The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Romania Secondary Education Project (P148585) Romania Secondary Education Project (P148585) EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA | Romania | Education Global Practice | IBRD/IDA | Investment Project Financing | FY 2015 | Seq No: 12 | ARCHIVED on 22-Dec-2020 | ISR44997 | Implementing Agencies: Romania, Ministry of Education and Research, Ministry of Education and Research / Unit for Externally Financed Projects Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date: 16-Mar-2015 Effectiveness Date: 14-Oct-2015 Planned Mid Term Review Date: 20-May-2019 Actual Mid-Term Review Date: 27-May-2019 Original Closing Date: 31-Dec-2022 Revised Closing Date: 31-Dec-2022 pdoTable Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The proposed Project Development Objectives are to improve the transition from upper secondary into tertiary education and increase the retention in the first year of tertiary education in project-supported education institutions. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No Components Table Name 1 - School-based and Systemic Interventions:(Cost $176.29 M) 2 - University-Level Interventions and Bridge Programs:(Cost $59.90 M) 3 - Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation:(Cost $7.81 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Unsatisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Substantial Substantial Implementation Status and Key Decisions The virtual review undertaken at this time re-confirmed the relevance of the Project Development Objectives. The Project Development Objectives remain highly relevant to Romania, and several project outcome indicators have been surpassed. Despite the financial challenges, in the ROSE high-schools, the average dropout rate in final grade decreased from 6.5 % to 2%, the graduation rate increased from 86.9% to 97.5%, and the Baccalaureate passing rate from 49.6% to 62.9%, all exceeding the final targets agreed for the project. The data are collected from the 728 grants under implementation in the school year 2019/2020. At the university level, the average retention rate in the first year of studies increased from 79.4% to 81.6% as planned target. Also, attendance at Baccalaureate has increased in ROSE high-schools despite the pandemic situation, and their passing Baccalaureate rate remains the same. In contrast, the national rate of passing the 2020's exam was lower in comparison with the ROSE schools. 12/22/2020 Page 1 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Romania Secondary Education Project (P148585) The project enters its final phase of implementation with many activities at a peak, including the launch of the last rounds of grants for high schools and universities, currently totaling 1,267 grants. It is critical to ensure that funds are secured in full and allocated on time to support ROSE implementation as planned, and completion of all activities by the project closing date on December 31, 2022. The WB strongly recommends that the Ministry of Education and Research, with the Ministry of Public Finance's support, prioritize resources and allocate sufficient budget in 2021 and 2022 to support students' learning recovery on time through the grant-supported activities, especially in the neediest high schools. It is encouraging that the ROSE project's grant scheme model has been transferred and applied by other projects financed by the Bank within ECA (i.e., Primary Education Improvement Project- North Macedonia) and is also being recognized by the European organization Bologna as best- practice on the grant schemes delivered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The Bologna Follow-Up Group has prepared a report with best- practice examples on innovative and inclusive learning and teaching approaches (http://www.ehea.info/Upload/AG2_Learning_and_Teaching_Final_Report.pdf). ROSE higher education component includes grant schemes that fund HEIs for setting up Learning centers, deliver tutoring, coaching, and career guidance for students-at-risk and summer bridge programs, which have produced good results. ROSE is one of the very few projects that precisely addresses equity issues in higher education that supports academically or socially vulnerable students in need, including measures to tackle the pandemic. In Romania, the grant scheme is replicated with EU funds under the current Operational Programme (OP) 2014-2020 "Human Capital," and the next OP (2021-2027) the "Education and Employment." Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance Substantial Substantial Substantial Macroeconomic Moderate Substantial Substantial Sector Strategies and Policies Low Moderate Moderate Technical Design of Project or Program Low Low Low Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Moderate Moderate Moderate Sustainability Fiduciary Substantial Substantial Substantial Environment and Social Low Low Low Stakeholders Moderate Moderate Moderate Other -- Substantial Substantial Overall Moderate Substantial Substantial Results PDO Indicators by Objectives / Outcomes Improve the transition from upper secondary into tertiary education IN00937358 12/22/2020 Page 2 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Romania Secondary Education Project (P148585) ►Average dropout rate in the final grade in project-supported high schools (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 6.50 3.00 1.98 3.50 Date 30-Jun-2014 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 The average dropout rate is calculated for all the project supported high-schools (public) that have implemented activities under the high school grants scheme, as a percentage of total dropouts from the Comments: total enrollment in final grade. The calculation was based on 728 high-school grants under implementation in 2018/2019 from batch one and two. IN00937360 Percentage of project-supported high schools with dropout rate above 7% (Percentage, Custom Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 23.10 15.52 5.77 10.00 IN00937386 ►Average Baccalaureate passing rate in project-supported high schools (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 49.60 62.93 62.88 59.00 Date 30-Jun-2014 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 The average Baccalaureate passing rate is calculated for all the project supported high-schools (public) that have implemented activities under the high school grants scheme, as a percentage of students who passed the Baccalaureate exam from the total number of students enrolled at the exam in the current Comments: cohort (cumulating all Bacc. sessions). The calculation was based on 728 high-school grants under implementation in 2018/2019 from batch one and two. IN00937387 ►Average graduation rate in project-supported high schools (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 86.90 95.57 97.47 93.00 Date 30-Jun-2014 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 The average graduation rate is calculated for all the project supported high schools (public) that have implemented activities under the high school grants scheme, as a percentage of total graduates from the Comments: total enrollment in final grade. The calculation was based on 728 high-school grants under implementation in 2018/2019 from batch one and two. IN00941884 ►Students benefiting from direct interventions to enhance learning (Number, Corporate) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 -- 330,950.00 450,000.00 Date 20-Oct-2015 -- 16-Dec-2020 20-Dec-2022 IN00941885 12/22/2020 Page 3 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Romania Secondary Education Project (P148585) Students benefiting from direct interventions to enhance learning - Female (Number, Corporate Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 -- 180,354.00 225,000.00 IN00942121 ►International large-scale assessments (ILSA) (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 -- 0.00 2.00 Date 23-Oct-2017 -- 16-Dec-2020 20-Dec-2022 The number of Bank-supported completed large-scale assessment rounds at the secondary levels Comments: Increase the retention in the first year of tertiary education IN00937359 ►Average retention rate in the first year of tertiary education in project-supported faculties (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 79.40 81.69 81.64 82.00 Date 30-Jun-2014 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Oct-2022 The calculation is based on the students' outcomes in 202 faculties. Comments: Intermediate Results Indicators by Components 1 - School-based and Systemic Interventions IN00937388 ►Percentage of eligible high-schools benefitting from the project grants (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 68.29 82.00 82.00 Date 30-Jun-2014 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 728 grants in implementation out of 1066 eligible Comments: IN00937391 ►Percentage of project-supported high schools that implement the grants in compliance with grant performance indicators (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Date 11-Dec-2015 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 12/22/2020 Page 4 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Romania Secondary Education Project (P148585) All grants are compliant with implementation requirements set in the high school grant manual. Comments: IN00937394 ►Percentage of project-supported high schools that implement the grants in compliance with requirements for citizen engagement applicable to the Project (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 100.00 100.00 90.00 Date 01-Jan-2016 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 IN00937397 ►Average percentage of students of project-supported high school benefiting from remedial, tutoring or counselling activities (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 30.68 30.55 50.00 Date 30-Jun-2014 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 IN00937399 ►Grade 10 assessment developed and administered, and results used to inform policy (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No No No Yes Date 01-Jan-2016 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 Not yet due. Comments: 2 - University-Level Interventions and Bridge Programs IN00937389 ►Percentage of eligible faculties benefitting from project grants (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 64.74 69.23 75.00 Date 01-Jan-2016 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 216 out of the 312 eligible faculties are benefitting from noncompetitive grants. Comments: IN00937392 ►Number of at risk tertiary education students benefiting from remediation and counseling programs (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 15,999.00 30,404.00 50,000.00 Date 11-Dec-2015 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 The intermediary targets are revised due to delays in starting grants implementation and lack of funds. Comments: IN00937395 12/22/2020 Page 5 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Romania Secondary Education Project (P148585) ►Number of project-supported high school students who participate in bridge programs (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 5,426.00 6,332.00 8,000.00 Date 01-Jan-2016 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 3 - Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation IN00937390 ►Report on the analysis of existing demand-side programs for disadvantaged upper secondary education students published with recommendations (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No No No Yes Date 01-Jan-2016 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 Not yet done due to lack of funds Comments: IN00937393 ►Share of students of project-supported high school attending bridge programs who demonstrate motivation to pursue tertiary education (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 30.00 Date 31-Dec-2018 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 Included in the impact evaluation, delayed due to lack of funds. Comments: IN00937396 ►Tertiary education students loan scheme revised and used to inform policy makers (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No No No Yes Date 01-Sep-2014 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 Not yet due Comments: IN00937398 ►Direct project beneficiaries (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 169,498.00 330,950.00 450,000.00 Date 01-Sep-2014 10-Jun-2020 15-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2022 The actual value of the indicator includes only students and teachers. Comments: IN00937400 Female beneficiaries (Percentage, Custom Supplement) 12/22/2020 Page 6 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Romania Secondary Education Project (P148585) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 54.00 54.00 50.00 Performance-Based Conditions Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P148585 IBRD-84810 Effective USD 243.10 243.10 0.00 46.89 192.74 20% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P148585 IBRD-84810 Effective 16-Mar-2015 17-Apr-2015 14-Oct-2015 31-Dec-2022 31-Dec-2022 Cumulative Disbursements 12/22/2020 Page 7 of 8 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Romania Secondary Education Project (P148585) PBC Disbursement Achievement Disbursed amount in Disbursement % PBC ID PBC Type Description Coc PBC Amount Status Coc for PBC Restructuring History Level 2 Approved on 07-Dec-2017 ,Level 2 Approved on 29-Jul-2020 Related Project(s) There are no related projects. 12/22/2020 Page 8 of 8