first is the inadequate technical capacity of the main institutions responsible for the planning of resource use in the sector: the Educational Planning Directorate, the Guidance and Fellowships Directorate, and the Directorate of Rural Training and Organization (Direction de la formation et de l'organisation du monde rural - DFOMR), in HEN, MESRS and MAE, respectively. The other impediment is the limited experience in school construction and project implementation of the newly created Education Projects Directorate ii MEN. A strengthening of these institutions is imperative if the large and difficult task of reallocating and managing resources for primary education expansion is to succeed. The Government's Policy 39. Burkina's education system, very small at independence, began to develop in response to urgent needs for middle-level and professional manpower. By the late 1960s, the task of developing basic education throughout the country came to be seen as increasingly important. The Government chose the vehicle of nonformal rural training to combine literacy training with the teaching of basic agricultural skills (para. 26). In recent years, however, the Government has come to realize that this alternative system is no substitute for widespread primary education, mainly because of the educational preferences of most rural families, the substantial physical requirements of the FJA system and, due to the necessarily small size of trainee groups, its considerable unit costs, amounting to about US$143 per trainee year, versus US$38 in primary education. 40. Tie Government is now embarking upon the rapid expansion of primary schooling as its foremost sectoral objective, having established a tentative enrollment target of 60 percent for the year 2000. It realizes that this will require major policy modifications, particularly general resource reallocations within the sector and a gradual restructuring of the primary teacher corps in order to lower average salaries. Signals of this awareness are: the assignment of about 900 members of the recently  - 12 - established National Civil Service to teach for one year in primary schools - an expedient that avoids long-term budgetary commitments (but whose educational merits are stili untested); a shift in university scholarships wherever possible from the more expensive foreign institutions to Ouagadougou University; a drastic curtailment of subsidies to private secondary schools; a curb on the further expansion of the network of public secondary schools; and a rethinking of fellowship policies. These new initiatives are expected to coalesce and take a more concrete form in the forthcoming Development Plan for the five-year period 1986-90. The Bank Group's Role 41. Previous Projects. Previous Bank Group assistance to education and training in Burkina focused ci the FJA, with supplementary investments in other areas. The First Education Project (Cr. 430-UV, signed in June 1973, for US$2.85 million) aimed at strengthening the FJA system in three of the country's eleven regions. In addition, the IDA Credit included funds for building and equipping 22 secondary school science laboratories. Following a one-year extension of the Closing Date, Cr. 430-UV was fully disbursed and all components--with the exception of the science laboratories-were completed, albeit on a reduced scale because of cost increases and adverse rate-of-exchange fluctuations. (PPAR No. 3839, March 1, 1982.) 42. The Second Education Project (Cr. 956-UV, signed in October 1979, for US$14.0 million) continued to provide support of the FJA system and also gave assistance to the Public Works Training Center. The project has experienced initial delays and difficulties due to changes in administrative responsibilities. but performance has improved significantly over the past two years. After an initial one-year extension of the original Closing Date and a second extension of six months, the IDA Credit will be closed on December 31, 1985. 43. Future Approach to the Education Sector. Recognizing that a broad base of literacy, particularly among the rural population, is an essential condition for sustained socio-economic development, the Bank Group considers support for Burkina's basic education the first priority for continued lending to the sector. Given the non-replicability on a large scale of the FJA system to provide basic education, future assistance would pursue this aim through the expansion of primary schooling. However, care should be taken to harmonize the entire system of basic education (primary and FJA) to avoid waste of resources. Support would be provided directly (through the provision of critical inputs to primary education) and indirectly (through participation in the efforts to restructure the financing of the education system). More specifically, the Bank Group's involvement will address the following areas: (a) cost-efficiency of post-primary education; (b) institutional development and assistance to the management of the education system, particularly for the management of costs and the promotion of a cost-recovery system for post-primary education; and (c) support of efforts to develop suitable modes of primary education in sparsely populated areas.  - 13 - PART IV - THE PROJECT 44. The rationale for the proposed project was developed by a UNESCO-Bank education sector mission (November 1981) and an IDA economic mission (4040-UV, September 1983) which identified primary education as the priority areas for educational development in Burkina while pointing to the need for more efficient use of resources. Project preparation was undertaken by the Government with assistance from a UNESCO mission in February 1983; appraisal took place in March 1984; and negotiations were held in Washington in April, 1985. The Staff Appraisal Report (No. 5443-UV) is being distributed separately to the Executive Directors. A Supplementary Project Data Sheet is given in Annex III. Project Objective and Description 45. The project has as its main objective the implementation of a financing strategy designed to accelerate the expansion of primary education through reduction of primary education unit costs and development of the central institutions' capabilities for planning, managing and controlling education costs. In order to reduce unit costs, the main category of primary school teachers (instituteurs-adjoints) would be recruited at a lower salary level, and the internal efficiency of primary education would be improved through better focused training of teachers, combined with the development of a textbook production, procurement and distribution capability. To reduce primary school construction costs, low-cost designs for classrooms, as well as ways to encourage local initiatives in school building, would be developed and introduced through a pilot school building program. By the same token, a system of periodic school waintenance and repair would be established in the project area. To develop the central institutions' capabilities for planning, managing and controlling education costs, with a view to maintaining reduced unit costs over the long-term and to carry out the necessary resource allocations within the sector, the project would strengthen the Educational Planning Directorate and the Education Project Directorate in MEN, the Guidance and Fellowships Directorate in MESRS, and the Rural Youth Training Directorate in MAE. Reduction of Primary Education Unit Costs 46. Restructuring of teacher training. In order to reduce primary education unit costs and thereby alleviate the financial constraints to primary education expansion, the project would help to reclassify the new category of primary school teachers (instructeurs-adjoints), who would still be recruited with a lower secondary school diploma (BEPC) but integrated into the civil service at level Cl instead of B2. It would also help to upgrade the promotion examination for all primary school teachers in order to introduce a measure of selectivity and slow down the overall rate of promotion. The new "instituteurs-adjoints" who would comprise the standard teacher category in primary education, would be trained for one year at the National Primary Teachers College in Loumbila (para. 35). The  - 14 - training course, an outline of which is already available, would have a course content comprising pedagogical training (about 40 percent), general subjects (40 percent), and complementary courses such as agriculture and physical education (20 percent). The primary teacher promotion examination would be upgraded by introducing general subjects. Promotion requirements would thereby be tightened and the overall rate of promotion slowed. 47. The National Primary Teachers College is being established with assistance from the Netherlands (US$1.4 million for civil works). Construction started in early 1984 and is expected to be completed by mid-1985. The ENEP will have an enrollment of about 340 students, which would be sufficient to meet the requirement for primary school teachers training over the next five to ten years. The proposed IDA credit would finance: civil works (additional housing for 12 staff); furniture and equipment; fellowships; and incremental operating costs (operation and maintenance of facilities, equipment and materials). 48. During negotiations, the Government presented to IDA the decree establishing the National Primary Teachers College and reclassifying the main category of primary schools teachers (instituteurs-adjoints) from level B2 to Cl, thus ensuring the timely introduction of the new teacher training program. The Government also agreed that it will issue, prior to December 31, 1986, a decree upgrading the primary teacher promotion examination (Schedule 4, Part A, para. 1 (c) of DCA). 49. Textbook development, procurement and distribution. The project would provide assistance to the Ministry of National Education to develop a capability to produce, adapt, procure and distribute low-cost textbooks and teacher guides for the primary schools. This assistance not only would help the Ministry to meet the urgent short-term needs for textbooks and reduce their cost (para. 35), but would also, over the long te-m, improve the internal efficiency of primary education and curtail any side effects of the introduction of the new category of teachers (para. 46) on the quality of primary education. This textbook component would encompass three activities: (a) development, over the medium term, of a managerial and technical capability within the Pedagogical Institute of Burkina (IPE) to adapt suitable imported materials in the less culturally biased subjects (math and science) and to produce national textbooks in French for Grades 1-3; (b) strengthening the capabilities of the School Equipment Division to procure and distribute textbooks and other teaching materials; and (c) assistance in the provision of about 800,000 textbooks and teachers' guides. 50. Assistance to the Pedagogical Institute of Burkina (IPB) would focus on the reorganization of the Teaching Materials Production Department during the first year of project implementation in order to establish an Editing Division staffed with 10 writers and three editors and a Production Division staffed with two textbook production specialists, one layout and one graphics designer, and 11 skilled printers (all nationals). The School Equipment Division would receive seven additional staff to strengthen its distribution and storage facilities. The textbook provision program would  - 15 - encompass the production of about 180,000 textbooks each for math and science (Grades 3-6), 155,000 textbooks for French (Grades 1-3). and 6.000 teachers' guides for each of these subjects. For reasons of economy, expediency and quality, the printing of the textbooks would be done abroad, but the teachers' guides would be printed locally. To meet urgent requirements that cannot, in the short term, be satisfied through national efforts, the program would also include the importation of about 260,000 textbooks and 8,500 teachers' guides in French for Grades 1-6, distribution of the combined stocks of the locally adapted and imported textbooks, and monitoring of their use. Distribution of the textbooks would be carried out in two stages: from the School Equipment Division to tha Primary School Inspectorates, and thence to the primary schools. Transportation would be handled by private contractors. Textbooks which are expected to last for three years, would be loaned free of charge to the primary school students. 51. The proposed IDA credit would finance: (a) civil works to rehabilitatelmodify the IPB library, conference room and former printing shop into offices for the Editing Division and to build an adjacent printing shop and a central warehouse and rehabilitate two inspectorate warehouses for the School Equipment Division; (b) furniture, equipment and vehicles; (c) the acquisition of adaptation rights for textbooks, the production costs of textbooks and teachers' guides, and the procurement of imported textbooks and teachers' guides; (d) staff training and specialist services; and (e) incremental operating expenditures (operation and maintenance of equipment and facilities and distribution costs). Thie Government has agreed that, no later than June 30, 1986, the IPB's Teaching Materials Produccion Department will be reorganized to establish an Editing Division and a Production Division, with staffing in numbers and with qualifications satisfactory to the Government and to IDA (Schedule 4, Part A, para. 2 (b) of DCA). 52. Primary school construction and maintenance In order to reduce primary school building costs, encourage local initiatives in school construction and maintenance, and increase the number of school units, the project would: 'a) conduct a pilot program for identifying cost-efficient modes of primary school construction; (b) establish a fund to encourage village construction of schoois through matching contributions; and (c) implement a low-cost primary school construction program, based on the pilot program, which would increase the total number of school units by about 12 percent and would be carried out in seven disadvantaged provinces. This program would also aim at establishing a village-based system of school maintenance (para. 55). 53. For the pilot school building program, the Education Project Directorate would be provided assistance in constructing 30 classrooms and supplementary facilities to experiment with various building standards, with economy and ease of maintenance as important criteria in identifying suitable modes. To facilitate supervision of the program and also to provide an adequate number of teaching practice schools for the National Primary Teachers College (para. 46), some of the experimental classrooms  - 16 - Ouagadougou. During project implementation the Education Projects Directorate would conduct a systematic evaluation of the pilot school building program, using criteria agreed with IDA, and the Directorate's findings and recommendations would be submitted to IDA for review. The matching contributions would help: (a) complete local school building efforts in villages where most of the necessary investment has already been made without help from the Government; and (b) defray the cost of the salaries of teachers to staff the classrooms provided under the pilot school building program and in cases where villages have built or are willing to build a school. These matching contributions would serve as incentives for local authorities and villagers to build and maintain schools and would help to develop the organizational pattern for such initiatives. The identification of participating villages would be made by the primary school inspectors, who would turn over the candidacies to the Education Project Directorate for further processing. 54. For the primary school construction program, the Edtcation Projects Directorate would be provided assistance in constructing about 50 classrooms and teachers houses in 150 villages located in th ! provinces of Bam, Gnagna, Gourma, Namentenga, Sanmatenga, Tapoa and Yatenga. The villages were selected mainly on the basis of a school mapping exercise conduc^--d by the Educational Planning Directorate. Norma'lly, a three-classroom unit, supplemented by three teachers houses and a well, would be built in a village lac'king a school building; in a few cases, additional classrooms would be provided for large villages where there is an acute shortage of student places. For each classroom, one housing unit would be provided because the lack of adequate teacher housing has been a major constraint to educational development in the rural areas. The organization of civil works would be based on experience gained in other rural projects, particularly in building Rural Youth Training Centers (CFJAs) under Cr. 956-UV (para. 42). To adapt classroom and staff housing designs to local conditions and to the availability of local building materials, as well as to assess alternatives for organizing the work (especially ways to permit the participation of villagers). a trial run comprising 10 school units is being implemented in 1984/85, financed under Cr. 956-UV. Prior to the start of the main construction program's first annual tranche (scheduled for October 1985), the results of this trial run would be evaluated for application in the main program. As an incentSve to further reduce construction costs, any savings that it may realize in the primary school construction program would be made available for building additional classrooms. 55. In light of the Government's budgetary constraints and in order to prevent rapid deterioration of the school infrastruct-re, as part of the pilot school building program, cost-efficient methods of improving primary school maintenance would be developed and applied throughout the primary school system. Taking into account the experience gained in the pilot program, both with regard to low maintenance modes of school building and the mobilization of village efforts, the Education Projects Directorate would establish a school maintenance system th:at would be largely village-based and require minimal financial support from the Government.  - 17 - 56. The proposed IDA credit would finance: (a) a lump sum of US$1.1 million for the pilot program, with an estimated US$0.3 million for matching salaries; (b) civil works (450 classrooms and teachers houses and 150 wells) and professional fees; (c) equipment and furniture for the 450 new classrooms and their distribution costs; (d) salaries of teachers for those classrooms on a declining basis (to facilitate disbursements, an average rate of disbursement of 65 percent for the period has been calculated); and (e) funds to develop a systeit of school maintenance and repair and to implement this system in the project area. 57. The Government has discussed with IDA how it plans to organize future primary school maintenance, with emphasis on village participation and disengagement of the central Government, and agreed that it will prepare and submit to IDA not later than December 31, 1985, a proposal for the financing and organization of periodic maintenance and repair of primary schools (Section 3.06 of DCA). Institutional Development 58. To enable the Government to implement a sector financing strategy for accelerating the expansion of primary education, the central institu- tions responsible for planning, managing and controlling education costs would be strengthened and developed under the project. Specifically, the project would reinforce the planning capacity of the Educational Planning Directorate, strengthen the management expertise of the Guidance and Fellowships Directorate, improve the planning and monitoring capacity of the Rural Youth Training Directorate, and strengthen the operational capabilities of the new Education Project Directorate. The major functions of these vour Directorates, their proposed work programs and staffing, and the assi--ance to be provided by the project are described below. 59. Educational planning. To develop a capacity for primary and secondary educational planning and for financial plarning and cost monitor- ing, and to improve decision-making in the reallocation of resources available to the sector and ensure their efficient use, the Educational Planning Directorate (para. 38) would be organized and staffed to be able, in addition to its current main responsibilities, to prepare, follow up and review the implementation of policy measures relating to the financing of the expansion of primary education. The Directorate would, in addition to its regular administrative tasks, have to undertake to: (a) improve the reliability and timing of the analysis and publication of educational statistics; (b) complete a country-wide school mapping exercise for primary education; (c) carry out, in collaboration with the Pedagogical Institute of Burkina, a study on the introduction of a double-shift system for primary schools; (d) conduct an organization and management study of the Ministry of National Education; (e) define the criteria for subsidies to private education in regard to total level of subsidies, subsidy level per student, and selection of the recipient schools; and (f) prepare, on an annual basis, a review Gf the education sector budget, aimed at increasing the trend line of budgetary allocations to primary education through a combination of measures. These measures would include an increase in the  - 18 - allocations for education at a slightly higher annual rate than the Govern- ment's overall budgetary increases, a decrease in the budget for fellow- ships for secondary and higher education, and an increase in the remaining budget for those two levels, at an annual rate slightly lewer than the Government's overall budgetary increases. During project implementation, additional staff would be assigned to DPE in numbers and qualifications agreed upon between the Government and IDA. 60. The proposed IDA credit would finance: (a) construction of an office building, to be shared with the Education Project Directorate (para. 66), furniture, equipment and vehicles; (b) staff training and short-term specialist services; and (d) incremental operating expenditures. 61. During negotiations, the Government presented a decree reforming the system of subsidies to religious secondary schools. The subsidies will now consist of a flat fee paid for each student enrolled by the Goverment in those schools. In adlition, the Government agreed that it will (a) define in a directive to be agreed upon with IDA and to be issued not later than June 30, 1986, the level of government subsidies to private educacion; and (b) undertake with IDA, not later than April 30 of each year, an annual review of the expenditures and financing needs of the education sector with a view to providing for a reallocation of education budget resources in f_vor of, or an increase in funds allocated to, primary education (Schedule 4, para. B 1 (b) and section 3.05 of DCA). 62. Management of higher education. In order to improve management of higher education with the aim of improving the criteria for the award of fellowships and formulating a strategy for post-primary educational development, the project would strengthen the Guidance and Fellowships Directorate (para. 38) in NESRS. This assistance would help to: (a) establish a modern data storage/retrieval system to eapedite the administration of fellowships and permit a more differentiated fellowship policy; and (b) carry out a study of national manpower needs and of post-primary educational development. The main tasks of the Directorate during project implementation would be to improve the organization and management of the fellowship files and the procedures linking student school attendance and achievement to fellowships; propose new criteria for fellowship awards; analyze higher education costs and contribute to the preparation of the Government-IDA annual review of the education sector budget (para. 61); and undertake a manpower study and formulate a post-primary develoument strategy in collaboration with the Ministries of National Education, Agriculture and Livestock, and Planning. To this end, five additional high-level staff members would be recruited during the first two years of the project. 63. The proposed IDA credit would finance: (a) furniture, equipment and vehicles for the Directorate of Guidance and Fellowships; (b) staff training and short-term specialist services; and Cc) incremental expenditures for the operation and maintenance of equipment.  - 19 - 64. Rural Youth Training (FJA) management. In order to continue strengthening the FJA administratiorn at the central and regional levels so that existing resources may be used more efficiently, develop the production and distributit.n of learning materials, establish a monitoring and evaluation system, and initiate studies for the future harmonization of the basic education system (primary education and FJA), the project would provide assistance to the Di:2ctorate of Rural Training and Organization (para. 38). During project implementation, the Directorate's main task would be to establish an FJA management performance monitoring system; contribute to the preparation of the manpower study (para. 62); collect, analyze and publish on a regular basis statistics on the FJA system and complete an evaluation of rural training through a sample of the FJA Centers; produce and distribute about 11.3 million leaflets and other learning materials; and organize, lead and provide technical information to a national commission, which would direct a study on ways to harmonize the basic education system (para. 43). 65. The proposed IDA credit would finance: (a) furniture, equipment and vehicles for the Directorate of Rural Training and Organization; (b) staff training and short-term specialist services; (c) salaries of two additional staff; and (d) incremental operating and monitoring expenditures. The Government has agreed that it will: (a) establish, not later than June 30. 1986, a National Commission under the auspices of the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock to review ways to harmonize the systams of primary education and of rural youth training, taking into account the new objectives assigned to DFOMR; and (b) discuss with IDA not later than June 30, 1987, the results of the above-mentioned review (Section 3.03 of DCA). 66. Project management. To stzengrhen the operational capabilities of the new Education Project Directorate (DPR), the Directorate would receive assistance in the implementation and preparation of projects. At its full development, which is expected to be achieved by late 1985, it would comprise 14 technical/administrative and 14 support staff; they would be organized into an Administration Division and a Construction and Equipment Division. Because of the wide geographic dispersion of the classroom construction sites (para. 53), three provincial cells, with a staff of nine technicians (including three Dutch volunteers) for direct on-site supervision of civil works and supply management, would be attached to the Construction and Equipment Division. An important function of the Directorate would be to identify and prepare projects both for investment by the G vernment itself and by external agencies. 67. The proposed IDA credit would finance: (a) construction of an office building, to be shared with the Educational Planning Directorate (para. 60), a central storage facility in Ouagadougou, and three regional posts which would serve as headquarters for the provincial cells and as regional storage points; (b) furniture, equipment and vehicles; (c) staff training and specialist services; (d) the salaries of 25 national contract personnel; (d) operational expenditures; and (e) funds for project  - 20 - preparation work (feasibility studies, requirements surveys, architectural designs, and development of equipment lists). Project Cost and Financing Plan 68. The total project cost over the six years of implementation is eE,imated at US$23.2 million equivalent (net of taxes and duties), with a foreign exchange component of US$14.9 million (64 percent). Base cost estimates are in rebruary 1985 prices. Allowances for annwal price escalations are as follows: for foreign costs, 9 percent for 1985-87; 7.5 percent for 1988 and 1989; and 6 percent for the years thereafter; for local costs, a uniform rate uf 10 percent per year. The project would be financed by IDA (US$21.6 million, or 93 percent of total project cost) and the Government (US$1.6 million, in the form of incremental staff salaries and counterpart contributions for school maintenance and repair). 69. Recurrent costs. VWhen fully developed, the project components under the responsibility of MEN would require annual budgetary allocations on the order of CFAF 530 million (US$1.1 million), in constant 1984 prices, to continue operation of the schools and institutions established or expanded under the project. These incremental costs would be equivalent to 7 percent of the Ministry's 1984 recurrent budget. While such an increase is feasible, the expected continued expansion of primary education will require stringent control of the entire education budget (paras. 32-33). The recurrent budgetary implications of the components under the responsibility of MAE and NESRS are estimated at CFAF 60 million and CFAF 10 million (US$0.12 million and US$0.02 million) annually, or 2.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, of their 1984 recurrent budgets. Project Implementation 70. Preparation. Each project component is supported by a detailed working paper, and educational specifications for the National Primary Teachers College have been prepared. Initial experience with the logistics of rural classroom construction is being obtained, and start-up of the proposed project is being facilitated, under Cr. 956-LW (Second Education Project). Under that project, US$1.3 million ie being used to finance: (a) initial operating costs and the purchase of start-up vehicles; (b) furniture and equipment for the Education Project Directorate; (c) early recruitment of two specialists for the Directorate; (d) priority fellowships for staff of the Educational Planning Directorate and the IPB; (e) architectural design work and bidding documents for the proposed project facilities which are to be completed by June 1985; and (f) the construction of 10 primary school units in 1984/85 as a trial run. 71. Sites. Suitable sites are already available for civil works to be undertaken as part of the textbook development, educational planning, and project management components. Warehousing facilities for the textbook and primary school construction components would be built on the grounds of the Lycee Zenda in Ouagadougou. Suitable sites for the three regional cells at Fada N'gourma, Kaya and Ouahigouya have been made available. The  - 21 - 150 villages to be included in the primary school building program have been identified (para. 54), and the provision of suitable sites in the villages does not appear to present a problem. 72. Implementation responsibility. The main responsibility for the technical aspects of project implementation would be given to the relevant Directorates/Directorates General in the three participating Ministries. The largest project component, the primary school construction and maintenance program (para. 52), would be under the direct supervision of the Education Project Directorate, as would the primary teacher training component (para. 46) and future project preparation. The Project Directorate would serve as liaison between IDA and the implementing agencies and would support all of them (except the FJA Directorate) in the areas of procurement, financial administration, documentation, monitoring and reporting. In view of the familiarity of the FJA Directorate with project implementation procedures, the role of the Education Project Directorate vis-a-vis the FJA component (para. 64) would be limited to liaison with IDA. 73. Specialist services and fellowships. The project would finance a total of 209.5 months of specialist services and 402 months of foreign fellowships. Terms of reference for the specialist posts have been agreed with the Government, as have the scope and content of the fellowship program. The Government agreed that it will require all staff having received training abroad financed under the project to remain in their assignments for a period of at least three years following the completion of training (Section 3.04 of DCA). Procurement 74. The following procurement arrangements would apply, with the figures in parentheses showing amounts to be financed by IDA:  - 22 - Amounts and Methods of Procurement (US$ million) Category ICB LCB Other N/A Total Civil Works and 3.0 bI 2.9 c/ 2.5 d/ - 8.4 Professional Fees a/ (3.0) (2.9) (2.5) - ( 8.4) Hatching Contributions e/ 0.2 0.6 c/ 0.2 d/ - 1.0 (0.2) (0.6) (0.2) ( 1.0) Furniture, Equipment 0.5 fl 1.3 S/ 0.07 h/ - 1.9 and Vehicles (0.5) (1.3) (0.07) C 1.9) Periodic Kaintenance - - 1.2 i/ - 1.2 and Repair (0.6) ( 0.6) Textbooks 0.5 i/ - 1.3 k/ - 1.8 (0.5) (1.3) { 1.8) Specialist Services - - 4.0 1/ 0.3 m/ 4.3 and Fellowships (4.0) (0.3) C 4.3) Salaries nf 1/ Project staff - - - 0.8 0.8 (0.4) ( 0.4) 2/ Teachers - - - 1.8 1.8 (1.2) ( 1.2) Operating Costs - 1.5 o/ 0.5 dl - 2.0 (1.5) (0.5) C 2.0) Total 4.2 6.3 9.8 2.9 23.2 (4.2, (6.3) _(