Niger - Third Education Project

Report No. PIC897 Project name Niger-Third Education Project(&) Region Africa Sector Education Project ID NEPA1980 Borrower Government of Niger Implementing agency Mr. Saadou Galadima Project Director, Ministry of Education B.P. 11897, Niamey, Niger Tel: 227-72--26 Date Prepared January 31, 1994 Projected Board Date May 31, 1994 Country and Sector Background 1. Niger has a low level of human resource development: First, its adult literacy rate (14%), and primary school enrolent ratio (28%-) are among the lowest in the world. Furthermore, in recent years, the increase in enrolent has not kept pace with the population growth. This stagnation of human resource development will have serious detrimental effects on Niger's long-term development prospects. Second, Niger's primary education is generally of low quality and relevance and has a low internal efficiency: 16% of all pupils are repeaters; about one-third drop out prior to the final grade; and very few of those who take the leaving examination pass. Curriculum and training materials do not reflect the needs of the students who will not continue beyond primary education and who will be employed in the rural/informal sector. Third, enrolent expansion will continue to face financial constraints given Niger's low level of educational development and severe budgetary limitations. Last, the education sector's weak planning and management capacity hampers efficient use of existing resources. Project Objectives 2. The Project objective is to help shift Niger's educational system from a narrow, elitist, costly one to a more relevant and equitable one in which resources are allocated and used more efficiently and where priority is given to improved quality and to the expansion of Primary Education. Project Description 3. The proposed project will focus on issues in primary education including qualitative improvements, raising the primary enrolent ratio, and reducing disparities in access with respect to gender and urban/rural distribution. The role of decentralized levels is being emphasized. The Government's plan seeks to increase the primary enrolent ratio from its current level of 28.5% to 35% by 1999.  Project Financing 4. Financial participation has been discussed with representatives of the donors in Niger, with French Cooperation in Paris, and with Kfw and GTZ in Frankfurt. FAC plans to support the transformation of the Faculty of Pedagogy into an "Ecole Normale Superieure", to strengthen the training of primary and secondary school teachers, and to finance curriculum development. Kfw has shown interest in cofinancing primary school construction and rehabilitation. GTZ plans to support the extension of the experimental primary schools in national languages provided the evaluation indicates positive results. FED has confirmed its intention to cofinance the Project. The Norwegian contribution would finance development and procurement of primary school textbooks and teachers'guide and the rehabilitation of classrooms. Project Implementation 5. Critical policy measures are being developed. (a) Enrolent targets: The national development program is designed to achieve the following targets by 1999: raising overall primary education ratio from 28.5% in 1993, to 35%, and the share of female enrolent from 36% to 409. While it appears modest, to achieve this target in the present social and economic context of Niger will require a major budgetary effort. (b) Increasing public expenditures on primary education: To attain 35% gross enrolent ratio by 1999 it was agreed that: * 520 new teaching posts will be added annually to the Government's primary education budget ; * The annual training materials budget for primary education (under a specific line-item in the national budget) will be gradually increased; and * 150 classes will be financed annually through the public investment budget. (c) Faculty of Pedagogy: The government agreed to eliminate the present duplication of programs provided at the Faculty of Pedagogy (FP) of the University of Niamey and by other University Faculties. The FP will be transformed into an "Ecole Normale Superieure" (ENS) that will train teachers for lower and upper secondary education through one year pedagogical programs for students who have completed their subject matter training at the Faculty of Science or Faculty of humanities. (d) Student subsidies: The need to contain student subsidies was discussed with the Government based on a working paper prepared by the Ministry of Education. The Government agreed to send IDA concrete proposals regarding reduction of the level of student subsidies. (e) Studies: The Government agreed to conduct: -2 -  * a study on measures to introduce and to stimulate private education and thereafter implement strategy for promoting increased provision of education by the private sector, communities and NGOS; * a comprehensive and careful evaluation of the experimental primary schools in national languages which have been operating in Niger since the mid-1970's; and * a study on measures to be implemented to contain administrative costs. Project Sustainability 6. The project aims at assisting Government to formulate an appropriate education sector strategy and implement reforms in the secondary and technical/vocational programs. The project entails several risks. First, there is pressure within the educational establishment to upgrade the training and thus the costs of teachers. Second, there may be political opposition to the restructuring of the technical and vocational system. Environmental Aspects 7. The environmental category assigned to the project is "C". Program Objective Categories 8. The project primarily responds to the country's human resource development strategy. Because of measures dealing with girl's participation in education and with a pilot feeding program, it has WID and antipoverty dimensions. Contact Point: Public Information Center The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202)458-5454 Fax No.: (202)522-1500 Note: This is information based on an evolving project. Certain components may not necessarily be included in the final project. - 3 -