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PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) 
APPRAISAL STAGE 
Report No.:  AB4722 
Project Name 
The Gambia EFA-FTI Catalytic Fund, 2009-2011 
Region 
AFRICA 
Sector 
Primary education (75%); General education sector (25%) 
Project ID 
P115427 
Borrower(s) 
GOVERNMENT OF THE GAMBIA 
Implementing Agency 
Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education 
(DOSBSE) 
Environment Category 
[
]
A
[X] B   [ ] C   [ ] FI   [ ] TBD (to be determined) 
Date PID Prepared 
May 25, 2009 
Date of Appraisal 
Authorization 
June 15, 2009 
Date of Board Approval 
 
1.  Country and Sector Background 
 
The Gambia is a small West African country with an estimated population of 1.6 million (2008), 
and an average per capita GDP of approximately US$420 (2007)
1
.
The Gambia is ranked 155
th
 
out of 177 countries in the 2007 UN Human Development Index.  The overall poverty headcount 
ratio is 58 percent, with large socioeconomic and regional variations.  Tourism is a key driver of 
the economy and the country’s most significant foreign exchange earner.  Agriculture accounts 
for approximately a third of GDP and more than 70 percent of employment.   
There have been important gains in education and health indicators.  Access to education has 
expanded, particularly in rural areas, and quality has been identified as the next major challenge. 
The overall life expectancy in the country, estimated at 57 years (2005), is higher than the SSA 
average. The Gambia has also performed relatively well on child health indicators compared to 
the SSA average. 
Education sector overview
:
In the last five years, substantial gains have been achieved in 
education service delivery, a key pillar of the Government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.  
The Millennium Development Goals for universal primary education and gender parity are 
within reach provided additional resources are available for sustained and accelerated progress.  
The main challenge is to improve the quality of instruction, for which major initiatives are under 
way, including those supported by the Education for all-Fast Track Initiative Catalytic Fund 
(EFA-FTI CF) under Round 1, and proposed for support now under Round 2 (2009-2011).  The 
Government’s Medium Term Plan (MTP) for the education sector was discussed with and 
recommended for re-endorsement by the in-country donors in August 2008.  The key donors 
active in the sector include UNICEF (the lead in-country donor), the UK’s Department for 
International Development (DfID), the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development 
Bank, the African Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and the other UN Funds 
1
The Gross National Income per capita (GNI) in 2007 is US$320. 
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and Programmes, and the World Bank (IDA).  In addition, a number of national and international 
NGOs are closely involved in education activities, including Action Aid, Future in Our Hands, 
and VSO, among others.   
The education sector has seen important gains
:
Over the past five years, there has been a 
strong focus on equity, access, quality and management: 
(a) 
Continued attention to equity and effective access
 
(b) 
Focusing on teachers as key actors in improving quality
 
(c) 
Design and implementation of assessment instruments to measure quality in 
the classroom
 
(d) 
Greater attention to monitoring and evaluation
 
(e) 
Focus on performance a key measure for career development at all levels
 
In spite of these achievements, critical challenges still remain with the sector. These include. 
(f) 
Reaching the children still out of school, and addressing disparities
 
(g) 
Maintaining a sustained focus on education quality
 
(h) 
Ensuring sector management is anchored in a well-performing base
 
2. Objectives 
 
The overall project development objective is to improve conditions for teaching and learning in 
basic education, including early childhood development. This objective is aligned with the 
ongoing IDA project and consistent with the overall objectives of the Go
vernment’s Education 
Sector Strategy Plan and the Medium-Term Plan for 2009-2011.  Teaching and learning in basic 
education would be improved by (a)  increasing access and equity in basic education; (b) 
improving the quality of teaching and learning;  (c) strengthening management, monitoring and 
evaluation as well as institutional capacity at central and regional levels. 
 
3.  Rationale for Bank and Catalytic Fund Involvement 
 
There are several reasons why the Catalytic Fund should support the education sector in The 
Gambia, complementing the support already provided by the ongoing IDA operation and by 
other actors (donors, NGOs) in the sector.  First, the Catalytic Fund Grant, as with the IDA 
Grant, would provide support to the Government’s sector program, which enables both financing 
sources to fill gaps where other donors are not able to respond, including substantial investments 
in quality interventions, in innovations in the measurement of learning achievements (such as the 
Early Grade Reading Assessment) and in changing incentives to effect behavior change (such as 
hardship allowances for teachers, or performance management linked to team bonuses for 
personnel).  Second, with IDA’s long-term involvement in the sector and in the country, the 
Catalytic Fund would be able to capitalize on IDA’s macro-economic and sectoral institutional 
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knowledge.  IDA support to the education sector in the past launched an important programmatic 
approach, from which important lessons have been drawn.   
 
4. Description 
 
The CF program has three components, each of which is discussed in detail in the project 
appraisal document (PAD):   
(a) 
Component 1:  Increasing access to and equity in basic education
.
The project 
would support the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms, employ strategies for 
children out of school and provide demand-side interventions  
(b) 
Component 2:  Improving the quality of teaching and learning
.
This component 
would constitute the bulk of the grant and supports quality interventions as a key 
priority.  The activities would include provision of learning materials; support for in- 
and pre-service teacher training and school-level pedagogic support; provision of 
incentives to stabilize teachers in remote, rural areas; design and implementation of 
learning assessments instruments; support to early childhood development and for 
special needs education, as well as for orphans of HIV/AIDS. 
(c) 
Component 3:  Strengthening Management and Institutional Capacity at central 
and regional levels
.
Under this component, support would be provided for monitoring 
and evaluation systems, and for sector management, with a strong focus on data 
management, performance monitoring and bonuses (in line with plans under the 
existing IDA project). 
 
5. Financing 
 
Source: 
($m.) 
Borrower 0 
EFA-FTI Education Program Development Fund 
28 
 Total 
28 
 
6. Implementation 
 
The project will be implemented by the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education 
(DOSBSE), supported by the Project Coordination Unit (PCU), as is currently the case in the 
implementation of the programs financed by IDA, AfDB, IsDB and other donors.   
 
7. Sustainability 
 
The sustainability of this operation will be driven by the high degree of ownership by 
Government, by the capacity of core education institutions (especially the DOSBSE) to absorb 
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the additional resources and to implement the necessary activities
,
and by Government’s 
continued commitment to the education sector as demonstrated by the priority given to it. 
 
8.  Lessons Learned from Past Operations in the Country/Sector 
 
Experience and lessons learned from the first round of the EFA-FTI support to The Gambia and 
from past IDA projects are reflected into the project design and include the following:  
 
(d) 
Pay attention to the sustainability of interventions.
 
A
number of activities 
financed under FTI (first round) have now been incorporated into the Government 
budget, including more than half of the teacher allowances, all pre- and in-service 
teacher training activities, scholarship support for girls (though some may remain 
under ongoing operations), operations and maintenance including a significant share of 
vehicle costs, among others.   
(e) 
Create incentives (financial and non-financial) that support the project and 
are performance-based: 
 Expanding on ongoing capacity building efforts financed 
under the PHRD Co-financing Grant from the Government of Japan and the IDA 
project, the CF would sustain the performance evaluation framework that will be used 
to reward good performers and provide support to improve performance. 
(f) 
Rather than trying to solely increase the number of pre-service places to fill 
teacher shortages, the quality of teacher training programs needs to be given 
sustained attention.
 
The project will focus not only on the caliber of recruits but also 
provide support to teachers in their classrooms to ensure they translate their training 
into better practice. 
(g) 
Strong coordination among donors is fundamental.
 
The project will benefit 
directly from ongoing donor coordination efforts.  With strong Government leadership 
and ownership of the process, harmonization of procedures and alignment of 
interventions is showing real progress.  
 
9.  Safeguard Policies (including public consultation) 
 
Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project
 
Yes
 
No
 
Environmental Assessment
(
OP
/
BP
4.01) [X] 
[ 
] 
Natural Habitats (
OP
/
BP
4.04)
 
[
]
[X] 
Pest Management (
OP 4.09
)
[
]
[X] 
Physical Cultural Resources (
OP/BP 4.11
)
[
]
[X] 
Involuntary Resettlement (
OP
/
BP
4.12)
 
[X] [ 
] 
Indigenous Peoples (
OP
/
BP
4.10)
 
[
]
[X] 
Forests (
OP
/
BP
4.36)
 
[
]
[X] 
Safety of Dams (
OP
/
BP
4.37)
 
[
]
[X] 
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Projects in Disputed Areas (
OP
/
BP
7.60)
*
[
]
[X] 
Projects on International Waterways (
OP
/
BP
7.50)
 
[
]
[X] 
10. 
List of Factual Technical Documents 
 
1. 
Aide-memoire from joint donor missions 2006 to present 
2. 
Country Assistance Strategy, 2008 
3. 
Poverty Analysis of the Integrated Household Survey, 2006 
4. 
Public Expenditure Reviews, 2004-6 
5. 
Implementation Completion Report for Third Education Project, Phase I, December, 2005 
6. 
Project Appraisal Document, Third Education Project, Phase 2, 2007 
7. 
The Gambia Country Financial Accountability Assessment, 2009 
8. 
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper - Annual Progress Report, October 2008 
9. 
Education Sector Strategic Plan, 2007 
10. 
Education Sector Medium Term Plan, 2008 
11. 
Audits of financial statements, annual 
 
11. Contact 
point 
 
Contact:  
Meskerem Mulatu 
Title:    
Senior Education Spec. 
Tel:  
 
+221-33-859-4100 
Fax:  
 
+221-33-859-4283 
Email:   
Mmulatu@worldbank.org 
Location:  
Dakar, Senegal (IBRD) 
 
12. 
For more information contact: 
The InfoShop 
The World Bank 
1818 H Street, NW 
Washington, D.C. 20433 
Telephone:  (202) 458-4500 
*
By supporting the proposed project, the Bank does not intend to prejudice the final determination of the parties' claims on the 
disputed areas
 
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Fax:  (202) 522-1500 
Email: pic@worldbank.org 
Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop