financement accéléré covid-19 pour le benin · 2020. 7. 16. · financement accéléré demandé...

Note de couverture de la requête d’un

financement accéléré COVID-19 pour le Benin

CONTEXTE

Pays : Benin

Agent (s) partenaire(s) : Banque mondiale

Agence(s) de coordination : UNICEF.

Intitulé du programme : BENIN COVID-19 Education Response GPE Project.

Montant total du financement accéléré COVID-19 : 10 000 000 $US

Commissions de l’agent partenaire (en supplément du montant total du financement accéléré COVID-19 demandé)1 :

250 000 US$

Commissions de l’agent partenaire en % du montant total du financement accéléré demandé :

2,5%

Date de soumission de la requête pour un financement accéléré COVID-19 :

5/13/2020

Date estimée de démarrage du financement accéléré COVID-19 :

6/18/2020

Date estimée de clôture du financement accéléré COVID-19 (doit correspondre au dernier jour du mois, par exemple : le 30 juin 2021) :

12/31/2021

Date prévue pour la remise du rapport de fin d’exécution (au maximum 6 mois après la date de clôture du programme) :

6/30/2022

Modalités du financement - (mettre un ‘X’)

Fonds commun sectoriel

Fonds commun de projet / Cofinancement

X Projet autonome

1 Commissions de l’agent partenaire : Les commissions générales de l’agent partenaire s’ajoutent à l’AMP et sont déterminées selon les règles internes de l’agent partenaire. Réglées au siège de l’agent partenaire, elles correspondent à des frais généraux et contribuent généralement au défraiement des frais administratifs et autres charges encourues au titre de la gestion et de l’administration des fonds transférés. Ces commissions sont prédéterminées dans l’accord sur les procédures financières conclu entre l’agent partenaire et l’administrateur fiduciaire du PME.

Note à l’attention de l’utilisateur

Vérification de l’éligibilité :

➔ Avant de soumettre une requête de financement accéléré COVID-19, le Gouvernement ou

l’Agence de coordination informe le Secrétariat de l’intention du pays de présenter une requête

et fournit un calendrier pour la soumission de la requête auprès du Secrétariat.

Lignes directrices pour le financement accéléré :

➔ Les candidats doivent lire directive relatives au dépôt d'une requête d’un financement accéléré COVID-19, qui explique le processus d’élaboration de la requête, y compris le calendrier, les étapes nécessaires. Si le candidat a besoin d’informations supplémentaires, il peut contacter le responsable-pays au Secrétariat.

https://www.globalpartnership.org/content/guidelines-covid-19-coronavirus-accelerated-funding-windowhttps://www.globalpartnership.org/content/guidelines-covid-19-coronavirus-accelerated-funding-window

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: PCBASIC0223261

INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT AND/OR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

PROJECT APPRAISAL DOCUMENT

ON A

PROPOSED GRANT

IN THE AMOUNT OF US$ 7 MILLION

TO THE

REPUBLIC OF BENIN

FOR A

BENIN COVID-19 EDUCATION RESPONSE GPE PROJECT

July 10, 2020

{Education Global Practice} {Africa Region}

OR

This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.

This document is being made publicly available prior to Board consideration. This does not imply a presumed outcome. This document may be updated following Board consideration and the updated document will be made publicly available in accordance with the Bank’s policy on Access to Information.

CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS

(Exchange Rate Effective {June 29, 2020})

Currency Unit = CFA

F CFA 583.7 = US$1

FISCAL YEAR

January 1 - December 31

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

AFD French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement) APA Alternate Procurement Arrangements AWP Annual Work Program AWPB Annual Work Plan and Budget BCEAO Central Bank of West African States (Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest)

BEPC Exam for the LSE Certificate (Brevet d’Etudes du Premier Cycle) CAA Autonomous Debt Centralization Department CBO/EPT Beninese Coalition of Education for All Organizations (Coalition Beninoise des

Organisations de l’Education pour Tous) CEP Primary School Certificate (Certificat d’Etudes Primaires) CERC Contingent Emergency Response Component CF Financial Control Directorate (Contrôle Financier) CM2 Sixth Grade Students (CM2) (end of primary education) COGEP School-Based Management Committees (Comité de Gestion de l’Ecole Primaire).

CP Second Grade Students (CP) CPF Country Partnership Framework CRS Catholic Relief Services

CSDM Disbursement and Procurement Monitoring Committee (Comité de suivi des Décaissements et des Marchés)

D/IGPM Director of Pedagogical Inspection and Innovation (D/IGPM) D/INFRE Director of the National Institute for Training and Research in Education (D/INFRE) D/INIFRCF Director of the National Engineering Institute for Training and Capacity Building of Trainers

(D/INIFRCF)

DAF Director of Administration and Finance DAF/MEMP Administration and Finances Department for MEMP (Direction de l’Administration et des

Finances MEMP) DDEMP Regional Directorates of Education for MEMP (Direction Départementale des Enseignements

Maternel et Primaire) DDESTFP Regional Directorates of Education for MESTFP (Direction Départementale des Enseignements

Secondaire, Technique et de la Formation Professionnelle)

DEM Directorate of Pre School (Direction de l'Enseignement Maternel) DEP Director of Primary Education DFIL Disbursement and Financial Information Letter DGB General Directorate of Budget (Direction Générale du Budget) DGES Director of General Secondary Education DGFID Investment and Development Financing DGPD General Directorates of Development Policies DGTCP Directorate General of the Treasury and Public Accounting (Direction Générale du Budget et

de la Comptabilité Publique)

DIPIQ Director of Pedagogical Inspection, Innovation and Quality DNCMP National Procurement Control Directorate (Direction Nationale de Contrôle des Marchés

Publics)

DPP Director of Programming and Planning

E&S Environment and Safeguards ECF Extended Credit Facility EMIS Education Management Information System ESCP Environmental and Social Commitment Plan ESP Education Sector Plan ESRS Environmental and Social Review Summary F CFA Franc From the African Financial Community (Franc de la Communauté Financière d'Afrique) FCB-PME Common Budgetary Fund -GPE (Fonds Commun Budgétaire – Partenariat Mondial pour

l’Education -FCB-PME

FDI Foreign Direct Investment FI Financial Intermediaries FM Financial Management FTI-FCB Fast Track Initiative - Common Budgetary Fund (Initiative Fast-Track- Fonds Commun

Budgétaire)

GAP Government Action Program GDP Gross Domestic Product GEMS Geo-Enabling Method for Monitoring and Supervision GER Gross Enrollment Ratio GIR Gross Intake Rate GIZ German Corporation for International Cooperation GoB Government of Benin GPE Global Partnership for Education GPI Gender Parity Index GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism GRS Grievance Redress Service HCI Human Capital Index HDI Human Development Index IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ICR Implementation Completion and Results Report ICT Information and Communication Technology ICWMP Infectious Control and Waste Management Plan IDA International Development Association IFRs Interim Financial Reports IGF General Inspectorate of Finance IMF International Monetary Fund IPF Investment Project Financing LEG Local Education Group LES Lower Secondary Education (Premier Cycle de l’Enseignement Secondaire Général)

LMP Labor Management Procedure LSE Lower secondary education LSS Lower secondary school M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MEMP Ministry of Pre- and Primary School (Ministère des Enseignements Maternel et Primaire)

MESFTP Ministry of Secondary, Technical Education and Vocational Training (Ministère des Enseignements Secondaire, Technique et de la Formation et Professionnelle)

MESRS Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique)

MEU Monitoring and Evaluation Unit MoD Ministry of Development MoEs Ministries of Education MoF Ministry of Finance MPA Multiphase Programmatic Approach MTR Mid-Term Review NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations NPF New Procurement Framework OHS Occupational, Health and Safety PA Pedagogic Advisers PAG Government Action Program PASEC Regional Assessment for Francophone Countries (Programme d’Analyse du Secteur de

l’Education de la CONFEMEN)

PBC Performance-Based Conditions PBI Performance-Based Incentives PCR Primary Completion Rate PCU Project Coordination Unit PDO Project Development Objective PIM Project Implementation Manual PP Percentage Points PPSD Project Procurement Strategy for Development PSC Project Steering Committee PTA Parent Teacher Association PTAB Annual Work Plan and Budget (Plan de Travail Annuel et Budget) PU Procurement Units SDGs Social Development Goals (SDGs) SEA-SH Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment SEP Stakeholder Engagement Plan SGM Secretary General of the Ministry SIDC Secure Identification Credentials SIP Strategic Integrated Plan SOP Series of Projects SPM Procurement Specialist (Spécialiste en Passation des Marchés) SSA Sub-Saharan Africa STEP Systematic tracking of Exchanges in Procurement STP Technical Permanent Secretariat (Secretariat Technique Permanent) ToRs Terms of Reference UATS Technical Support and Monitoring Unit (Unité d’Appui Technique et de Suivi)

UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund USE Upper Secondary Education VfM Value for Money WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

WB World Bank WBG World Bank Group WFP World Food Program WHO World Health Organization

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DATASHEET ................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

I. STRATEGIC CONTEXT ...................................................................................................... 6

A. Country Context................................................................................................................................ 6

B. Sectoral and Institutional Context .................................................................................................... 8

C. Relevance to Higher Level Objectives ............................................................................................. 12

II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................. 13

A. Project Development Objective ..................................................................................................... 13

B. Project Components ....................................................................................................................... 13

C. Project Beneficiaries ....................................................................................................................... 19

D. Results Chain .................................................................................................................................. 20

E. Rationale for Bank Involvement and Role of Partners ................................................................... 20

F. Lessons Learned and Reflected in the Project Design .................................................................... 21

III. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS ............................................................................ 23

A. Institutional and Implementation Arrangements .......................................................................... 23

B. Results Monitoring and Evaluation Arrangements......................................................................... 24

C. Sustainability ................................................................................................................................... 25

IV. PROJECT APPRAISAL SUMMARY ................................................................................... 25

A. Technical, Economic and Financial Analysis (if applicable) ......................................................... 25

B. Fiduciary .......................................................................................................................................... 26

C. Legal Operational Policies ............................................................................................................... 28

D. Environmental and Social ............................................................................................................... 28

V. GRIEVANCE REDRESS SERVICES ..................................................................................... 31

VI. KEY RISKS ..................................................................................................................... 31

VII. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND MONITORING ................................................................... 32

ANNEX 1: Implementation Arrangements and Support Plan .......................................... 42

ANNEX 2: Detailed project costs .................................................................................... 53

ANNEX 3- Key Education Sector Challenges Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic ................. 56

ANNEX 4: KEY RISKS ...................................................................................................... 58

. .................................................................................................................................... 60

ANNEX 5: Map of Benin showing districts with a PCR lower than 50% ........................... 60

Annex 6- Detailed Implementation Plan ........................................................................ 61

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DATASHEET

BASIC INFORMATION BASIC_INFO_TABLE

Country(ies) Project Name

Benin Benin COVID-19 Education Response GPE Project

Project ID Financing Instrument Environmental and Social Risk Classification

Process

P174186 Investment Project Financing

Moderate Urgent Need or Capacity Constraints (FCC)

Financing & Implementation Modalities

[ ] Multiphase Programmatic Approach (MPA) [ ] Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC)

[ ] Series of Projects (SOP) [ ] Fragile State(s)

[ ] Performance-Based Conditions (PBCs) [ ] Small State(s)

[ ] Financial Intermediaries (FI) [✓] Fragile within a non-fragile Country

[ ] Project-Based Guarantee [ ] Conflict

[ ] Deferred Drawdown [✓] Responding to Natural or Man-made Disaster

[ ] Alternate Procurement Arrangements (APA) [ ] Hands-on Enhanced Implementation Support (HEIS)

Expected Approval Date Expected Closing Date

26-Aug-2020 31-Dec-2021

Bank/IFC Collaboration

No

Proposed Development Objective(s)

The proposed project's development objectives are to: (a) ensure continuity of teaching during and after the COVID -19 pandemic, particularly in deprived communes in the Recipient’s territory; and (b) increase the Government’s preparedness to mitigate the effects of future crises

The World Bank Benin COVID-19 Education Response GPE Project (P174186)

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Components

Component Name Cost (US$, millions)

Component 1: Ensuring safe reopening of schools and return of students, especially in deprived communes

5.74

Component 2: Improving preparedness to mitigate the effects of future crises 0.72

Component 3: Ensuring monitoring, management and coordination of the project 0.39

Bank supervision cost 0.15

Organizations

Borrower: Ministry of Economy and Finance

Implementing Agency: Ministry of Pre and Primary Schools

PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions)

SUMMARY-NewFin1

Total Project Cost 7.00

Total Financing 7.00

of which IBRD/IDA 0.00

Financing Gap 0.00

DETAILS -NewFinEnh1

Non-World Bank Group Financing

Trust Funds 7.00

Education for All - Fast Track Initiative 7.00

INSTITUTIONAL DATA Practice Area (Lead) Contributing Practice Areas

Education


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SYSTEMATIC OPERATIONS RISK-RATING TOOL (SORT)

Risk Category Rating

1. Political and Governance ⚫ Moderate

2. Macroeconomic ⚫ Moderate

3. Sector Strategies and Policies ⚫ Moderate

4. Technical Design of Project or Program ⚫ Moderate

5. Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability ⚫ Moderate

6. Fiduciary ⚫ Moderate

7. Environment and Social ⚫ Moderate

8. Stakeholders ⚫ Low

9. Other

10. Overall ⚫ Moderate

COMPLIANCE

Policy Does the project depart from the CPF in content or in other significant respects?

[ ] Yes [✓] No

Does the project require any waivers of Bank policies?

[✓] Yes [ ] No

Have these been approved by Bank management?

[✓] Yes [ ] No

Is approval for any policy waiver sought from the Board?

[ ] Yes [✓] No


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Environmental and Social Standards Relevance Given its Context at the Time of Appraisal

E & S Standards Relevance

Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Relevant

Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Relevant

Labor and Working Conditions Relevant

Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management Not Currently Relevant

Community Health and Safety Relevant

Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement Not Currently Relevant

Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural

Resources

Not Currently Relevant

Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional

Local Communities

Not Currently Relevant

Cultural Heritage Not Currently Relevant

Financial Intermediaries Not Currently Relevant

NOTE: For further information regarding the World Bank’s due diligence assessment of the Project’s potential environmental and social risks and impacts, please refer to the Project’s Appraisal Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS). Legal Covenants

Conditions


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I. STRATEGIC CONTEXT

1. School closures due to COVID-19 will negatively impact education outcomes in Benin and affect its Human capital index. The first confirmed COVID-19 case in Benin was announced on March 16, 20202. Specific measures have been taken by the Government of Benin (GoB) to manage the COVID-19 outbreak, including school closures from March 27 to May 10, 2020. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Benin was facing a learning crisis and considerable geographic and social disparities in the provision and quality of education services. The Human Capital Index (HCI) scores, which measures the productivity of people given their health and education, is currently 41 percent for Benin3. This ranks Benin at 125th out of 157 countries worldwide and 14th of 39 Sub-Saharan countries included in the HCI survey. School closures will further deteriorate education outcomes for children if actions are not urgently implemented. Immediate action is therefore required to ensure continuity of teaching and during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has approved a US$ 7 million4 to Benin on June 17, 2020, from the GPE COVID-19 accelerated funding window. This accelerated funding window is designed to provide governments with the financing and technical resources required to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their education systems and to support recovery efforts in their country.

A. Country Context

3. Benin is a small West-African coastal country with a predominantly young, and rapidly growing, population. Estimated at 11.80 million in 2019, up from the 2013 census population of 9.98 million, the population is growing at a rapid rate of approximately 3 percent per year5. The population is young, with a median age of 18.2 years. With about 42.5 percent of the population under the age of 15, Benin ranks among the top 25 countries worldwide in terms of the largest percentage of young people6. This proportion rises to 63 percent for those under the age of 25. The labor market is also under extreme pressure as approximately 200,000 young people reach working age each year7. 4. Despite Benin being one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with growth averaging 6.3 percent in 2017-2019, the poverty rate remains high at 45.4 percent in 2019 (US$1.9 a day threshold, 2011 PPP). Growth in recent years has mainly been driven by booming cotton production, and strong construction and port activity following a series of reforms that improved port management and facilitated trade. An important feature of Benin’s economy is the strong economic and trade linkages with Nigeria (e.g. more than half of exports in 2018). This relationship has aided Benin when Nigerian growth has been robust, but it has also increased risks and limited the structural transformation of the economy. As a result, aside from agriculture, the economy is dominated by informal commerce and trade. The low-productivity informal economy represents 65

2 As of June 3, 2020, Benin reported 261 cases of COVID-19. Of the confirmed cases, 109 cases are still active, 148 cases recovered (and patients have since been dispatched), and 4 cases have resulted in death. 3 This means that a child born today will only be 41 percent as productive as she/he could be if she/he enjoyed complete education and full health 4 This amount includes the Bank supervision cost. 5 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision. 6 Benin ranks 22 out of 217 in terms of percentage of the population with an age under 15 (World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision). 7 INSAE, State of Employment in Benin (August 2017).


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percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs approximately 90 percent of the labor force.8 Consequently, poverty and poor human capital results remains a defining characteristic of Benin. 5. Facing two external shocks, Nigeria’s border closure since August 2019, and the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Benin’s growth will be challenged in 2020. Economic activity remained robust in 2019 with real GDP growth reaching 6.9 percent in 2019 (4 percent per capita) as manufacturing and services picked up, compensating for the fall in exports due to the border closure with Nigeria. However, due to the combined effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and protracted border closure, growth is expected to sharply drop to 3.2 percent in 2020. Benin has one of the lowest levels of tax-revenue to GDP in SSA, amounting to 10.6 percent in 2019, rapidly limiting its response capacity to external shocks.

6. A protracted COVID-19 crisis is likely to substantially reduce household income, possibly undermining some of the welfare gains of recent years. In 2019, 44.5 percent of the population was estimated to live under the poverty line of US$1.9/day (2011 PPP) based on World Bank projections. Under the baseline scenario, with real GDP per capita only increasing by 0.5 percent in 2020, poverty reduction decelerates significantly from an annual pace of about 3 percent in the previous two years to virtually zero in 2020. More alarming, poverty rates reach pre-2016 levels under the downside scenario in 2020, as real GDP per capita declines by 1 percent and growth in agriculture and services is hampered, reverting recent gains in poverty reduction. Poor households will be primarily affected by a loss of labor and non-labor income.9 The expected effects of containment measures on food prices will also be particularly detrimental for vulnerable households. Further, on top of these traditional channels are the added shocks linked to health, the disruption of public service delivery (e.g. school feeding programs), and the medium-term impact of the sale of productive assets. The latter would have negative repercussions on human capital accumulation in the long term. The GoB’s National Response Plan should help mitigate these negative effects. 7. Anticipating the large economic and social impacts of COVID-19, authorities have requested technical and financial support from International Financial Institutions (IFIs). On May 15, 2020, the IMF Executive Board completed the 6th and final review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement. The completion of the sixth review enabled the disbursement of SDR 91.931 million (about US$125 million); of which SDR 76.013 million (about US$103.3 million) to support the COVID-19 response requested by the Government. The World Bank, in turn, is supporting the health sector through three ongoing operations10 (US$138million) and is preparing rapid budget support program though Supplemental Financing (US$50 million)11. Despite these commitments, the financing gap remains large.

8. Progress towards the education-related Social Development Goals (SDGs) has been steady but achieving the envisaged targets will require a more rapid rate of progress than those observed during the previous decade. Achieving universal completion rates and gender parity are two key aims of the SDGs. Improvement in the primary completion rate (PCR) has been too slow in recent years (65 percent in 2005/2006 vs. 67.5 percent in 2017/2018) to put the country on track to achieve universal primary completion. Similarly, although there is

8 Systematic Country Diagnostic 2017, Report 114822-BJ. 9 If low as a share of GDP (1.9 percent in 2019), remittances tend to represent a significant share of poor household income. 10 The three operations are: Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement Program (REDISSE), CERC of Nutrition Project and Benin COVID-19 fats-track project. 11 The proposed Development policy Operations (DPO) provides an additional funding of US$ 50 million for the first Fiscal Reform and Structural Transformation to help the Government of Benin fill an unanticipated financing gap due to the impact of COVID-19 outbreak.


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progress on gender parity in lower secondary education—with the gender parity index (GPI) increasing from 54.5 percent in 2005/2006 to 88.1 percent in 2017-2018—additional efforts are needed to achieve equal access for girls and young women across all levels of education.

B. Sectoral and Institutional Context 9. Benin’s general education system is divided into four levels and there are approximately 3 million students in basic education. The four levels include a: (i) two-year preschool cycle for four and five-year-old; (ii) six-year primary cycle beginning at age six; (iii) seven-year secondary education cycle, consisting of a four-year lower level leading to a college certificate, and a three-year upper level leading to a Baccalaureate diploma; and (iv) higher education system that provides bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees (some private institutions provide two-year certificate programs). Since the approval by the Government of the new Education Sector Plan (ESP) 2018-2030 in June 2018, basic education encompasses pre-school to lower secondary education with an overall duration of 12 years. There is also non-formal basic education which consists of alternative forms of education and apprenticeship schemes for pre-professionalization. Only primary school enrollment and attendance are compulsory. As shown in Table 1, the number of students enrolled in pre-primary, primary, and lower general secondary school in the 2019-20 school year is about 3.0 million. Private schools’ students account for 25.5 percent and 16.5 percent in primary and lower secondary schools, respectively. Table 1 Enrollment by education level (public and private) for the 2019-2020 SY

Level of education Number of schools Number of students Number of teachers

Pre-primary* 2,828 156,218 3,518

Primary* 11,090 2,182,724 56,813

Lower secondary 1,750 641,071 15,547

Total 15,668 2,980,013 75,878 *Provisional data Source: Provisional statistical yearbooks of MEMP and MESTFP-Benin

10. The education sector is managed by three ministries: (i) Ministry of Pre- and Primary School (Ministère des Enseignements Maternel et Primaire, MEMP); (ii) Ministry of Secondary, Technical Education and Vocational Training (Ministère des Enseignements Secondaire, Technique et de la Formation et Professionnelle, MESFTP); and (iii) Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique, MESRS). The first two ministries each have 12 regional directorates. For the MEMP, at the decentralized level, there are 85 primary school districts consolidated into 45 sub-regional school inspectorates, each led by an inspector who is assisted by educational advisers. 11. Starting in October 2016, the Government has extended its school feeding program in order to increase equitable access to and retention in primary education. To reduce the burden for households, school fees were abolished in 2006 for all pre-primary and primary school students, as well as for girls enrolled in lower secondary schools. A public financial compensation program—aimed at counterbalancing the loss of resources for schools—has been put in place. In addition, considering that school canteens can contribute to improve school attendance, learning outcomes and good nutrition for children, the Government has been supporting 3,852 schools by providing one meal to each child per day. This program complements the meals which are already provided by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in 143 supported schools. The management of this feeding program has been


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delegated to the World Food Program (WFP). About 684,059 students, representing approximately 41.2 percent of public primary school students, have been fed by school canteens. Students fed through the WFP initiative, pay approximately 25 FCFA (about US$0.05) per day, representing about US$7.5 per school year. This implies a significant cost for households, particularly for families from the lower economic quintiles. 12. The World Bank is also financing School Feeding and Nutrition in 10-12 communes of the country, as well as supporting initiatives aimed at increasing girls’ empowerment. The Early Years Nutrition and Child Development Project financed by the Bank is supporting “Integrated Primary School Feeding and Nutrition” in 10-12 communes in developing a home-grown school feeding (HGSF) program for 125 primary schools comprising an average of 25,000 school children per year, to alleviate short-term hunger in undernourished school children, incentivize parents to enroll their children in school, and increase community involvement. The Bank-financed Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographics Project (SWEDD) has a subcomponent supporting “empowerment of women and girls” that will provide learning opportunities for girls aged 14 to 18 and economic opportunities for young girls aged 18 to 24 who are either out of school or unemployed. Support will be particularly targeted to girls from families living in extreme poverty. 13. Tangible progress has been made in increasing access to basic education as shown in Table 2, even if the trend decreased from 2016.

Table 2: Evolution of Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) and Completion Rate in Basic Education (in percent) from 2011 to 2019

Gross Enrolment rate (GER) Completion rate

2010/11 2015/16 2018/19 2010/11 2015/16 2018/19

Preschool 11.6 15.6 16.8 n.a. n.a. n.a.

Primary school 114.5 115.4 108.3 69.6 71.3 54.8

Lower secondary school 62.9 70 50.1 40.8 44.4 40.9 Source: DPP/MEMP and DPP/MESTFP-Benin

14. Despite achievements in terms of increased access to education, there are persistent and considerable geographic and social disparities in the provision and quality of primary education services. The 12 regions (see map in Annex) of the country can be classified into four groups with regards to Gross Intake Rate (GIR) and Primary Completion Rate (PCR). The first group includes the Alibori region where the primary GIR (35 percent) and PCR (24 percent)12 are particularly low. The second group includes the Atacora and Borgou regions, which both have an average primary GIR of 68 percent and a PCR of 56 percent and 47 percent, respectively. The third group is comprised of Atlantique, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Plateau and Zou regions, where the primary GIR is between 80 and 90 percent and the PCR between 56 and 65 percent. The fourth group includes the regions of Littoral, Ouémé, and Mono, which had a relatively high primary GIR of 97 percent and a high PCR of 73 percent. According to the 2016 statistical yearbook, there are 20 deprived school districts with a PCR below 50 percent. A total of 11 out of the 20 deprived school districts, are in the Alibori and Borgou regions.13 15. The gender gap widens as students move through the education system. Although the difference in

12 The source for access rates used here is EMICOV 2015. 13 All six of the districts in Alibori and five out the eight districts in Borgou, are classified as deprived according to the 2016 statistical yearbook.


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enrollment rates and completion rates between boys and girls at the primary level is relatively small (PCR is 66 percent for girls vs. 71 percent for boys), the gender gap widens as students move through the education system, with girls’ enrollment consistently lagging behind that of boys. Indeed, while the intake rate for girls is 62 percent and 70 percent for boys in Lower Secondary Education (Premier Cycle de l’Enseignement Secondaire Général, LSE), completion rates are only 39 percent for girls and 51 percent for boys. 16. Key education sector challenges prior to the COVID-19 pandemic are described in detailed in Annex 3. 17. The Benin Global Partnership for Education Phase 3 Project, financed by a Global Partnership for Education grant in the amount of US$18.9 million, is attempting to address part of these challenges. The Project was approved by the World Bank’s Africa Regional Vice President on July 17, 2019 and the grant agreement was signed on September 19, 2019. The Project’s development objectives are to: (i) improve the quality of teaching and learning in basic education with an emphasis on the early grades; and (ii) strengthening equity in primary education, particularly in four regions of the country. The Project is financing, among other, the following activities: (i) improvement of grades 1 and 2 curricula to enhance the quality of basic education; (ii) improvement of teachers’ knowledge on curricula and teaching practices in primary and lower secondary schools; (iii) promotion of equitable access to schooling through support to grades 1 and 2 students in public primary schools in the deprived districts of Alibori and Borgou regions; and (iv) grants to sub-regional inspectorates aiming to strengthen teachers’ pedagogical support, following inspectors’ and educational advisors’ class visits.

The COVID 19 Challenges 18. As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Benin closed all schools (preschool, primary, secondary, vocational education, and universities) through May 10, 2020. Initially, on March 24, 2020, the Government decided to close schools from March 30 to April 13, 2020. Given the rapid spread of the virus, the Government subsequently extended school closures until May 10, 2020. Consequently, about 16,000 schools (all levels of education combined) were closed, affecting more than 3.3 million students and 88,000 teachers. Pursuant to the Government’s recent decision: (i) schools re-opened on May 11 for grade 6 and secondary level students; and (ii) grades 1 to 5 students are expected return to schools from August 4 to September 11 in order to complete the 2019-2020 school year. 19. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to negatively impact the education sector in a number of ways:

• Spending on the education sector could also be affected, thus impacting quality of education. In recent years, total expenditures (recurrent and capital) for education have averaged 28 percent of government expenditures (excluding debt service), representing about 4.3 percent of GDP. The financial prioritization of the education sector has been crucial to: (i) support extension of school canteens program; (ii) provide textbooks and learning materials for basic education; and (iii) recruit new teachers, among others. Because the COVID-19 pandemic will likely to reduce economic activity and growth, Government revenues are also expected to dramatically drop. Given fiscal constraints that may result from the crisis, the teaching environment may worsen because non-salary expenditures, which are already low, could be further reduced (it is unlikely that the Government would lower spending for salaries). Expenditures for textbooks, learning materials, or infrastructure improvements could decline, worsening the quality of education provided.


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• School closures are expected to lead to learning loss and increased inequality. Learning poverty has existed before the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure of schools will not only exacerbate learning poverty, but also increase learning inequality because the wealthiest families will be able to maintain their children’s learning at home by providing textbooks and other learning materials or hiring private tutors to mitigate any interruption in instruction. Therefore, once schools re-open, some children will find themselves at a disadvantage compared to their better educated peers.

• Student dropout rates could rise, negatively impacting the primary completion rate, as well as transition rates to secondary education. Because the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a severe economic crisis, households are facing rising unemployment and income losses: these trends will likely continue once school sessions resume. The economic downturn may cause the poorest households to keep children at home even after school re-opens, increasing the number of out-of-school children. Therefore, the PCR will likely decrease, putting the country off-track to achieve the education SDGs. In addition, parents’ ability to contribute to educational inputs may also be more limited, impacting the quality of schooling provided.

• School closures may also disproportionately impact girls. The crisis could lead to an increase in the burden of care-related tasks. Girls may often be expected to take on additional responsibilities due to social expectations, such as household and domestic chores. In economically disadvantaged areas, girls tend to marry and have children early. Additional barriers to girls’ school participation and retention include poverty and high school fees, poor infrastructure and distances to schools, unsafe learning environments, and increased exposure to violence and sexual harassment or abuse.

• Teaching quality will likely suffer. The increase in food prices may lead to lower purchasing power of teachers, which in turn, may reduce teachers’ motivation and the teaching quality. In addition, teachers are not trained to conduct remedial education.

20. In this context, maintaining and/or increasing enrollment rates once schools re-open would require several actions: communications and awareness-raising campaigns; reduction of the opportunity cost of schooling for poorer families; actions to secure safe and inclusive schools; etc. 21. To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 the Government prepared an education response plan. Following school closures, a sector response task force, including education partners, has been put in place to strengthen the education sector’s ability to effectively mitigate—as well as address—the negative impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The response plan primarily aims at: (i) minimizing the adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic on students, teachers and the education system at large; and (ii) enhancing the capacity of the MoEs and stakeholders to promote protection of students and teachers and ensure continuity of teaching. It represents an opportunity to build the core foundation required to foster improvements in the quality of the teaching and learning environment in Benin in the short term, as well as in the medium and long-term. This will entail building robust remote learning systems and building the capacity of the Government—and by extension the education sector—to adequately deal with potential shocks and crises in the future. The planned activities include, distance learning through radio, TV, messages and digital solutions (like online learning), and specific and targeted support to ensure mobile phone accessibility is improved in order to reach a larger number of students. In this context, in early April 2020, the MoEs put in place teams for the preparation of broadcast lessons for students in exam classes (both in primary a secondary education). Because many of these initiatives are being implemented for the first


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time in Benin, technical assistance has been recruited to help the Government roll out some of these activities. In particular, in the first week of May 2020, lesson plans were delivered to primary school schools via radio to ensure the maximation number of students were able to benefit. Since re-opening of classrooms for some students began on May 11 2020, this experience will be considered as pilot and will help to draw a number of important lessons which will subsequently be used to refine these radio-instruction programs. However, the important lesson learned with the COVID-19 pandemic has been the need of the country to be more prepared and ready to anticipate and cope with future shocks to the education sector.

C. Relevance to Higher Level Objectives

22. The proposed Project is closely aligned with the 2019-2023 Country Partnership Framework (CPF) and contributes to the development of human capital. Specifically, the proposed Project will directly contribute to the 2019-2023 CPF’s strategic Focus Areas 2—Building Human Capital—one objective of which is to improve the relevance of education and professional training in order to improve the technical capacity of the labor force. The proposed Project will also contribute to the Human Capital Project. First, by protecting students from the impact of the pandemic, and subsequently, by ensuring continuity of teaching and learning. Efforts will also be made to further build the resilience of the education sector in order to minimize the negative impacts of potential shocks in the future. Ultimately, the proposed Project will strive to provide children in Benin with continued access to education during, and following, the COVID-19 pandemic.

23. The Education COVID-19 Response Project is fully aligned with the Government Response plan both at the national and sector levels. The Government of Benin has developed a National Education COVID-19 Response in joint collaboration with all donors. The plan primarily aims to: (i) support the continuity of learning; (ii) anticipate measures to be taken towards schools re-opening and supporting safe practice in schools; and (iii) reinforce system resilience. The proposed Project is designed on the basis of the Government’s COVID-19 Action Plan, aiming to support, along with the other development partners, the client’s emergency response to this pandemic. At the national level, the Government of Benin has developed a National COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan. The proposed Project’s design takes into consideration the measures described under each of the five strategic pillars outlined in the National Action Plan: (i) country-level coordination, planning, and monitoring; (ii) risk communication and community engagement; (iii) surveillance, rapid response teams, cases investigation and entry points; (iv) equipment of national laboratory with necessary machines for diagnosis tests; and (v) case management, infection prevention and control. As indicated in paragraph 40 below, other development partners from the Local Education Group, led by UNICEF, are also expected to help finance the Government’s COVID-19 Action Plan.

24. The WBG remains committed to providing a fast and flexible response to the COVID-19 epidemic, utilizing all WBG operational and policy instruments and working in close partnership with Government and other agencies. The proposed Project will be the Bank’s first intervention to respond to the COVID-19 impact on the education sector in Benin. This COVID-19 response is closely aligned with the proposed WBG response to COVID-19 in Benin which includes emergency financing, policy advice, and technical assistance, building on existing instruments to support the Government of Benin in addressing the health sector and broader development impacts of COVID-19. Improving Benin’s economic and development trajectory after COVID-19 will require increased focus on improving its human capital outcomes and addressing disparities in poor and remote areas, especially in the country’s deprived disadvantaged communes.


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25. The World bank has established itself as a trusted partner, with a comparative advantage anchored in its longstanding presence in the policy dialogue, high-quality analytical work and technical support, breadth of financial instruments, convening power, and capacity to forge partnerships. The Bank is recognized as an effective partner in addressing vulnerability, including through innovative work in social protection (through the national registry and expanding safety net) and climate change mitigation. The WBG’s diagnostics, policy reform initiatives and investments have helped to create a more level playing field, improved sector governance, and bolstered domestic growth and development in client countries around the world. This pandemic also provides the Bank with the opportunity to drawn upon its recent experience supporting governments across the African continent in the fight against the Ebola virus. Many of the lessons learned from that emergency response will be highly relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as well. The Bank will also use its convening power to support this emergency response in a very agile and effective manner.

II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A. Project Development Objective

PDO Statement The proposed project’s development objectives are to: (a) ensure continuity of teaching during and after the COVID -19 pandemic, particularly in deprived communes in the Recipient’s territory; and (b) increase the Government’s preparedness to mitigate the effects of future crises.

PDO Level Indicators

26. Progress towards achievement of the PDO would be measured by the following indicators:

• Children previously enrolled in schools who return to school once the school system is re-opened (Total in number and percentage, girls and deprived communes in percentage);

• Schools equipped with minimum hygiene standards for prevention of COVID-19 (Total in percentage; number of schools)

• Schools offering remediation programs in deprived communes once the school system is re-opened (total in percentage, number of primary schools, number of lower secondary schools);

• National strategy for continuity of learning for all children developed and disseminated.

B. Project Components

27. To maximize the impact of the project, the Government and Local Education Group (LEG) jointly agreed to focus part of the project interventions on deprived communes which are communes where primary completion rate is below 50 percent. The negative spillover effects of the COVID-19 pandemic might be particularly severe in these deprived communes, thus justifying the Project’s focus on providing targeted support to these vulnerable communities . Based on this criterion, 20 out of the 77 communes in the country were selected (see map in annex 5). The number of students in these 20 communes represents in 2020, 20 percent ofprimary students in public schools and 13.1 percent of lower secondary students in public schools. Interventions focusing only on deprived communes are under subcomponent 3 of the component 1. All other interventions are countrywide.


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Component 1: Ensuring safe reopening of schools and return of students, particularly in deprived communes (US$5.74 million)

28. Disruptions to instructional time in the classroom can have a severe impact on a child’s ability to learn. The longer marginalized children are out of school, the less likely they are to return. Children from the poorest households are already almost two times more likely to be out of primary school than those from the richest quintile14. Being out of school also increases the risk of teenage pregnancy, sexual exploitation, child marriage, violence, among other threats. Further, prolonged closures disrupt essential school-based services such as immunization, school feeding, and mental health and psychosocial support, and can cause stress and anxiety due to the loss of peer interaction and disrupted routines. These negative impacts are likely to be significantly higher for marginalized children, such as those living in deprived communes and children living with disabilities.

29. The proposed Project will support the Government of Benin’s plans for re-opening schools and keeping learners safe. In this regard, the re-opening of schools must be done by taking a number of essential measures to ensure the safe return of as many pupils as possible, especially pupils from deprived communes. To achieve this, Component 1 will support: (i) community mobilization activities; (ii) provision of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to ensure schools have appropriate hygienic measures in place for students and teachers; (iii) provision of grants to schools to encourage disadvantaged students to return; and (iv) remedial programs for students at risk of repetition and drop-out.

30. Sub-component 1.1 Media campaign and community sensitization for returning to school and disease control and prevention. This sub-component will support community sensitization and communication by financing community awareness campaigns within the communities through local community organizers and facilitators as well as radio/television campaigns to encourage parents and communities to send children back to school and maintain good hygiene practices during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Activities to be supported under this sub-component include: (i) back-to-school media campaigns through community awareness and mobilization campaigns that target political and administrative officials, Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), teachers and school leaders, and School-Based Management Committees (Comité de Gestion de l’Ecole Primaire—COGEPs); (ii) gender sensitization campaigns that focus on girls at risk of dropping out, as well as measures to prevent gender-based violence (including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment), and issues related to unequal social norms; (iii) media campaigns for disease control and prevention to educate community members, teachers, students, and parents, on disease prevention, by financing radio/television campaigns to encourage good hygiene practices during and after the crisis and to ensure safety for all; and (iv) a campaign, using community organizers/facilitators to mobilize communities and parents associations (PTAs) to strengthen communication and support for teachers and students as they re-enter school.

31. Sub-component 1.2: Ensuring schools are safe for re-opening. This sub-component will support: (i) WASH activities to ensure safe water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene education in schools; and (ii) the provision of hygiene kits. Most of these activities will be financed by providing grants to schools using the established school grants mechanism set up under the Government budget. It is also expected that UNICEF will play an active role in providing the installation of WASH facilities. Activities under this subcomponent include:

14 Source : Note d’analyse sectorielle du système d’éducation et de la formation


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(i) Provision of hand washing facilities. Given to its comparative advantages, and by utilizing resources

allocated to this proposed Project, UNICEF will be responsible for providing schools with hand-washing

stations. A contractual agreement between the Bank and UNICEF will be signed so that the latter

institution can carry out this activity using the resources allocated to this proposed Project. These hand-

washing stations will be installed at the entrance of each classroom and administrative office. A total of

20,440 hand-washing devices will be purchased by UNICEF and distributed as follows: 1,600 for

preschools; 15,000 for primary schools; and 3,840 for lower secondary school (LSS). Schools which

enrolled students with disabilities will be prioritized in the distribution of the hand-washing devices.

(ii) Provision of hygiene kits, soap, masks and water. Grants provided by the Government in pre-and-

primary schools and tuition fees collected in LSS will be used to acquire hygiene kits and soap where

needed, as well as hand washing kits to schools that need the kits. The proposed Project will also provide

grants to approximately 2,000 primary schools and 170 LSS. These grants will be used to introduce

alternative measures for ensuring permanent availability of water for handwashing devices in schools

without water points15. The proposed amount of the grant for each school is estimated to be on average

US$250 and US$400 for primary and LSS, respectively. The actual amount to be allocated to schools will

depend on the distance to be traveled to access the water point. In addition, the grants can be used to

acquire masks for teachers and school administrators, particularly for those that are most vulnerable to

the virus, in case where the ones promised by the Government have not been delivered on time.

(iii) Support for school infirmaries. School grants can be used to provide infirmary staff with training on good

hygiene practices and prevention measures to curtail the spread of the virus. This may include training on

identification of symptoms, provision of thermoflash (thermometer with infrared ray), surgical masks, etc.

The number of school infirmaries is 46 in LSS16. Each targeted school is expected to receive about US$470.

32. Sub-component 1.3: Ensuring continuity of learning and tracking of student progress. Prior to schools’ closures, much of the annual academic programs were delivered to learners. Despite academic programs being advanced, ensuring teaching and learning continuity is crucial to prevent learning losses and to reduce the risks of students dropping out. This component will: (i) support remedial programs for students at risk of repetition or dropping out; and (ii) provide subsidies to schools, through grants, to offset the cost of schooling in deprived communes. Activities under this sub-component will include the following:

(i) Provision of remedial (catch-up) programs for students at risk of repetition and dropping out in all

grades of primary (grades 1 to 6) and grade 10 of lower secondary schools in the 20 deprived communes, particularly students with learning disabilities. To plan for learning recovery at the re-opening of schools, learning gaps and learning loss will need to be assessed in key disciplines among

15 The Government has an ambitious program to provide universal access to water supply in both urban and rural areas by 2021. The program is under implementation. Discussions are underway with government agencies coordinating this program in order to set up connections with schools without water points in areas of interventions of project when possible. Currently, the coverage of water point is 46 percent and 76.5 percent for primary and secondary schools, respectively. 16 There are no school infirmaries in primary schools


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grades 1 to 5 students17. The identification of students will apply to both public and private specialized schools for children with disabilities. Once identified, these students, along with those students in grades 6 and 10, will be provided with remedial programs to help them catch-up on grade level material. The remedial programs already exist and are currently offered to grade 6 students preparing for the final primary exam. To achieve this, the Project will: (i) provide resources to regional directorates to conduct rapid assessments of grades 1-5 students’ knowledge to identify at risk students for remedial programs; and (ii) provide grants in an amount of US$200 to approximately 1995 schools (of which 175 LSS), including 120 schools enrolling students with disabilities to cover internal travel cost of teachers on non-working days/hours to extend remedial programs to all grades of primary and grade 10 of lower secondary schools in the 20 deprived communes.

(ii) Compensation of part of incidental costs paid for school canteens in deprived communes. Schools grants can also be used to provide subsidies to primary schools to run canteens in deprived communes, thereby reducing the cost to parents and students of running the canteens which may prevent disadvantage students from returning to school. The grants will cover three-fifth (3/5) of amount paid by parents in school canteens: 2,475 F CFA (about US$4.5) per student. The estimated number of students concerned is 220,000.

(iii) Provision of school kits for deprived communes and children with disabilities. The proposed Project will support the provision of school kits for both public and specialized schools for children with disabilities, comprised of school supplies and textbooks for grades 1 and 2 students in nine18 (9) deprived communes. Specifically, girls in grades 7 and 8 (2 first grades of lower secondary schools) in the 9 communes19 will also receive school kits, including textbooks in two key disciplines. The content of kits for each grade already exists. The estimated number of students receiving these kits are 72,500 and 16,500 in primary and secondary schools, respectively. About 1,050 children with disabilities in public and not for profit schools countrywide will also receive these kits. The unit amount of the kits is about US$ 10, US$20, and US$30 for primary, secondary and disabilities students, respectively. UNICEF is expected to lead the implementation of these activities with additional resources from the current project, given their ongoing programs related to provision of kits including school supplies and uniforms, in close collaboration with the Bank and other donors, in 3 out of the 12 regions of the country: Borgou, Alibori, and Zou.

33. In addition to these activities, the ongoing GPE Project Phase 3 will support practical training for teachers to regularly assess students learning lags in order to determine which areas of the curriculum will need the most work and pedagogical techniques to close gaps.

Component 2: Improving preparedness to mitigate the effects of future crises (US$0.72 million)

34. Component 2 aims to support the Government’s efforts to strengthen the education system’s resilience in the medium and long term. Benin remains vulnerable to shocks: The 2017 World Risk Report ranked Benin 25th out of 171 countries in terms of risks related to natural disasters, and 11th in terms of lack of adaptive capacities.20

17 Schools have already been reopened for other grades in basic education. 18 The ongoing GPE project has been supported other 11 deprived communes in close collaboration with UNICEF. 19 UNICEF has been provided kits for grades 7 and 8 girl students in the 11 deprived communes. 20 The World Risk Index is calculated based on exposure to five types of natural hazards (Earthquakes, cyclones, floods, droughts, and sea-


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Therefore, sustainable remote learning opportunities will need to be expanded to mitigate the negative effects of potential school closures in the future. Further, capacity building measures need to be in place at all levels of the education service delivery chain to ensure schooling and learning continuity and to mitigate the negative effects of potential shocks in the future. Component 2 includes two sub-components: (i) expanding sustainable remote learning opportunities; and (ii) building capacity to mitigate the effects of the crisis and anticipate future shocks in the education sector. 35. Sub-component 2.1: Expanding sustainable remote learning opportunities. Expanding remote learning is the primary goal of sub-component 2.1. The proposed Project will support the Government’s goal of be establishing and mainstreaming distance learning systems and programs. This sub-component supports the following activities:

(i) Setting up the enabling environment for distance learning: The proposed Project will support the development of partnerships between Ministries of Education and national radio and TV stations, as well as community radios and other local radios, to facilitate the broadcasting of distance learning courses. To enable the production of high-quality audio, visual and digital education content, production rooms will be equipped with the necessary material. The launch of the soon to be finalized global digital distance learning education platform21 will also be supported by the proposed Project.

(ii) Supporting teachers: To ensure effective remote learning, teachers need to be adequately trained in

distance teaching methods or other alternatives forms of training which do not conform to the traditional face-to-face teaching modality. Training teachers in digital skills, in a context where teaching may increasingly involve the use of technological tools, is also essential. The number of teachers to be trained is estimated to be 300, of which 100 will be LSS teachers. An electronic tablet will be provided to each teacher involved in the training and a tracking system will be put in place to locate these devices and track their proper use. The proposed Project will also pilot the concept of blended classes, i.e. classes that combine distance learning with face-to-face lessons, in a small sample of classrooms.

(iii) Developing distance learning contents: Teachers trained will develop remote, distance learning

programs, as well as self-learning materials to be used mainly in cases of other shocks in key disciplines. The proposed Project will finance a pilot production of quality audio, visual and digital media as well as self-learning workbooks and other materials, including for children with learning difficulties and children with disabilities, to ensure equity in education and learning.

36. Sub-component 2.2. Building capacity to anticipate and cope with future shocks in education. The objective of sub-component 2.2 is to build the capacity of the key education actors (from national level to school level) to be better prepared to cope with any future crises that may result in school closures or may lead to other detrimental effects on the education system. In other words, the objective of this sub-component is to build the overall resilience of the education system in Benin. Sub-component 2.2 supports the following activities:

level rise); vulnerability on the basis of infrastructure/food supply/economic conditions as well as coping and adaptive capacities, which depend on governance, preparedness/early warnings, healthcare, social and material security. http://weltrisikobericht.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/WRR_2017_E2.pdf 21 A global digital distance learning education platform for West and Central Africa French speaking countries is under preparation with the support of the World Bank Education Global Practices and will be finalized by end July2020.

http://weltrisikobericht.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/WRR_2017_E2.pdfhttp://weltrisikobericht.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/WRR_2017_E2.pdf


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(i) Setting up an enabling policy framework: : The proposed Project will support an evaluation of COVID-

19 education management; what has been done during the COVID-19 crisis and how it could have been done better. Establishing policies and good practices on how to maintain and/or improve teaching and learning during times of crisis is essential to ensure the resiliency of the education system is strengthened. These efforts should strive to draw upon the good practices and policies employed in countries across the world. The goal is to identify areas of relative strength and weakness and use this information to guide Benin’s policies and practices during emergencies. At the same time, this can be a shared endeavor in which Benin not only learns from other countries, but also shares its own experience and lessons learned with other countries. In addition, the proposed Project will support the development of a national strategy for education and learning continuity in the event of shocks and school closures. Further, an Education Emergency Response Plan will be developed and integrated into the Education Sector Plan 2018-2030. At school level, a guidance note on school re-openings will be developed to ensure better preparedness after floods or other types of natural disasters.

(ii) Building back better with an effective data system: The post-COVID phase will offer many other

opportunities to “build back better”. The proposed Project will support the strengthening of an effective data system, including the development of a methodology to identify vulnerable and at-risk students with the objective of more easily identifying and supporting them in the event of a crisis. This will allow the Ministry of Education to track whether learning outcomes are being maintained and/or improved, what factors are driving improvements, and what remedial measures need to be put in place to ensure that all students are provided with the opportunity to excel.

Component 3: Ensuring monitoring, management, and coordination of the project (US$0.39 million)

37. Component 3 aims to ensure the effective implementation of the daily operations of the proposed Project and to build knowledge and competencies to improve services delivery. Overall, project management will be implemented by drawing heavily on the implementation arrangements which were established under the recently approved Benin Global Partnership for Education Project Phase 3 (P167432). Implementation arrangements are detailed under Annex 1. The component will support the following key interventions:

(i) Project management and coordination including the following activities: - Preparation and execution of the eighteen (18) months’ work plan and budget, and procurement

plan; - Monitoring of the results framework and quarterly reporting; - Facilitate project communication; - Efficient fiduciary and safeguards implementation and reporting; and - Establishment and operationalization of a grievance redressal mechanism.

(ii) Strengthening monitoring of the project activities. The objective of this activity is to improve the capacity of the MoEs to systematically track progress in the implementation of the project based on the project results framework. To this end, the project will support: (i) the collection of school data on a regular basis; (ii) the STP responsible for monitoring the ESP indicators on behalf of the MoEs;


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and (iii) the Coalition Beninoise des Organisations de l’Education pour Tous (CBO/EPT)22 to report on citizen feedback on service delivery with the objective of identifying and addressing bottlenecks

Project cost and financing

38. The Project is expected to be implemented over an 18-month period. GPE has approved a grant in the amount of US$7 million on June 17, 2020 to finance the implementation of this proposed emergency operation . The table below shows a summary of the Project costs by sub-component. The detail costs are found in Annex 2.

Table 3: Project Cost per Component and Sub-component (US$ million)

Components/sub-components Project

cost GPE

Financing Percent

Financing

Component 1: Ensuring safe reopening of schools and return of students, especially vulnerable and disadvantaged students

5.74 5.74 100

1.1 media campaign and community sensitization 0.32 0.32 100

1.2 Ensuring continuity of learning and tracking of student results 2.84 2.84 100

1.3 Ensuring continuity of teaching and tracking of student results 2.58 2.58 100

Component 2: Strengthening education system resilience in the medium and long term

0.72 0.72 100

2.1 Expanding sustainable remote learning opportunities 0.53 0.53 100

2.2 Building capacity to anticipate and cope with future shocks in education 0.19 0.19 100

Component 3: Ensuring monitoring, management and coordination of the project 0.39 0.39 100

Bank Supervision cost 0.15 0.15 100

Total 7.00 7.00 100

C. Project Beneficiaries

39. Overall, 793,600 students are expected to benefit from all project components (not double counting students who may benefit from more than one activity/component). In addition, teachers, school head teachers, pedagogical advisors, and inspectors will also benefit from trainings. Detailed direct beneficiaries include:

• Approximately 793,600 students and 19,800 teachers who will benefit from hand washing devices

• Approximately 220,000 students from schools with canteens will be waived from incidental canteen costs

22 CBO/EPT is an umbrella organization of NGOs working for education in Benin


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• Approximately 90,050 students of which 16,500 for LSS who will benefit from school kits

• Approximately 344,000 students at risk of repletion will receive remedial program

• Approximately 300 teachers will receive training in distance teaching methods.

D. Results Chain

40. Links between the project activities, outputs, intermediate level results and long-term outcomes are illustrated in the schematic diagram presented below:

Components Interventions Outputs Outcomes (PDO level indicators)

1.Ensuring safe reopening of schools and return of students, especially vulnerable and disadvantaged students

1.1 Media campaign and community sensitization for returning to school and disease control and prevention. 1.2. Ensuring schools are safe for re-opening (provision of hand washing facilities and hygiene kits, and support for school infirmaries) 1.3 Ensuring continuity of learning and tracking of student progress (remedial programs, compensation of school canteen fees, school kits)

Communities and children are sensitized to school return and disease control and prevention Schools are safe for return

Dropouts are contained, especially among vulnerable students and girls

Children have access to hygiene and sanitation kits in schools

Schools are reopened in a safe environment, and children return to school

2. Improving preparedness to mitigate the effects of future crises

2.1 Sustainable remote learning opportunities are expanded (partnerships between MOE and national TV and radio stations established; teachers are supported, and distance learning content is developed). 2.2. Capacity to anticipate and cope with future shocks is built (policy framework and effective data collection system is set up)

-Established improved remote learning system post crisis - teachers are trained in distance teaching tools and distance learning contents are developed. -Ministry’s capacity is strengthened to better respond to future crisis -Effective data system to identify at-risk students is in place

Remote learning opportunities are in place and the education system is more resilient

post crisis.

E. Rationale for Bank Involvement and Role of Partners

41. Investing in human capital formation is a top priority of the GoB and this strategic objective is highlighted in The Government Action Program (PAG) 2016-2021. The PAG strongly emphasizes the need to help create more formalized employment opportunities for Benin’s burgeoning youth population, as well as to improve health, education and social protections. The CPF 2019-2023 promotes two objectives to address the PAG’s national


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priorities: (i) improving relevance of education and professional training for strengthened job creation; and (ii) improving social protection, health and nutrition systems.

42. The World Bank’s value-added stems from its expertise in supporting countries further strengthen their basic education system. The World Bank has a long and successful experience in working with the Government on supporting and strengthening basic education. The World Bank has extensive technical and operational knowledge in the areas supported by the proposed Project—both in the sub-region and globally. Through its over 12 years of experience in leading the Fast Track Initiative - Common Budgetary Fund (Initiative Fast-Track- Fonds Commun Budgétaire-FTI-FCB) or Common Budgetary Fund -GPE (Fonds Commun Budgétaire – Partenariat Mondial pour l’Education -FCB-PME ) pooled funds the World Bank has gained an understanding of the education sector issues and has developed strategies and methods to support the Government most efficiently. The proposed Project, which is fully funded by the GPE, will leverage the World Bank’s experience in neighboring countries as well as lessons learned from previous and ongoing projects in similar settings. The Bank also has gained experience in supporting governments across the African continent in the fight against the Ebola virus. Lessons learned from that emergency response will be highly relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed Project is expected to complement specific assistance provided by a number of bilateral donors, such as French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Swiss Cooperation, and multilateral organizations, such as the Unied Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), UNESCO; etc. The support of these agencies includes:

a) Multiplication and dissemination of information posters and posters on hand washing; b) Support to learning continuity during the school’s closure; c) Equipment of some schools with minimum hygiene standard equipment, including hand washing

facilities23 for prevention of COVID-19; d) Construction of blocks of latrines and water points in some schools.

43. Development Partners—including the key members of the Local Education Group (LEG)—have played an important role in the preparation of the proposed Project. Faced with this COVID-19 pandemic, a team led by the lead donor (UNICEF) and comprising most of education donors and representatives of the three ministers of education (MEMP; MESFTP and, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS)) has been set up to prepare a strategic integrated plan (SIP) to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the education system. The activities of the proposed Project are derived directly from the SIP. During project preparation, the Local Education Group (LEG), chaired by the MEMP, has been regularly consulted to ensure both strong project coordination, as well as a robust technical design. The proposed Project’s documents have been shared, discussed, and endorsed by the LEG and have benefitted from regular consultative feedback with key stakeholders. For project implementation, regular meetings of the LEG will enable the team to monitor implementation progress and to help resolve any potential implementation and/or coordination issues. For project implementation supervision, it is expected that combined or joint missions with other partners will be carried out.

F. Lessons Learned and Reflected in the Project Design

44. Project design incorporates lessons learned from: (i) the two previous GPE projects (FTI-2008-2012 and PME-

23 The number of washing facilities provided by other donors did not yet cover 30 percent of the needs. The MoEs, in close collaboration with donors will coordinate their distribution.


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2014-2018) that were supervised by the World Bank and for which resources were pooled with other donors funds; and (ii) other recent education pilot projects in Benin, including those supported by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The most important lessons which have been incorporated are the following: ✓ Targeting education policies to reach the most deprived areas will better help the Government meet the

Millennium Development Goals in education, as well as to improve the impact of project interventions. The previous project (Benin FTI program-P110576) showed modest impact in improving the primary completion rate (PRC) due to the fact that the Government’s policies and project interventions were not focused on the most deprived areas.

✓ Support to access and equity in education are relevant for Benin to attain universal primary education. This is particularly important for children in deprived communes with limited modes of access to education during COVID-19. The chances of a child to access the various levels of primary education largely depend on the wealth quintile to which his/her parent belongs to. The higher the parent's wealth quintile, the higher the child's chances of attending and remaining in school. If we focus on the lowest and highest economic quintiles, we observe in 2015 that for the poorest, the primary school access rate is 68 percent and the completion rate is 39 percent; conversely, among the wealthiest quintile, these indicators are 94 percent and 79 percent, respectively24.

✓ The targeted allocation of scare resources to the most deprived communes can be an effective way of

improving education outcomes within these areas—thus narrowing the performance gap between the wealthier and poorer communes in Benin. Under the Benin GPE Phase 2 Project (P129600), school kits, including stationery, school bags and uniforms, were provided to grade 1 and 2 girls in 25 deprived communes out of a total of 77 communes in the country. Available data shows that the effect of this activity was positive because the average increase in girls GER in deprived communes has quadrupled in the same period compared to the national average’

✓ In a context of frequent government turnover and institutional reorganization, the establishment of an efficient and appropriately staffed project coordination unit under the leadership of the Government can help ensure continuity during the project implementation. The proposed institutional arrangements are expected to minimize turnover-related delays, maintaining the institutional memory of a project, and reducing transaction costs by serving as a focal point on project implementation guidelines and procedures.

✓ The establishment of a robust M&E system should be prioritized in order to ensure the various outputs and outcomes achieved under Projects are systematically tracked and evaluated. Previous projects implemented in Benin have experienced challenges in the collection of data due to gaps in the EMIS system data. This has led to the need for complementary data collection efforts to fill these gaps. Establishing and maintaining a robust and agile M&E system will be prioritized under the proposed Project.

✓ Pooled fund mechanisms can provide a coherent framework for donor collaboration and coordination. Pooled funds can initially be a challenge to establish. However, once criteria for the fund are agreed, they

24 Source: 2017 sector analysis note-Benin


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help ensure complementarity of donor investments. The proposed Project is expected to use the previously established pooled funds procedures (that included terms of reference, detailed activity sheets, etc.) for each activity. These procedures will help formalize and rationalize the execution of activities and ensure accountability. This will help to sustain and institutionalize the established pooled fund procedures. “

III. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

A. Institutional and Implementation Arrangements

45. At the central level, apart from minor changes, the proposed Project will use the institutional arrangements of the Benin GPE Project- Phase 3 (P167432) which were inspired by the pooled fund arrangements. The modifications that will be made to accommodate the proposed Project are:

(i) New members—with experience in health-related interventions and in the production of distance learning lessons—will be added to the Project Steering Committee (PSC). The new members are: (i) two representatives of Ministry of Health; (ii) one representative of Ministry of Digital Economy; and (iii) two representatives from the donor community in the education sector.

(ii) The existing Technical Support and Monitoring Unit (Unité d’Appui Technique et de Suivi, (UATS)),

which is a technical assistance provider, as well as the day-to-day coordinator of the Benin GPE Phase 3 project, will be further strengthened with the recruitment of four additional staff: (i) a procurement specialist assistant; (ii) a monitoring and evaluation specialist assistant; and (iii) an environmental and a social safeguard specialists.

46. At the operational level, apart from the UATS, the Technical Permanent Secretariat (Secretariat Technique Permanent, (STP) and the Disbursement and Procurement Monitoring Committee (Comité de suivi des Décaissements et des Marchés, (CSDM) will play an important role in the effective implementation of the activities. Their respective responsibilities are detailed in Annex 1.

47. Technical departments of the three ministries involved in the proposed Project will be in charge of the implementation of their respective activities. Under the authority of the Secretary General of the MEMP, the departments implementing the Project Components and Sub-components are described in Annex 1.

48. In each of the 12 regions, the proposed Project’s activities will be coordinated by the regional directorates under the supervision of the Secretary General of each of the three ministries. For primary schools, the Sub-Regional School Inspectorates under the supervision of the Regional Directorates will be the key entities for overseeing project activities and compiling the data supplied by the schools for M&E.

49. At the school level, the school head is responsible for all the project activities taking place in the school, including the distribution of students’ uniforms in primary schools and distribution of girls’ kits and textbooks in lower secondary schools. At the community level, the COGEPs/ COGES composed of representatives of parents, school staff and local resource persons will be in charge of supporting schools to deliver the agreed results, and to monitor and report on the functioning of schools.


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50. The above-mentioned arrangements are detailed in Annex 1 and will be complemented by an Annex to the existing Project Implementation Manual (PIM) developed for the Benin GPE Phase 3 operation, which sets forth all the operational and procedural steps for project implementation, including a detailed description of the roles and responsibilities of the aforementioned implementing units.

B. Results Monitoring and Evaluation Arrangements

51. The Education COVID-19 Project implementation will be monitored through a series of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities. Routine monitoring and reporting on the proposed Project’s outputs will provide information on the progress of implementation and help the team take corrective actions during the course of implementation . The objectives of the M&E activities will be to: (i) track progress and provide timely feedback to the Government, MEMP, and the Bank team on implementation status and deliverables; (ii) provide preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of the intervention; and (iii) capture initial lessons learned from the design and implementation to improve future emergency operations. T

financement accéléré covid-19 pour le benin · 2020. 7. 16. · financement accéléré demandé...

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