The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) Concept Environmental and Social Review Summary Concept Stage (ESRS Concept Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 12/03/2019 | Report No: ESRSC00795 Dec 30, 2019 Page 1 of 10 The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Pakistan SOUTH ASIA P170830 Project Name Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Education Investment Project 3/31/2020 Financing Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) Islamic Republic of Sanjh Preet Organization Pakistan Proposed Development Objective(s) The objective is to develop and pilot a new model of non-formal education that combines literacy, labor market skills, Public Disclosure and life skills development for the uneducated and illiterate children, youth and young adults in selected districts of Punjab and Sindh Provinces in Pakistan. Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 2.73 B. Is the project being prepared in a Situation of Urgent Need of Assistance or Capacity Constraints, as per Bank IPF Policy, para. 12? No C. Summary Description of Proposed Project [including overview of Country, Sectoral & Institutional Contexts and Relationship to CPF] The project aims to develop and pilot a new model of Non-Formal Education (NFE) that combines literacy, labor market skills, and life skills development for out-of-school children and uneducated and illiterate adolescents and young adults in selected districts of Punjab and Sindh Provinces in Pakistan. The Project will deliver two core services to the beneficiaries: (1) Accelerated Learning Programs (ALPs) for out-of-school children at primary and secondary school age (sub-component 1.1), and (2) Integrated literacy and Skills (ILS) Program for illiterate adolescents and young adults (Sub-component 1.2). These programs will be delivered through Community Learning Centers (CLCs) with direct involvement of communities. The CLCs will offer a menu of programs to beneficiaries in different age Dec 30, 2019 Page 2 of 10 The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) groups based on the community’s needs and decisions, and will also offer support functions to the beneficiaries, including counseling and moral support to the beneficiaries and daycare services for beneficiaries with young children. These core activities will be supported by TA activities, including development of NFE curriculum and materials including seven pre-vocational ILS packages. The Project will also support continuous training to teachers, principals and community groups for ensuring the CLC management and the quality of teaching activities. Federal and provincial governments will be involved in the curriculum development and activity monitoring and supervision activities, through which the capacity of governments in implementing NFE programs will be built. A rigorous impact evaluation will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of this new pilot model. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Project location(s) and salient characteristics relevant to the ES assessment [geographic, environmental, social] Overall, the activities supported by the Project are not expected to have any significant negative environmental or social impacts. The project proposes to establish Community Learning Centers (CLCs) for the provision of i. Accelerated Learning Programs for out-of-school children to enable them to join the formal education system; and, ii. Integrated Literacy and Skills, including pre-vocational trade modules and life skills courses, for illiterate and uneducated adolescents (11-16 years) and young adults (17-35 years). CLCs will also offer support functions to beneficiaries, including counseling and moral support, and day care services for beneficiaries with young children. The project will provide technical assistance for the development of non-formal curriculum capacity building and teacher training. The project will be implemented in three districts of south Punjab and two districts of rural Sindh. Ten locations in each district will be selected for implementing the project components. The districts and their respective locations are not known at this stage. Public Disclosure The project will establish CLCs in available buildings (will be rented) which are already in good condition and have requisite basic facilities available (e.g. adequate rooms, drinking water, electricity and toilet facilities). Consequently, the project will not involve any civil works. The minor health and safety risks associated with refurbishment may include painting of walls, replacing of light bulbs, repair of plumping works in toilets, etc. shall be dealt through preparation of an Environmental, Health and Safety Checklist which will be included in the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) prepared for the project. It will be ensured that CLCs are appropriately equipped with adequate learning environments including, but not limited to, basic facilities, and that health and safety measures for the facilities are in place. In case buildings of requisite standards are not available in a location under consideration, a new location in the same district will be selected. It is anticipated that no environmental impacts will be associated with the variations in geographical areas selected for the project interventions. The project does not envisage procurement of any IT equipment including computers, tablets or any other electronic equipment that could lead to generation of e-waste. Some CLCs may offer day care services and such facilities shall be screened for additional health and safety aspects to ensure provision of safe environments for the students and their children. The provision of safe toys and equipment, food, and toilet needs for the children in these facilities is a major concern. Moreover, such facilities might be susceptible to the risk of kidnapping, abuse, accidents etc. and will need to meet additional security requirements of a requisite standard. The project’s anticipated social risks mainly pertain to possible exclusion of vulnerable groups from project benefits, and community health and safety issues. The project will be implemented in Punjab and Sindh. Punjab is Pakistan's most populous and prosperous province. While the province of Punjab has the lowest rate of poverty and the highest Human Development Index (HDI) in Pakistan, there is increasing inequality between the north/central and the southern regions of the province. Social and economic deprivation, as reflected in the health and education outcomes Dec 30, 2019 Page 3 of 10 The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) and household income, is highest in the southern Punjab districts. Agriculture and livestock are the main source of income. Sindh lies is the second largest province in terms of population with the 2nd largest economy due to Karachi. It has the 2nd highest HDI in Pakistan – primarily due to the indicators for Karachi – the social and economic deprivation in terms of health and education outcomes and household income is quite high. In contrast with Karachi, rural Sindh mainly has an agriculture-based economy. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity The proposed pilot intervention is expected to be implemented in partnership with the Sanjh Preet Organization (SPO), a Pakistani non-governmental organization. SPO, based in Lahore, was established in 2002, and has implemented 34 different projects nationwide in partnership with public, non-public, academic and international agencies and organizations including Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), UNICEF, and USAID. It has expertise and experience in the field of human and social sector development including education (formal and non- formal), adult literacy, training for skills and livelihood, child protection, and women’s empowerment. An initial institutional assessment for environmental and social management has been conducted at the concept stage through meetings with SPO personnel and a review of relevant policy documents shared by the organization. This initial assessment indicates that SPO has worked with international donors and has experience of working on social issues such as exclusion, child labor, sexual harassment, gender equality, and transparency and accountability. The organization has experience with and action plans for community/social mobilization, including initiatives focusing on vulnerable groups and the youth. In terms of human resources, while SPO has some relevant social expertise (e.g. on education, skills and livelihood development, gender, social mobilization, etc.) there is no expertise in the organization for the management of environmental issues and risks. Similarly, while the organization has experience working with international donor organizations, it has no experience working with the World Bank and its Public Disclosure knowledge of the Bank’s systems for management of E&S issues, including the ESF, is highly limited. The overall capacity for stakeholder identification and engagement and implementing a mechanism for grievance redress appears to be moderately satisfactory; however, a detailed assessment will be carried out and requisite gap- filling measures will be outlined in the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) prepared for the project. SPO also has some limited experience, in donor-funded projects, of implementing an internal grievance policy to address complaints from personnel employed under a project. An assessment of the institutional capacity to address labour- related issues adequately, in line with ESF requirements, will be conducted during the preparation of the Labour Management Procedures (LMP) and actions to enhance this capacity will be identified and implemented under the project. A comprehensive institutional capacity assessment will be conducted during project preparation, as part of an Environmental and Social (E&S) Assessment, and its conclusions and recommendations will be part of the ESMF. The ESMF will be prepared and disclosed prior to appraisal. The Bank’s E&S Specialists will provide requisite support in this regard. The plan for capacity enhancement will also be referenced in the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP). II. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Moderate Environmental Risk Rating Low Dec 30, 2019 Page 4 of 10 The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) This IPF will focus on establishing CLCs for the provision of various learning programs designed under the Project for the out of school children and youth. These CLCs will be established in spaces available on rent. The Project will neither finance nor support any civil works activities or procurement of IT equipment or chemicals. In this context, the activities supported by the Program are not expected to have any negative environmental impacts. No rehabilitation or construction of new infrastructure or TA-type activities which result in negative environmental impacts will be financed through the project. The Project will select the spaces for the CLCs having availability of basic facilities like toilets and drinking water that may need minor repairs for their better functionality. Other minor repair or refurbishment works may include paint work, minor electrical repairs or fencing of CLCs to provide a better and more secure learning environment for the students. It is proposed by the Project to select CLCs which have all the basic necessary requirements and need minimum repair work. Therefore, the overall risks and potential adverse environmental impacts are considered Low. Social Risk Rating Moderate The project has no land acquisition needs as the space required for establishing CLCs will be obtained on rent. The main social risks of the project relate to potential exclusion of vulnerable groups from project benefits, and the lack of capacity and facilities (e.g. safe and secure spaces; protection against the threats of gender-based violence (GBV), sexual abuse, kidnapping) to provide support services (moral support and counseling, and daycare) of a requisite standard. The social risks are described in detail in the second part of section B.1. below. It is important to note that the project does not plan to provide support services in all the CLCs. In addition, as stated earlier, SPO has some experience working on youth and community mobilization, and implementing community- based projects for the delivery of basic services such as health, education, etc. The project also intends to provide Public Disclosure technical support for teacher training and curriculum/materials development and this can aid in ensuring that the required skills for providing moral support, day care services, and overall responsiveness to the needs of vulnerable social groups are developed and maintained over time. The limited scale of the support service activities, coupled with SPO’s comparatively advanced experience with implementing social sector projects, reduces the social risk, which would otherwise have been of a Substantial level, to a Moderate level. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered B.1. General Assessment ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Overview of the relevance of the Standard for the Project: The Project includes establishing CLCs, ILS for out of school children and youth adults for implementation of non- formal education. The Project will be implemented in three districts of Punjab and two districts of Sindh; however, the exact location of the Project is not known at this stage. The Project does not involve any civil works such as new construction or major upgradation. However, some minor repairs including painting of walls, replacing of light bulb or repairing a broken plumbing fixture at toilets etc. may be undertaken to ensure that the condition of CLC buildings is of a requisite standard. These small minor refurbishments need to be completed before start of the activity in the CLCs to avoid any exposure of health and safety risk to the students. The ramps may need to be built at the CLCs where there is enrollment of any disable person. The intervention of Day Care facility is also planned at the CLC wherever required. Health and safety of the children is the major concern associated with the day care facility wherever provided. The safety aspects with respect to provision of toys and equipment, food safety, diapering and Dec 30, 2019 Page 5 of 10 The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) toileting needs to be considered at the day care facility. Procurement of any IT equipment has not been planned under the Project. The other soft components designed under the Project including Accelerated Learning Programs (ALPs) for out-of-school children, Integrated literacy and skills (ILS) program for youth adults including basic literacy, basic and functional numeracy, pre-vocational skills training, and life skills. The Project also include technical assistance to Non-formal Education curriculum and material development that will be used at CLCs and by other implementing agencies including the provincial governments. Curriculum development will be carried out by the implementing agency through close coordination with provincial curricula bureaus, textbook boards and provincial technical education and vocational training authorities (TEVTAs). None of these activities are expected to have any negative environmental impact therefore, no further consideration on environment will be necessary for the project. The project does not involve any land taking as the CLCs will be established in rented space. SPO has accumulated experience with entering into rental agreements and following the appropriate procedures with the requisite documentation, in establishing CLCs through previously implemented donor-funded projects. The project does not include any civil works; rather, only minor repairs or refurbishment works (e.g. adequate safety features for daycare facilities, creating ramps/universal access facilities as required, minor electrical work) will be included in equipping some CLCs appropriately for project interventions. The social risks associated with any proposed minor repair or refurbishment works and securing space for CLCs are therefore low. There is a moderate risk of exclusion of vulnerable groups (e.g. religious and ethnic minorities, the differently-abled, the extreme poor) from project interventions and benefits. The project also proposes that the learning and skills programs will be provided in multi-grade classroom which, in turn, increases the probability of bullying and Public Disclosure harassment of younger/weaker children unless properly managed. The provision of quality support functions (counseling and moral support, and daycare where required and possible) also requires that service providers be adequately trained and adhere to requisite standards. In particular, the creation of daycare space, while this is highly beneficial for women with young children who wish to rejoin the education/skills stream, not only requires adequately trained staff - and in the case of counselling, accredited staff - but also safe and clean spaces where requisite standards of hygiene are maintained and access to basic services such as clean drinking water and proper sanitation facilities is ensured. Above all, such facilities need to have security features of a requisite standard, so that the children being cared for are protected from harm (e.g. kidnapping, abuse, accidents). The proposed E&S assessment will enable the preparation of an ESMF, which will include Environmental, Health and Safety Checklist for risks associated with minor repair work, health and safety of the students, and provision of safe day care facilities wherever needed. The ESMF also examines the risks of exclusion and poor quality of support functions and, in light of the findings, proposes measures to address these risks (improving criteria for selection of location, proper targeting, providing adequate training for providers of support services, etc.) will be included in the final project design. In addition, measures to monitor that such risks are being addressed and mitigated adequately will be included in the ESMF. The ESMF will also include screening checklists and mitigation plans to ensure that additional risks and impacts, including the issues related to community health and safety and minor risks associated with rehabilitation works, are identified and addressed effectively through the life of the project. The project’s ESCP will include all the requisite E&S actions and commitments between SPO and the Bank to ensure that social impacts are addressed and managed in keeping with the Bank’s ESF. Areas where “Use of Borrower Framework” is being considered: Dec 30, 2019 Page 6 of 10 The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) None. Adoption of the borrower’s E&S Framework to address and manage environmental risks and impacts of the project is not proposed. The project will apply the Bank’s ESF and its Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs) along with the Government E&S requirements. ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Stakeholder identification and engagement is critical to the success of this project. The stakeholders identified so far include beneficiary groups such as children and young adults (both male and female), CLC teachers, and pre- vocational skills providers; the curriculum development boards; and broader stakeholder groups including organisations (e.g. community based, non-governmental, international organisations) focusing on youth and children. SPO will identify the relevant stakeholders and prepare a comprehensive Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) which is proportionate to the nature and scale of the project and the expected role and impact of the stakeholders. A draft SEP shall be consulted upon and disclosed before appraisal. SPO will ensure that all stakeholder consultations are timely, relevant, understandable and accessible (both in form and location) and are free of manipulation, interference, coercion, discrimination and intimidation. If major changes are made to the SEP during project preparation or implementation, a revised SEP will be prepared and publicly disclosed. As part of the ESMF, SPO will maintain and disclose a documented record of stakeholder engagement, including a description of the stakeholders consulted, a summary of the feedback received and a brief explanation of how the feedback was considered. The project will also design a project-specific GRM, as per the guidelines for ESS10 and ESS2, which would enable workers and beneficiaries to channel concerns, questions, and complaints to the project team and, where necessary, to other actors at appropriate levels. The GRM will be multi-faceted in order to receive inputs from communities, project Public Disclosure workers and external stakeholders and respond to issues related to project design and implementation. A channel for confidential reporting and redress mechanisms for GBV and bullying issues will also be provided. B.2. Specific Risks and Impacts A brief description of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts relevant to the Project. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions This standard is relevant. The project will employ direct workers in the PIU and in the CLCs (teachers, support service providers etc.) and field training workshops (for skills training). The project will have an engagement with community workers or contracted workers for minor repair works (if any). The measures related to the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) of the project workers will also be assessed. A draft LMP, focusing on project workers and including a grievance redress mechanism for project workers, will be prepared by project appraisal and proposed actions will be recorded as borrower commitments in the ESCP. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management The Project will neither finance nor support any civil works activities. No rehabilitation or construction/operation of new/existing infrastructure or other actions having an impact on the environment will be financed through this IPF. In this context, the Project will not make use of resources like water, energy and/or raw materials, and it is not expected that any activities financed by the Project will generate any kind of pollution. Therefore, this ESS is not relevant. Dec 30, 2019 Page 7 of 10 The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) ESS4 Community Health and Safety This standard is relevant. As discussed earlier, the project will provide quality support functions in CLCs including day care where required and possible. The children using such facilities might be susceptible to the risk of kidnapping, abuse, accidents, etc., and security and health and safety requirements of a requisite standard will need to be ensured. An assessment of such community health and safety risks will be done as part of the E&S Assessment and requisite mitigation measures will be provided in a Community Health and Safety Plan which will be included in the ESMF. In particular, the client will be bound to ensure that the staff engaged to provide security are not implicated in any past abuse, and that they receive the requisite training to provide security in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations. ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement This standard is not relevant at the PCN stage. The project does not involve any land acquisition and/or resettlement. The proposal is to establish CLCs in rented space, through entering into a formal rental agreements. In its previously implemented donor-funded projects, SPO has accumulated experience with entering into rental agreements and following the appropriate procedures with the requisite documentation. A review of the rental protocols used by SPO will be conducted as part of the E&S Assessment and appropriate mitigation measures will be recommended and included in the ESMF. The ESMF will also include screening protocols to ensure that the rental agreements and the buildings being taken for project use are not in violation of the Bank’s ESF. Public Disclosure ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources This is a non-formal education support Project with only soft components involved in the Project design for out of school Children and youth adults through CLCs, and development of ALPs, and ILS, non- formal curriculum development and technical assistance for teachers, The Project is not having any use of natural resources or having any impacts on biodiversity conservation. Therefore, ESS6 is not relevant to the Project. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities ESS7 is not relevant as the project is not being implemented in areas of Pakistan where there are indigenous peoples. ESS8 Cultural Heritage The project does not involve any activities of relevance to ESS8 as there will be no civil works. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries ESS9 is not relevant as the project does not involve any FI. B.3 Other Relevant Project Risks No further potential risks related to the project’s environmental and social impacts are identified at the PCN stage. Dec 30, 2019 Page 8 of 10 The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas No III. WORLD BANK ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL DUE DILIGENCE A. Is a common approach being considered? No Financing Partners Not applicable B. Proposed Measures, Actions and Timing (Borrower’s commitments) Actions to be completed prior to Bank Board Approval: These include: 1. Preparation, Consultation and disclosure of ESMF including E&S assessment, screening checklists and mitigation measures for minor refurbishment/repair works, Community Health and Safety Plan 2. Preparation and disclosure of Stakeholder Management Plan (SEP) Public Disclosure 3. Gap filling measure for institutional capacity enhancement identified and a plan of action devised in the ESMF 4. Preparation of Labor Management Procedures (LMP) 5. Preparation of Environment and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) Possible issues to be addressed in the Borrower Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP): These include: 1. Management of E&S issues in accordance with measures recommended in the ESMF 2. Dedicated personnel for E&S management during project implementation 3. Capacity building in line with E&S assessment 4. Measures to ensure that daycare services are provided in accordance with community health and safety standard requirements 5. Implementing and further revising the ESCP as required during implementation 6. Implementing and updating the SEP during project implementation (as required) 7. Implementing the LMP including a GRM for Project workers C. Timing Tentative target date for preparing the Appraisal Stage ESRS 28-Feb-2020 IV. CONTACT POINTS Dec 30, 2019 Page 9 of 10 The World Bank Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project (P170830) World Bank Contact: Shinsaku Nomura Title: Senior Economist Telephone No: 5379+1515 Email: snomura@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: Islamic Republic of Pakistan Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: Sanjh Preet Organization V. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects VI. APPROVAL Public Disclosure Task Team Leader(s): Shinsaku Nomura Practice Manager (ENR/Social) David Seth Warren Recommended on 25-Nov-2019 at 08:50:3 EST Dec 30, 2019 Page 10 of 10