Page 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AB2576 Project Name Nigeria Federal Post-Basic Education and Training for the Knowledge Economy Region AFRICA Sector Tertiary education (40%); Secondary education (35%); Vocational training (25%) Project ID P074132 Borrower(s) REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA Implementing Agency Environment Category [ ] A [ ] B [X] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared September 26, 2006 Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization January 8, 2007 Estimated Date of Board Approval May 22, 2007 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement This Project Concept Note proposes a 3-year Science and Technology Education at the Post Basic level (STEPB) project under the Nigeria Country Par tnership Strategy to support Nigeria’s efforts to increase its capacity to exploit S&T for accelerated economic growth and improved social well-being of its people. The project focuses on federal post-basic education level. Our education portfolio will also include a State Education Sector Project (SESP), which will address mainly basic education in three selected States. The SESP is currently also under preparation. The need for the STEPB project and the proposed priority areas of intervention are based on a related study conducted at the request of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). This STEPB study was completed in the period of October 2005 to June 2006. The final STEPB Synthesis report is based on 6 technical studies which were implemented by the main public and private S&T education stakeholders. The study aimed to assist the FGN in prioritizing and drawing up a strategy for strengthening Post-Basic S&T Education in the country. S&T has been identified in the Nigeria Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) as a key driver for economic growth and social development. Country context and macro-economic situation. Nigeria is a highly populous country (estimated around 140 million) with a decentralized government structures. There are 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 774 local government areas (LGAs). Despite being the largest exporter of oil, Nigeria is one of the poorest countries in the world with per capita income of less than US$500. Approximately 55 percent of the population is estimated to be poor (World Bank, forthcoming).1 Non- oil economic growth remains one of the most important drivers for economic and social development. Most public and private enterprises and critical sectors lack adequate numbers of qualified middle- and higher-level staff in areas related to science and technology. The current post-basic education and training system can not satisfy this demand for qualified staff for a variety of reasons (see below), and the labor market still shows high unemployment due to structural weaknesses. 1 World Bank (forthcoming). Nigeria: Poverty Assessment. Page 2 Nigeria’s Education Sector. Nigeria’s education system offers 9 years of basic education (6 years of primary and 3 years of junior secondary under the universal basic education (UBE) for all program), 3 years of senior secondary, and 4 years of tertiary education. The provision of education is a concurrent responsibility of the federal, state and local governments. The fast growing private education sector is also active at all levels of the Nigerian education system. The Federal Government plays a dominant role in the provision of Post-Secondary Education, while States and Local Governments Authorities (LGAs) have principal responsibility for the provision of secondary and primary education. At the Federal level the FGN maintains a system of federal Education Institutions: Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education. Nigeria’s education sector faces the following key issues, which cut across all levels of education: (i) inequitable access to quality education (rural children and especially girls have less access to basic and secondary schooling than children from urban and relatively better-off families); (ii) inadequate education quality (although there are no in-depth data on the quality of learning and teaching available, Nigerian educators and public and private employers agree that the quality and relevance of education in Nigeria at all levels need to be significantly improved, based on international comparative standards and trends); (iii) inadequate management, planning and monitoring capacity (the capacity to develop strategic education sector plans and related annual implementation plans is weak in the education sector at federal, State and LGA levels); and (iv) inefficiencies in funding and lack of targeted funding based on performance and strategic economic needs. At the post-basic level , there is an overwhelming demand for more and better quality education, especially in Science and Technology related areas (chemical technology, biogenetic sciences, health sciences, agricultural sciences, physical technology, handling and packaging of for example fisheries and agriculture product exports, mineral technologies, oil-products related technologies). However, rapid expansion during the 1980s and 90s without a matching increase in funding has led to a decline in the quality and relevance of S&T teaching and learning at the Post-Basic levels, and hence of the graduates from the system. Financing of Education in Nigeria. Education financing in Nigeria is the responsibility of all tiers of the government. In 2001, it was estimated that the Federal Government accounted for about 20 percent of total education expenditures, while state and local governments accounted for approximately 80 percent, suggesting that state and local governments are the main financers of education. The few studies that have examined the financing of education in Nigeria suggest that public funding for education may have increased from about 2.8 to 6.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 1999 and 2002, as opposed to the SSA country average of about 4.7 – 5 percent.2 Science Technology Education at the Post-Basic level. The Federal Government maintains Federal schools and institutions at the secondary and tertiary level. In almost all States there is a Federal University and/or Polytechnic. Currently the States are also requesting assistance from the FGN to develop tertiary education institutions at their State level. However, the federal post-basic system remains the most significant for supplying the country with qualified middle- and higher-level staff for S&T related economic growth areas. Tables 1 and 2 below provide an overview 2 Estimates on Nigeria’s total expenditures on education were partial and underestimated since most estimates do not include accurate and reliable data on expenditures by local governments, which are responsible for the funding of primary education. Page 3 of the Federal Education system. Annex 1 gives enrolment and graduation levels in S&T programs at the federal universities. In Nigeria approximately 35% of the age cohort currently receives three years of Junior Secondary Education (JSE) which includes compulsory Science and Mathematics programs. A proportion of the JSE graduates continues to senior secondary schools where they receive a traditional academic-based education or technical and vocational schools where job-oriented education is offered. Table 1: Educational Institutions by Ownership (2005) Federal State Local Authority Private Total Universities 26 24 0 23 73 Colleges of Education 22 41 0 9 72 Polytechnics 19 32 0 6 57 Mono-Technics 32 14 0 5 51 Secondary Schools 102 13,846 0 13,700 27,549 Primary Schools 0 0 50,750 9,020 59,800 Table 3: Enrollment in Educational Institutions by Ownership (2005) Federal State Local Authority Private Total Universities 384,200 n.a. 0 n.a. 384,200 Colleges of Education1 114,500 n.a. 0 n.a. 114,500 Polytechnics 196,093 165,824 0 2,293 364,210 Mono-Technics 10,095 10,142 0 1,258 21,496 Secondary Schools n.a. 5,422,611 0 974,970 6,397,581 Primary Schools 0 0 20,688,800 1,578,650 22,267,400 Nigeria has made a number of important advances in building up its S&T capacity. Concerned about the lack of coordination, the FGN has recently established a National S&T Coordinating Council chaired by the President of the Republic to provide leadership in the development of S&T in the country. One element of the President’s initiative is the plan to create the Abuja Campus for the first Africa Institute for Science and Technology (AIST), the first of four such campuses in Africa. The AIST-Abuja campus is under development as part of the Abuja Technology Village initiative, for which the FGN will provide incentives to attract private investment. There is also a joint effort underway with UNESCO to develop a national strategy for science and technology and a Presidential initiative recently proposed is the National Science Foundation, an independent funding body for competitive research and innovation projects and programs. In addition, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is co-financing a project (US$45 million) that supports Secondary Education and Vocational Training as well as limited support to tertiary institutions. AfDB is also planning to support the AIST, and has scheduled an appraisal mission this month September 2006. Despite these worthwhile interventions designed to strengthen the country’s S&T capacity, studies show that Nigeria has fallen well behind in terms of competitiveness internationally. Recent analysis has identified the following main areas of weakness: ™ Poor coordination between education and S&T policies and strategies. Lack of an integrated and coordinated policy approach that better harmonizes priority-setting, strategy and governance in science and technology and education. Political will and some of the necessary policies to guide the development of education and S&T exist in Nigeria, but Page 4 coordination between these two areas is weak. Education and S&T are addressed in separate policies and there is currently no mechanism to ensure coordination. ™ Overloaded and under-resourced S&T Curricula and Programs. The combined effect of content-driven curricula, little hands-on learning, overloaded courses, and examination practices that cater only to the highest achievers, lowers the prospects of S&T graduates to enter the labor market and leaves learners discouraged from pursuing S&T studies. With instructors often poorly trained to engage students in practical work and with limited availability of the required equipment and few resources or adequate facilities for experimentation and research, post- basic S&T learners’ are not motivated to pursue further study or work in S&T-related areas. ™ Lack of a National Qualifications Framework (particularly at the vocational level) to accommodate the rapidly changing demand for new skills and to allow the participation of various types of trainers and training institutions – formal and informal, public, private and community-based. ™ T he under-representation and underachievement of female students in science and technology programs. The under-representation and underachievement of female students in science and technology programs represents both an inequity but also avoidable inefficiency in the system. Despite the fact that the issue of improving girls education is being actively addressed at the basic level, post-basic level programs in science and technology are still characterized by stereotypical male-dominated enrolment patterns and low achievement of female students. At all levels female students in S&T-based studies are under-represented. Male students far outnumber female students in S&T programs at Federal Colleges (81%), Polytechnics (60%) and Universities (73%). At Polytechnics, in particular, enrolment follows a stereotypical pattern with female students taking the ‘softer’ options such as business management and secretarial programs, leaving technical subjects like welding and plumbing to male students. ™ S low and uncoordinated development of ICTs in Education. There are a few promising cases of effective use of ICTs in education but development of this new mechanism for teaching and learning is uncoordinated and widespread availability is hindered due to several major constraints. The high cost of ICT connectivity, the dearth of a sufficient number of ICT technicians, limited teacher training in ICT-facilitated teaching, and low rates of ICT literacy militate against the impact that low-cost, accessible ICT could have in broadening access to post-basic education in Nigeria. ™ Current funding procedures are input-based, not related to performance and outputs, provide little incentive for creativity and innovation, and do not encourage partnership with industry and the private sector. Though up-to-date and reliable data is limited, observations of financing trends and expenditure patterns in Nigeria’s education sector show a demonstrable increase in education spending as a percentage of GDP since 1998. This increase is made even more dramatic by growth in per student expenditure even as a greater number of students pass through the post-basic sector. Almost two and a half times more expensive than non-S&T education on a per-student basis, S&T education consumes a much larger proportion of the federal education allocation than non-S&T education. Yet this financing decision is not buttressed by sufficient data regarding the link between S&T education funding levels and the number, type, and skill set of S&T graduates needed in industry, nor graduates’ value-addition in industry compared to non-S&T graduates. ™ Weak private sector participation in post-basic S&T education and research. Currently the private sector plays only a very small part in funding post-basic S&T education. Like in most other countries, the majority of the enrollment in private universities is in non-S&T programs. Though there are some promising examples, private sector funding of research in Nigeria is low but opportunities exist for expanding this role. ™ Insufficient data to facilitate informed decision-making. At present, available labor market information is insufficient to explain the reasons behind the apparent mismatch between supply and Page 5 demand of S&T graduates. It is not clear whether: (a) there are no jobs because the economy is not growing fast enough, or (b) employers hesitate/have no incentives to employ S&T graduates because the regulatory system is too onerous, or (c) demand exists but for better or different skill sets, and/or (d) S&T graduates are employed in the informal sector (about which little is known) but formally recorded as unemployed. Government’s reform program, objectives, and priorities in S&T education. Growth performance of the economy has improved in recent years. The non-oil sector grew by over 7% in 2004-05 and private sector confidence in the economy appears to be increasing as evidenced, amongst others, by continued FDI flows. The FGN is also paying increasing attention to restructuring its expenditure policies toward better financing of MDG-related activities. A Committee chaired by the President was inaugurated at the end of June 2005 and will monitor implementation of the MDGs. The FGN has also launched implementation of matching grants to States to attract additional financing for basic education under its “universal basic education program.” The national framework for reform, growth and poverty reduction (NEEDS) was launched in May 2004, and was complimented by the States’ SEEDS. This strategy is based on three pillars: (i) empowering people and improving social service delivery, (ii) growing the private sector and focusing on non-oil growth, and (iii) changing the way government works and improving governance. Based on this strategy, the World Bank and DFID have prepared a joint Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 3 whose aim is to assist Nigeria in the implementation of NEEDS to boost growth and to help achieve the MDGs. AIST Campus in Abuja S&T Village. In recognition of its important role in Africa’s economic and social development, Nigeria has been selected to host the first campus of the Africa Institute of Science and Technology (AIST), an initiative of the African S&T community, supported by the World Bank. Though not strictly a Nigerian institution, the Nigeria AIST campus has been integrated into the Abuja Science & Technology Village and is likely to play a significant catalytic role in the development of S&T education and research in Nigeria. The rationale for Bank involvement. Nigeria, like many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is confronted by challenges that defy easy solutions. Given Nigeria’s population of some 130 million and its relatively high “youth dependency ratio (over 50 percent estimated to be below the age of 20 years old), there is an urgent need to support Nigeria in its efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and its drive to achieve sustainable economic non-oil growth. Among these are boosting agricultural productivity, industrializing to increase growth and multiply jobs, and cutting the adverse impact of infectious diseases and illiteracy. The CPS specifies four priority areas: (a) support to national initiatives in the social sectors; (b) financing investments in infrastructure; (c) dialogue and advice on the investment climate and policies to grow the private sector; and (d) financial and technical support to work on improved accountability, transparency and fighting corruption. At the federal level cooperation will include: (i) analytical work to support development of national strategies and policies for human development, with specific reference to health and basic education; (ii) financing of a national HIV/AIDS program to work with a range of government and non-government stakeholders; and (iii) financing federal and lead state programs in education, including science and technology capacity building to promote the development of a knowledge economy. The proposed STEPB Project responds to (iii) above. The objective of the STEPB study, which was done at the request of the FGN, was to establish a basis for priority setting and resource allocation in the efforts to enhance Nigeria’s S&T capacity for accelerated economic growth and social development. The proposed STEPB Project draws from the recommendations of this study. 3 The joint World Bank - DfID Country Partnership Strategy was approved in mid-2005. Page 6 2. Proposed objective(s) The proposed Science and Technology Education at Post-Basic (STEPB) level project will target only the federal post-basic education institutes. The STEPB Project aims to support: a. the FGN in improving the quality and relevance of S&T programs offered at Post-Basic Federal Institutions and increasing access for disadvantaged target groups (rural and female students); b. the establishment of effective Public-Private Partnerships for S&T related programs between Post- Basic Federal Education Institutions and Businesses, in order to become better adapted to labor market demands. Project performance will be monitored closely though a set of key performance indicators (see tentative list below). These indicators will be revised and finalized during appraisal. Possible Key Performance Indicators Access and Equity to S&T courses at Federal Post-Basic Education level ¾ Equitable Access (tracking S&T enrolment and graduates by gender and rural origin) ¾ Percentage of females in S&T programs in participating universities ¾ Number of federal Senior Secondary Schools and Colleges of Education with access to the internet and effectively working programs for ICT skills instruction ¾ ICT education strategy in place and under implementation in Federal Post-Basic Education institutions Quality & Relevance of S&T Post-Basic Education ¾ Availability of Standards for S&T learning and Teaching outcomes at Federal Post-Basic Education level (graduate profiles) and links to the world of work (labor market) ¾ Percent increase in pass rates in S&T related subjects at the Federal Post-Basic level ¾ Increase in employers satisfaction’ with the quality of Federal Post-Basic S&T graduates ¾ Surveys of staff and students at S&T faculties to measure their satisfaction with the S&T programs offered and the facilities ¾ Baseline study of the average time it takes for S&T graduates to become employed ¾ Percentage of Federal Senior Secondary Schools and federal Colleges of Education which have an effective and modern curriculum in place in S&T related areas, and have updated their assessment and examinations to reflect that Innovation and Efficiency ¾ Competitive funding of S&T related research and innovation programs operational by 2010 ¾ Baseline study on the quality and effectiveness of Planning, Management, and Accountability in tertiary federal institutions (specifically S&T related faculties and units) ¾ Federal Post-Basic S&T related education data readily available and published in the form of “Strategic Data and Analysis of Post-Basic S&T Education in Nigeria” and disseminated to the public and policy makers annually (first year targeted 2009) ¾ Labor Market surveys developed and implemented for S&T related jobs and activities in public and private sectors (specific areas of economic activity targeted and best practices recognized) ¾ National Qualifications Framework under development in cooperation with the Public and Private S&T stakeholders ¾ System of competitive funding of research programs in S&T related disciplines developed and operational Page 7 3. Preliminary description The proposed STEPB project is a three-year Specific Investment Loan (SIL) to support capacity enhancement in post-basic science and technology education at the federal level in Nigeria. The proposed STEPB Project has four components: Component One: A Competitive Fund for Innovation and Quality Improvement. This will be a facility to provide competitively-awarded quality improvement grants to tertiary institutions through different windows, each dedicated to a specific purpose as follows. Window A. Group/joint research projects led by senior researchers to conduct relevant, high- quality S&T related research, with in-built graduate training. Grants may include procurement of equipment and other inputs needed to conduct quality training and research. Groups may comprise researchers from the same institution or from a cluster of institutions. The component will be designed so as to encourage synergy through institutional clusters Window B. Supporting the emergence of “Centers of Excellence” in S&T related disciplines and the rehabilitation and upgrading of S&T programs. Support will be in: (i) teaching, learning and research equipment; (ii) library resources; (iii) professional development courses for teaching and technical staff; (iv) upgrading of the Science Equipment Development Institutes (SEDIs); (v) “Technology Platforms” or R&D parks through which firms and institutional researchers define collaborative agendas for solving problems of direct interest to industry, and then pursue solutions collaboratively; and (vi) formal firm-based internships for students in S&T related disciplines, allowing interns the opportunity to participate in joint R&D activities and also to gain exposure to the “real life” work-place environment. Window C. Improving ICT connectivity and learning environment . This will include support to (i) integrate e-learning in teaching and learning; (ii) strengthening / establishment of a virtual library; (iii) improving internet connectivity; including sustainable acquisition of additional bandwidth; (v) procurement of infrastructure and its maintenance and (vi) training (human capacity building) of teachers in ICT literacy and of technical staff to manage ICT systems. Component Two: Technical Assistance to strengthen planning and management of post-basic S&T education. Activities under this component can include: a. Support for the development of a flexible National Vocational Qualification Framework (NVQF) to regulate recognition of skills and competencies in cooperation with selected leading federal universities and major S&T stakeholders; b. Support for the establishment of a National Labor Market Observatory (NLMO) to monitor trends in the labor market and facilitate informed decision-making by policy-makers, government, institutions, students and the public. The STEPB project would support capacity building for the federal institution selected to host the observatory and support to establish a graduate program in labor market studies in one federal university (to be selected by FGN). c. Support for proposals from federal tertiary institutions to promote a public information and advocacy program to educate the public about the S&T education and training and to inform prospective S&T students; Page 8 d. Support for the reform of S&T related curricula with participation of the major public and private S&T stakeholders; e. Support for improved planning and management capacity in S&T related areas in federal post-basic institutions ( for example FME, FMST, NUC, NBTE and NCCE). Component 3. Seed funds for the Africa Institute of Science and Technology (AIST). The project will provide financing support for the development of the AIST (Abuja Campus). This financial support will be based on approved and reviewed development plans, according to agreed criteria between the FGN and the Bank. Support under the STEPB project can be for initial development costs of the AIST, including architectural and engineering works, procurement of goods and materials as well as consultant costs. The FGN has already allocated available land for the AIST campus and has made all the necessary preparations. The AIST support would be in the form of financial support to the executing Agency of the AIST, as designated by the FGN. Component 4. Project Management and Institutional Arrangements. This component supports overall project management, monitoring and evaluation; and the design and implementation of a communication strategy for S&T education. Capacity building support for implementation will begin during project preparation stage. Lending Instrument Proposed Specific Investment Lending has the benefit of facilitating direct inputs to sector reforms and of exerting leverage on the institutions for strategic reforms in the sector. Prevailing conditions in Nigeria are unlikely to be conducive for the short to medium term, to move to general budget support and sector-wide approach (SWAp) in the Nigeria. This is because: (a) there are significant concerns about governance and fiduciary arrangements in the sector; and (b) there are few donors in the education sector in Nigeria. Current donors are the World Bank, USAID (in Kano, Nassarawa, and Lagos states), JICA (in Kaduna, Niger, and Plateau states) and DFID (i.e. providing limited technical assistance to support the design and implementation of the proposed State Education Sector project). Another reason is that experience with previous tertiary education projects, most recently the Nigeria University System Innovation Project – NUSIP) has not been positive. NUSIP was designed as a US$ 120 million (US$100 million by the Bank) credit operation to support a major effort by the FGN to invigorate and upgrade Nigeria’s federal university system in line with policy reforms promulgated by the government at that time. NUSIP was cancelled just before Project Appraisal in July 2002 and hence was never presented to the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors for approval. It is proposed that the STEPB project be implemented as a three-year SIL of US$150 million. The proposed STEPB project will draw from lessons learned under the previous Bank project in tertiary education, NUSIP in the following ways: · The STEPB project will be designed as a “turn-key” project in order to ensure an early start of disbursement, immediately following clearance for implementation. This will put the pressure of work on the preparation, appraisal and negotiations stages of the project. · The first batch of sub-project proposals for funding under the competitive fund (Component 1) will be prepared during project preparation and form part of the negotiations package. Page 9 · At the time of effectiveness the STEPB project should have (a) a approved and comprehensive project implementation plan with the relevant procurement documents; (ii) key members of the project implementation team should have been identified and appointed according to criteria satisfactory to the Bank; and (iii) a comprehensive package of technical assistance should have been defined and agreed by the major project implementation stakeholders and approved by the Bank. In addition, the proposed project differs fundamentally from the previous project (NUSIP). It will be focused on S&T in the post- basic education sector at the federal level rather than generally on Nigeria’s universities. The project is being prepared in broad consultation with all stakeholders in Nigeria in order to ensure early ownership. A National Project Steering Committee (NPSC) that brings together all key stakeholders has already constituted by the FGN. Focus is on only a limited number of key interventions detailed in a well prepared implementation plan, which will be agreed during the project preparation stage by all key stakeholders. Appraisal of the STEPB project will be contingent upon : (a) the submission to the Bank by the National Project Steering Committee of at least 3 satisfactory sub-project proposals for funding under the competitive fund component (Component 1); (b) submission to the World Bank of a satisfactory Project Implementation Manual (PIM), including an annex on Guidelines and procedures for designing and evaluating sub-project proposals; and (c) submission by the FGN of transparent and detailed implementation workplans, with the agreed output, outcome and impact indicators for the STEPB project activities. Development Partners Participation The external partners for Nigeria’s education sector are DFID, USAID, African Development Bank (ADB), JICA, UNICEF, and UNESCO. At present, the main external partner is DFID. USAID is in the process of revising its country assistance and has expressed interest in collaborating with the Bank closely in the support of the proposed SESP project. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) also plans to provide support for Nigeria’s education sector, and has expressed interest in collaborating with the Bank closely in supporting the SESP project in Kaduna State. At present, there is no donor pool funds mechanism in the education sector. The African Development Bank is currently planning a project in vocational education and training. The project will likely include a contribution in support of the African Institute of Science and Technology (AIST) but the exact commitment is not yet known. UNESCO is currently supporting a project to strengthen science teaching in primary and secondary schools, including some support to science teacher training colleges. The Foundation Partnership for Higher Education (FPHE) is currently supporting six universities in Nigeria through five-year grants of about US$3 million. It is expected that the STEPB project will draw from lessons with the FPHE’s bandwidth project in determining priorities for support to enhance ICT in education. The project team will monitor these developments and update this information during appraisal. Implementation Arrangements The STEPB Project preparation process is focused on participation and ownership of the project proposal. The federal coordinating institutions (NUC, NBTE, and NCCE) and individual federal post- basic secondary and tertiary schools / Colleges / Polytechnics / Universities are directly involved in the preparation process. These institutions have also participated in the ESW work, which resulted in 6 technical background studies and the final STEPB Synthesis Report. A number of workshops have been conducted over the past months with these stakeholders. The Federal Ministries of Finance, Education and Science and Technology (FMOF, FMOE, FMST) have participated also and are leading the process Page 10 through a technical task force, appointed by the FGN. The individual federal institutions are directly responsible for proposing and designing sub-project to be funded under the STEPB Credit. In addition, the project will finance initiative for improvement of quality and relevance of learning and teaching of S&T related subjects, which can have a system-wide impact at the federal post-basic level. The National Project Steering Committee (NPSC) already constituted by the FGN will oversee implementation of the project under the guidance of the FME and the FMST. The NPSC Secretariat will be hosted by the National Universities Commission and staffed by existing permanent employees of the FME, FMST, FCT and their parastatals who will be seconded to the project. The Project Coordinator will follow the normal procedures for reporting to the NPSC. The Secretariat will be headed by a National Project Coordinator [NPC] who will be responsible for general administration and for facilitating implementation of the project, including preparation of annual work plans, financial management, facilitating evaluation of proposals under the competitive fund, procurement and reporting to the FGN and to the World Bank on a regular basis. The format and frequency of reporting will be agreed upon during appraisal. A Project Implementation Manual (PIM) will be prepared and agreed upon during appraisal. In addition to standard World Bank procedures, the PIM will include an annex on the Guidelines and Procedures for Proposal Evaluation to be used in assessing the quality and viability of proposal submitted under the Competitive Fund for Innovation and Quality Improvement. Among others, the document will specify the criteria for evaluating and scoring proposals, procedures for constituting evaluation panels, guidelines for monitoring performance and procedures for disseminating the results from work funded under the Fund. In order to ensure early take off of preparation of at least three proposals for the competitive fund will be part of project preparation. These proposals will form part of the appraisal package, ready for disbursement immediately after the project is cleared for implementation. The FGN has proposed that the STEPB project would also finance some of the investment costs of the Africa Institute for Science and Technology (AIST). The FGN has made land and resources available for an Abuja AIST Campus, as part of its Technology Vi llage. This proposal is also part of the President’s drive for improved S&T in Nigeria to stimulate economic growth. 4. Safeguard policies that might apply [Guideline: Refer to section 5 of the PCN. Which safeguard policies might apply to the project and in what ways? What actions might be needed during project preparation to assess safeguard issues and prepare to mitigate them?] 5. Tentative financing Source: ($m.) BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION 150 Total 150 6. Contact point Contact: Jacob H. Bregman Title: Lead Education Specialist Page 11 Tel: (202) 473-2457 Fax: (202) 473-8107 Email: Jbregman@worldbank.org