The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) Project Information Document/ Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (PID/ISDS) Concept Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 06-Jan-2020 | Report No: PIDISDSC24444 Jan 6, 2020 Page 1 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data OPS TABLE Country Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Project Name Sudan P167169 Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Practice Area (Lead) AFRICA Jan 15, 2020 Jul 25, 2020 Education Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Investment Project Financing Federal Ministry of Finance Federal Ministry of and Economic Planning Education Proposed Development Objective(s) The proposed Project Development Objective (PDO) is to sustain enrolment in primary education and improve the reading proficiency of pupils in early grades in disadvantaged schools, and to strengthen the education management system. PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY-NewFin1 Total Project Cost 59.00 Total Financing 59.00 of which IBRD/IDA 0.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 Non-World Bank Group Financing Trust Funds 59.00 EFA-FTI Education Program Development Fund 59.00 Environmental Assessment Category Concept Review Decision Jan 6, 2020 Page 2 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) B - Partial Assessment Track II-The review did authorize the preparation to continue SAFEGUARDS_TABLE_OPS Have the Safeguards oversight and clearance functions been transferred to the Practice Manager? (Will not be disclosed) Yes Other Decision (as needed) B. Introduction and Context Country Context 1. Sudan is a lower-middle-income country with one of the fastest growing populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, population was estimated at 40 million with 43% aged 15 and below. Over the last decade, population in Sudan grew at an average rate of 2.5% a year from 33 million in 2008 (World Bank, 2016). The school-age population (4- to 16-year-olds) is estimated to represent 34% of the population and continues to grow, contributing to the rising demand for social services such as basic education and healthcare provision. In 2008-2017, despite the economic sanctions and secession of the oil-rich Southern states, GDP rose at a 2% annual rate. GDP per capita increased five-fold in nominal terms from SDG 3,617 to SDG 14,485; however, in constant 2016 prices, there was a 5% decrease, because GDP grew at the rate lower than the population and high inflation. 2018 has been a challenging year for Sudan with inflation reaching 50% in the first quarter, leading to a steep decline in population real incomes and, therefore, the ability to access social services. 2. Despite economic growth and relatively high GDP per capita1, poverty remains widespread in Sudan. According to the 2009 Poverty Survey, 46.5% of population in Sudan live below the official poverty line, with a considerable variation between rural (58%) and urban (26%), and among states, of which the extremes are war-affected North Darfur with 69% of its population living in poverty contrasting with 26% in the capital Khartoum. Relatively high real GDP per capita has not turned into better living conditions of Sudanese. Nevertheless, the country has made considerable progress in human development. Notably, child mortality reduced from 105 per 1,000 (2000) to 65 per 1,000 (2016); maternal mortality dropped from 544 per 1,000 (2000) to 311 per 1,000 (2015) (World Bank WDI). The youth literacy rate, defined as the proportion of youth between the age of 15 and 24 that can read and write a simple sentence in any language, increased from 78 in 2000 to 86 in 2014 (Lange et. al, forthcoming). The 1 2016 GDP per capita at 2010 prices: US$ 1,923 Jan 6, 2020 Page 3 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) increase in youth literacy is particularly pronounced among individuals in the bottom quintiles of the distribution and rural youths. However, there is still a considerable gap of around 15 percentage points between Sudanese youth in rural and urban areas. 3. Political instability hindered Sudan’s efforts to attain better economic and social development. Since its independence in 1956, Sudan has experienced two almost consecutive civil wars spanning over five decades with only a period of relative tranquility between 1972 and 1983, limiting the country’s ability to provide critical services, especially in the most conflict- affected states (World Bank, 2013). Years of political crises have yielded a considerable number of displaced people, generating a huge need of humanitarian assistance and pressure in social services, including education. According to the 2018 Humanitarian Needs Overview, 2.3 million people need shelter since they have been displaced by the perpetual conflict in the South- Western parts of the country. 4.8 million people are also in need of food with production in much of the arable land located in conflict curtailed, which is 1.2 million more than in 2017. Almost 2.5 million children are at risk of malnutrition and in 11 out of 18 states, the prevalence rates are above 15%, higher than the emergency threshold according to the World Health Organization. In total, there are 5.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan (an increase from 4.8 million in 2017), 1.7 million of them being children and adolescents who need basic education services. Sectoral and Institutional Context 4. Education provision in Sudan is a shared responsibility among various administrative layers. Education system is managed at the Federal, State and locality levels. While the Federal level has the policy mandate, mainly for strategic planning, coordination, and definition of standards, eighteen states are responsible for secondary education provision, human resource management, coordination of work of the Directorate of Education at the locality level, and basic education certification. Localities are the frontline service providers responsible for basic education day- to-day management, comprising two years of preschool, five years of lower primary, and three years of upper primary education. The Education Sector Strategic Plan, a five-year plan, defines the overall direction of the sector in the medium term. The new education sector plan is being finalized and will inform the sector vision for 2018-2022. 5. In 2015, Sudan began the reform of the basic education curriculum and is currently moving to the new education structure comprising nine years of primary education (6:3) (in addition to 2 years of pre-school). The first cohort of students is expected to reach Grade 9 of basic education in 2023/2024 school year. The curriculum change implying the increase in the number of years of free education requires reassessing the system ability to provide complete basic education to all children in Sudan, including refugees. Jan 6, 2020 Page 4 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) 6. There have been significant improvements in basic education outcomes over the last decade. Between 2008/09 and 2017/18, the number of primary schools increased by 2,800, allowing one million more children to access education. The number of students completing primary education and proceeding to secondary school increased from 251 to 336,000 during the same time. Provision of preschool education, an important step to build school readiness, is relatively high with Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) reaching 43% in 2017, which is ten percentage points above the average rate for Sub-Saharan Africa. Around 26% of basic schools have preschool facilities. In 2018, 65% of learners enrolled in Grade 1 reported having some preschool experience, an improvement of about 16 percentage points from 49% recorded in mid-2000 (ESA). 7. Sudan has relatively low level of public spending on education but achieved high completion rates, compared with several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. An index of return, as defined by school completion rates, on every percentage of GDP spent on education is the highest in Sudan (Table 1). For instance, one percent of GDP invested in education in Sudan yields a 51.3% completion rate in Grade 6 and 42.3% in Grade 9 (first grade of secondary education in Sudan), while in Kenya, which has the highest completion rates among the comparator countries, the return is 18.8% and 11.9% in Grades 6 and 9, respectively. Jan 6, 2020 Page 5 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) Table 1: Efficiency of government expenditures in education in select Sub-Saharan Africa countries Education as % of GDP Completion Efficiency index Country Relative to % Grade 6 Grade 9 c/a d/a average (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Sudan 1.2 1.0 61.6 50.8 51.3 42.3 Ethiopia 4.5 3.8 50.7 33.0 11.3 7.3 Kenya 5.3 4.4 99.6 63.1 18.8 11.9 Malawi 6.9 5.8 75.0 17.1 10.9 2.5 Mozambique 6.7 5.6 56.4 24.0 8.4 3.6 Tanzania 3.5 2.9 83.7 45.9 23.9 13.1 Uganda 3.3 2.8 79.7 33.3 24.2 10.1 Average selected countries 4.5 3.7 74.2 36.1 16.5 8.0 Average Sub-Saharan Africa 4.3 3.6 67.0 37.0 15.6 8.6 Source: Sudan Education Sector Analysis 2018 Continued low and unequal levels of access 8. Despite recent improvements in enrolment, the overall level access to basic education in Sudan has not changed. Sudan has not managed to cope with the growing demand for education imposed by the high population growth. GER was stagnant and low compared to other comparator countries: 72% (2008/09) and 73% (2016/17). While girls’ and boys’ Grade 1 enrolment rates in urban areas are similar, male Grade 1 enrolment rates in rural areas are six percentage points higher than those for girls. Grade 8 enrollment rates are in favor of boys, and the gap is especially evident in rural areas. 9. Socioeconomic disparities in basic education are also large. For example, while Grade 1 enrollment rates for the wealthiest fifth of households were universal, only 81% of children in the poorest fifth of households were enrolled. The socioeconomic gap in primary access widens by the end of the education cycle. Only 34% of children from the poorest quintile reach the last grade of primary education compared to 94% of children from the wealthiest quintile. The socioeconomic disparities further translate into access to secondary education: only 9% of children from the bottom income quintile of households proceed to Form 1 of secondary education, while 77% of children from the top income quintile do. Low access to secondary education for the bottom income quintiles of population in Sudan urge targeted support to the most vulnerable and poor families. Jan 6, 2020 Page 6 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) Figure 1: Primary education enrollment rates Access to basic education in Sudan at the beginning and Primary education GER in 2016 end of the cycle in Sudan by gender, location, and wealth or the latest available, selected quintile (2014) countries 139 131 Boys Girls 119 98 96 100 92 94 106 105 102 102 100 82 86 99 81 91 77 81 73 55 46 34 Sudan Uganda Burkina Faso Cameroon Zimbabwe Ethiopia Kenya Mozambique Malawi Burundi Tanzania Zambia Grade 1 Grade 8 Grade 1 Grade 8 Grade 1 Grade 8 Urban Rural Bottom 20% Top 20% Source: Authors estimates based on MICS2014. Source: Authors on UNESCO UIS data. 10. Low retention rates and dropout have undermined Sudan’s effort to implement the policy of universal fee-free basic education. While student enrolment has increased over time, retention rates are still low, contributing to the increasing number of out-of-school-children (OOSC). An analysis of enrolment in 2016/17 illustrates the large volume of pupils entering Grade 1 gradually shrinks while moving to upper grades due to drop out. The schooling profile shows the gradual losses through the system and brings the gender dimension of the inefficiency. In general, boys are more likely to drop out than girls. For example, 48% of boys enrolled in Grade 1 are likely to reach Grade 8 compared to 53% of girls. Anecdotal evidence suggests that high drop out of male pupils is associated with the high opportunity cost of attending school, which includes the cost of not working in the household. Female pupils drop out due to early marriage. 11. In 2014, around 3 million children of the relevant age for basic and secondary education were out of school. Whereas 52% of children had never attended school, 48% dropped out. The majority of OOSC (77%) are 6- to 13-year-olds, i.e. the basic education age reference group. The system still has late entry until 11 years with children who do not attend school before turning 12 are likely not to attend ever. 12. Reasons for not attending school include high costs and distance to schools. According to the results of the National Household Budget and Poverty Survey (NHBPS) conducted in 2014/15, respondents for around 20% of children between the age of 6 and 15 that are not attending school cite high costs, 13-14% cite distance to school, and 5-6% percent cite the need Jan 6, 2020 Page 7 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) for the child to support the family. Respondents for around 40% among both girls and boys cite other reasons (including disability and illness of the household head or the child itself). Jan 6, 2020 Page 8 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) Figure 2: Enrolment pyramid and share of illiterate pupils Share of pupils performing below level 1 (illiterate) in Reading assessment (2014 or the Enrolment pyramid, thousand (2017) latest available) Male Female 40% Secondary 3 185 197 Secondary 2 Secondary 1 164 177 Basic 8 255 246 27% Basic 7 22% 20% Basic 6 341 312 17% 18% Basic 5 Basic 4 Basic 3 Basic 2 Basic 1 524 464 600 400 200 0 200 400 600 Egypt Iraq Jordan Morocco Yemen Sudan Thousands Source: Education Sector Analysis, 2018. Low and stagnant learning outcomes 13. Despite the considerable increase in access to education, learning outcomes are yet to improve. According to the National Learning Assessment (NLA) conducted in 2015, where basic numeracy and literacy of Grade 3 pupils were evaluated, the results were low in all domains of the assessment: reading, writing, and numeracy. For example, only 5% of pupils could read fluently in Arabic, and 40% were not able to read at all. Furthermore, the assessment of reading speed among third graders indicated an average speed of 15 words per minute, which is far below the minimum standard of 40 words per minute required to gain understanding of and meaning from the text. However, Sudan’s third graders do better in listening and comprehension if compared to pupils from other Arabic Countries. 14. There is a sign of slight improvements in learning outcomes in Sudan. The country has recently completed its second NLA, and preliminary data indicates some gains in reading scores, with the reduction of non-readers from 40% in 2014 to 38% in 20172. Reading comprehension has improved from 36% in 2014 to 52% in 2017. The share of students able to perform single digit subtraction and addition increased significantly from 39.9%% and 46.2% in 2014 to 42.8% and 51.7 in 2017, respectively. 15. While in general there have been improvements in learning outcomes, some states are lagging behind, and some are stagnant. Continued high enrolment in Grade 1 will put further pressure on facilities, teaching and learning materials, and teacher staffing. Thus, the goals of 2 The difference in scores is statistically significant at 1%. Jan 6, 2020 Page 9 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) improving education quality and reaching universal primary education in this context are to become even more ambitious. In reading proficiency (grade 3 pupils), nine states improved results, four worsened and five remained stagnant. Figure 3: Grade 3 reading performance by state (2014/15 and 2017/18 NLAs) Poor teacher management 16. The question of teacher distribution is acute in Sudan. In a context of rapidly rising enrollment, Sudan is struggling to post primary school teachers to the schools where they are most needed. School pupil-teacher ratios (PTRs) – the ratio of the number of pupils at a school to the number of teachers – vary significantly across and within states; between localities with different levels of amenities; and, within localities, between schools with better facilities. This leads to severe local shortages of teachers in some schools alongside relative surpluses in others, in some cases within the same small geographic area. In one locality in Red Sea state, for example, school-level PTRs vary from 7 to 879 within an area of a few square kilometers. 17. These inequities in distribution of teachers exacerbate existing shortages of teachers. Sudan’s 5.3 million primary school students are taught by 148,774 basic school teachers (2016/17). A national PTR of 36 is low compared to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa region. 53 percent of basic schools have a school-level PTR above the national average. The uneven distribution of teachers between schools, however, means that the most understaffed schools are severely deprived of teachers: the top ten percent of schools by PTR have ratios of 81 or Jan 6, 2020 Page 10 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) more, while the bottom ten percent have ratios of 17 or less. As a result, the investment in students for primary education varies widely. A typical student at a school with bottom-decile PTR benefits from investment in teacher salaries of SDG 1,557 per year of schooling, versus just SDG 113 in schools in the highest decile. Figure 4: Pupil-teacher ratio in Sudan public primary schools by location, school type, and states (2017) 82.5 73.9 53.9 72.4 70.3 50.8 57.2 56.4 47.3 46.4 46.0 45.7 44.5 43.1 43.0 39.2 41.4 40.5 37.2 34.9 31.6 30.7 26.9 17.3 Red Sea Sudan West Darfur Sinnar North Darfur South Darfur North Kordofan West Kordofan Gadarif Kassala Northern Blue Nile River Nile East Darfur Gezira Central Darfur South Kordofan White Nile Khartoum Rural Urban Boys Girls Mixed Location School type Source: Authors estimation based on the Rapid Survey data. Learning environments 18. The poor quality of the learning environment in many secondary schools also affects teacher motivation as well as student outcomes. Many schools do not meet norms for teaching and learning materials. While there have been improvements in student textbook ratios recently, mostly due to the efforts made within the Basic Education Recovery Project, under which all pupils in Grade 1-4 received a set of textbooks, shortages in specific subjects remain. On average four learners share a science book among themselves, while in Math and Arabic language classes, two and three learners, respectively, share one textbook. 19. Some areas of school infrastructure are currently inadequate and continued basic education expansion will add further pressure. Existing primary schools have shortfalls in classrooms and other facilities. For example, 16% of public schools including 21% in rural areas and 9% in urban, have a least one grade without a classroom. Pupils in such classes study outside ‘under the tree’ and often dismissed during rainy seasons and hot summer months, which contribute to further worsening of learning outcomes. The availability of water and sanitation facilities also tend to vary widely across basic schools and the number of latrines is inadequate. This is an important driver of poor education outcomes for girls entering puberty during upper primary school given the high number of overaged children due to repetition (Sperling et al., 2016). Expanding access and reaching underserved areas will also require more Jan 6, 2020 Page 11 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) classrooms in basic schools. Since the distance between schools and households is an important factor in explaining school drop-out, it will be important to locate new schools optimally to reduce travel times (Lange et al., forthcoming). 20. Incomplete primary schools affect the system’s ability to retain children until completion. A review of the supply of basic education indicates that 6,793 out of the 16,643 schools are incomplete schools that miss at least one grade. 1% of schools do not have lower grades 1-4. When children transition from one school to another this increases the likelihood of non- completion of primary education, because it is harder to settle in a new environment and learning tends to regress. Low level of public spending on education and significant contributions of families 21. Current funding for education indicates the need for more investments to guarantee quality services and more inclusion. Education budget as a proportion of the overall budget has remained stable at 11% between 2009-2017, which is low compared to the GPE recommended 20% (GPE, 2016). In the same period, the sector budget increased 2.6 times in nominal terms, from SDG 2.7 trillion to SDG 6.9 trillion. In turn, recurrent spending in education, which represent 90% of the budget, more than doubled in current prices from SDG 2.4 trillion in 2009 to SDG 5.4 trillion in 2017. However, in real terms, at 2016 prices, recurrent education expenditure dropped by half As a share of GDP, spending in education dropped by half from 2.4% in 2009 to 1.2% in 2017, which is the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa. 22. Families contribute greatly to education covering expenses on goods and services, capital costs, salaries to volunteer teachers, and food provision to teachers and pupils. The current economic situation is likely to affect the ability of families to pay going forward, so there is a need to mobilize more public funding. On top of the resources received from the federal, state and locality levels, households significantly contribute to the education development. In basic education for instance, on top of the SDG 2.6 trillion covered by public finances, parents added a total of SDG 496 million in the 2016/17 translating to about 16% of the known spending. With the growing inflation affecting the purchasing power of households in Sudan, most of them may lose the ability to pay for goods and services. 23. External financing of the education sector is limited and unpredictable. Sudan remains a highly-indebted country that has accumulated sizeable external arrears and has been in non- accrual status with the World Bank Group since 1994. At the end of 2015, its external debt amounted to $50 billion (61% of GDP) in nominal terms, about 84% of which was in arrears. Given Sudan’s current lack of access to IDA funding, the WBG program is resourced mainly through trust funds, partnerships including GPE, and the Bank budget. Jan 6, 2020 Page 12 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) Relationship to CPF 24. The proposed project will support the GoS in achieving sub-sector objectives set in the Education Sector Strategic Plan for 2018-2022 that focus on Human Development as the key driver for sustainable development and equitable growth, which is aligned with the World Bank Group’s twin goals of reducing extreme poverty and enhancing shared prosperity. The project will help improving access to quality education, reducing regional and gender disparities in access and education outcomes, as well as supporting capacity building on planning and budgeting at all levels (federal, state, locality, and school). The project will build on the success of the Basic Education Recovery Project (BERP), which created the pillars for service delivery right after the secession. 25. Interim Strategy Note (INS) for Sudan defines the areas of Bank engagements, focusing on basic service delivery. The project will support Pillar II “address socioeconomic roots of conflict� and will contribute to improving equitable service delivery in education. The proposed operation is in line with the government’s Basic Education Strategy and aims to upgrade the learning environment in states of Sudan. The project will also contribute to long-term Poverty Reduction and Equity Strategy by investing in improving education outcomes across the country, including areas under conflict. C. Proposed Development Objective(s) The proposed Project Development Objective (PDO) is to improve reading proficiency of pupils in early grades and improve progression to the upper grades of primary education in disadvantaged schools, and to strengthen the education management systems. Key Results (From PCN) Results Area 1: Improving school learning conditions and practices - Data on school characteristics and benchmark with other schools (school profile) is provided to schools to improve school planning and monitoring - Greater accountability and partnership between schools and local communities in school planning and resource management - Improved school infrastructure in rural schools to retain pupils and teachers; - Stronger financial and non-financial incentives to teachers to be deployed in schools with teacher shortages; - Adequate time and reading materials and reading support efforts provided to ensure students in low performing schools achieve proficiency in reading Results area 2: System strengthening and capacity building Jan 6, 2020 Page 13 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) - Continuation and improvement of the National Learning Assessment system - Using data collected through the annual school census to support schools to develop evidence-based school planning. D. Concept Description 26. The proposed operation, Basic Education Development Program (BEDP), aims at improving access to quality basic education in Sudan. The project will support the implementation of the Education Sector Strategic Plan for 2018-2022 and will build on the results of the ongoing Basic Education Recovery Project. The project will operate at system and school levels, targeting disadvantaged schools. 27. Attainment of the proposed PDO will be based on Government’s achievement of results in two components: (a) school improvement program, which will include providing support to schools to improve learning environment and practices, and (b) the education system capacity strengthening. Component 1: School Improvement Program (US$33.0M) 28. This component will support school improvements towards increasing access and enhancing quality of teaching and learning in selected number of disadvantaged schools. Under this component, the project will support the definition and implementation of the school construction program to respond to the shortage of classroom in identified schools where there are classes in open air and support the transfer of school grants to improve learning conditions and support the most vulnerable students, who are more likely to drop out. Sub-Component 1.1: Evidence-Based Planning and Budgeting 29. This sub-component will support schools in designing development plans using their school profiles and information datasheets. The plans will focus on improving school performance in access, student retention, and learning outcomes. School profiles will utilize school-level data generated annually within the school census and information on student performance. Such information will allow each school to understand their status on various indicators, including enrollment, retention, school conditions, learning, among others, and informing definition of annual targets in the school plan. 30. The plans will be developed through a participatory process, involving Parents-Teachers- Associations (PTAs), who will assess the school status and propose the course of action for the following year based on the existing resources, and monitor the implementation. Sub-Component 1.2: Provision of intervention packages to targeted schools Jan 6, 2020 Page 14 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) 31. Under this sub-component, the project will provide different packages of interventions to schools, based on needs and resource availability aiming at improving the learning environment. Considering limited resources, the project will not be able to cover all public schools in Sudan, a targeting mechanism will be applied to select disadvantaged schools for specific interventions aiming at improving equity among the schools. Three differential packages will be provided a pool of targeted schools, with fewer schools accessing the full package (Package 3) due to its highest cost per school/student: ▪ Package 1: School profile and School grants ▪ Package 2: School profile, School grants, Textbook and Readers, ▪ Package 3: School profile, School grants, Textbooks and Readers, and Classrooms. 32. Schools grants play a crucial role in providing the schools with basic learning materials, essential to improve the quality of teaching and learning process, an important condition to retain pupils at school. Besides, school grants can be used to strengthen participatory planning at school level, involving PTA in the definition of priorities to be funded by the grant. Under this sub-component, all primary schools will benefit from grants for materials, and schools deemed vulnerable will receive an additional amount to cater for the support to the vulnerable pupils who are more likely to drop out due to the economic situation facing the country. 33. Textbooks and Supplementary Readers. Under this sub-component, the project will support production, procurement, distribution, and utilization of textbooks, associated teacher guides and other supplementary learning materials. The BERP established the learning materials development and downstream supply management system, allowing schools even in more remote areas to receive quality and relevant materials. The proposed operation will consolidate the gains achieved under the BERP on access to textbooks and support the appropriate use of materials for teaching and learning process. 34. To address the low reading level in among pupils, supplementary reading material will be produced by the Federal MoE printed and delivered to selected schools. Teachers and community volunteers will be trained to: (i) assess reading skills of students; (ii) conduct reading hour in schools; (iii) monitor the students’ progress in reading in selected schools. Localities’ inspectors will be trained to support schools in implementing this intensive reading support intervention. 35. Classroom construction. The program will support construction of new classrooms in schools with a high share of open-air (‘classes under the tree’) and overcrowded classrooms and support upgrading of basic school infrastructure including water, latrines, fences, and electricity in target schools. Jan 6, 2020 Page 15 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) 36. Parents and communities play a significant role in sustaining education provision in Sudan. The intervention packages above will build on this commitment and adopt the school- based community empowerment approach already developed under the Basic Education Recovery Project. This includes communities and parents’ participation in: (i) school improvement planning; (ii) managing school grants; (iii) managing school construction; and (iv) supporting teachers in organizing reading hours using supplementary reading materials. Component 2: Systems Strengthening ($6m) 37. This component will support capacity building in the Federal Ministry of General Education and state Ministries of Education for production and use of data for strategic and operational planning. Also, the project will support development of a teacher deployment program and support its implementation in selected states with school-level pupil-teacher ratios significantly above the country average. 38. National Learning Assessment (NLA). This sub-component will support the consolidation of the capacity to implement the NLA every three years, and the usage of data for policy formulation and implementation in Sudan. The latest round of NLA was completed in January 2018. Two cohorts were tested in reading and math – Grade 3 and Grade 6 pupils. Schools where Grade 3 pupils were tested in 2014/15 were added to the sample, to explore the change in student learning outcomes. While the results show overall low levels of learning, they serve an important source of data for the policy dialogue. The data provides for details, which facilitate the understanding of the learning among states and within states. The program will promote further use of the NLA data among national researchers through a competitive research fund. The next round of NLA is scheduled for 2020. Results of the assessment will inform the design of the next education sector plan for 2022-2026. 39. School data collection under the Sudan Annual School Census (ASC). Introduced under the BERP, the rapid survey has produced data on schools on a timely and efficient manner. Under this operation, the Ministry of Education will continue implementing the annual school census and introduce school profiles (report cards) to provide feedback to schools and localities on the current development status against that at the state and country levels. This way, statistics can also be used at local level for dialogue and planning purpose. 40. The states and localities play an important role in managing schools. Therefore they need to strengthen their ability to plan based on data from the school’s census. The project will support training of state officers on planning and budgeting. Under the school improvement program (Component I) schools will need regular supervision and support from the localities, which means the latter will also need to strengthen their capacity to perform this task. Localities will also train PTAs on participatory planning and use of school data for planning and monitoring purpose at the school level. Localities will also receive support for coaching and monitoring the reading program. Jan 6, 2020 Page 16 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) 41. Development of the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) for 2022-through 2026 Strategic planning is critical to inform interventions in the education sector. Sudan has been able to develop strategic plans with the support of technical assistance under the BERP. Capacity constraints are still present, and the Ministry will still need support to develop the next strategic plan. Under this component, technical assistance will be provided to the FME to design the new plan through a consultative process with the relevant stakeholders. 42. Support the development and pilot implementation of a teacher deployment policy. Teacher deployment is an issue in Sudan, only 30% of the schools have the number of teachers deployed corresponding to the number of students studying. Teachers are concentrated in urban areas with higher availability of amenities. This sub-component will support the development of a teacher deployment policy, which should consider the constraints the system is facing to attract and retain teachers in remote areas. The project will support the implementation of the policy in selected states with high PTRs to redistribute teachers more evenly. Component 3: Program coordination, monitoring and evaluation ($3m) 43. This component will support the Federal MoE in overall program coordination, monitoring and evaluation. The Program Coordination unit will cover functions such as planning, procurement, financial management, environmental and social safeguards and monitoring and evaluation. Technical experts will be mobilized as necessary. SAFEGUARDS A. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) Project locations will be selected according to selection criteria for beneficiary schools, including lack of physical and human resources, as to be detailed in the Project Appraisal Document. The number of targeted localities will be five in each of the 18 states. The 18 states in Sudan vary widely in terms of their physical characteristics. However, the representative sub-project is likely to be an existing school on an established footprint which is in need of rehabilitation, upgrading, and/or expansion. Most schools have a footprint delineated by a fence, where the fenced school grounds includes school classrooms, an administration office, latrines, water supply for drinking and hand-washing, an outdoor play area, and some shade trees. B. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies The Federal Ministry of Education (FMoE) will continue to serve as the implementation agency for this project. Within the FMoE, there is an existing Project Implementation Unit (PIU) which will hold responsibility for carrying day-to-day implementation of project activities. The PIU is supported by a senior civil engineer (SCE) as well as a social mobilization Jan 6, 2020 Page 17 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) and grass-roots capacity building/school grant coordinator specialist, to carry out environmental and social safeguards implementation, respectively. National institutional capacity is thus strong. The PIU has a history of engaging with State Ministries and local communities to build capacity, and there is a component in the project dedicated to funding this, especially for the new States being added. C. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists on the Team Tracy Hart, Environmental Specialist Samuel Lule Demsash, Social Specialist D. Policies that might apply Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) The project is rated EA category B. The project triggers OP4.01 Environmental Assessment due to activities to be financed is construction of classrooms (equipment and furniture), latrines, water supply. At this point, the exact location of the infrastructure (classrooms/ schools) to be selected is still to be determined. An Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) of the parent project will be updated to provide positive environmental and social benefits by scaling up proven practices to capture the essence of implementation challenges, concerns and views regarding environmental and social risk management. The ESMF update will include environmental and social issues which have not been covered in the parent project; such as the issue of conflict, gender Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 Yes based violence and sexual exploitation, occupational health and safety, etc. The ESMF will provide guidance for preparation and implementation of the environmental and social screening process and the preparation of the site specific Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) or Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for sub-projects as needed. The project will not involve any land acqusition as classroom constructions will happen in existing school footprints and no additional land acquisition is anticipated. The ESMF will include a screening mechanism/checklist for land acqusition. The ESMF will be updated, consulted upon, and disclosed in the country and in the World Bank’s External website prior to appraisal. Performance Standards for Private Sector No There are no private sector activities in this project. Activities OP/BP 4.03 Jan 6, 2020 Page 18 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) This proposed project will not have potential impact Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No on natural habitats. This proposed project will not affect forest nor will it Forests OP/BP 4.36 No involve reforestation. Pest Management OP 4.09 No This project does not involve Pest Management. This policy is triggered as the proposed works might involve excavation, which may result in chance finds of physical cultural resources. Thus, this policy will be Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 Yes addressed in the Environmental and Social Assessment, and “chance finds� procedures should be part of every civil works contract, even where risks are deemed low. This proposed project will not involve nor will it affect Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No indigenous peoples All classroom constructions will happen in existing Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 No school footprints and no additional land acquisition is anticipated. This proposed project will not involve nor will it affect Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No Dams Projects on International Waterways No This project does not involve international waterways OP/BP 7.50 This proposed project does not involve Disputed Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 No Areas. E. Safeguard Preparation Plan Tentative target date for preparing the Appraisal Stage PID/ISDS January 10, 2020 Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing should be specified in the Appraisal Stage PID/ISDS The ESMF is expected to be completed by January 10, 2020. CONTACT POINT World Bank Thanh Thi Mai, Omer Nasir Elseed, Tanya June Savrimootoo Senior Education Specialist Borrower/Client/Recipient Jan 6, 2020 Page 19 of 20 The World Bank Sudan Basic Education Development Project (P167169) Federal Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning Implementing Agencies Federal Ministry of Education Mohamed Salim Director Planning mohgutbi1@gmail.com 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 APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Thanh Thi Mai, Omer Nasir Elseed, Tanya June Savrimootoo Approved By APPROVALTBL Practice Manager/Manager: Country Director: Jan 6, 2020 Page 20 of 20