PROGRAM-FOR-RESULTS INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: PIDA0131205 Program Name Jordan Education Reform Program Region Middle East and North Africa Country Jordan Sector Education Financing Instrument Program for Results Program ID P162407 Parent Program ID NA Borrower(s) Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Implementing Agency Ministry of Education Date PID Prepared October 17, 2017 Estimated Date of Appraisal September 27, 2017 Completion Estimated Date of Board Approval November 30, 2017 A. Country Context 1. Despite strong economic and social progress in previous decades, Jordan continues to face challenges that have been amplified by the Syrian crisis. Economic growth has slowed down in 2016 for the second year in a row—to an estimated 2 percent from 2.4 percent in 2015. Indicators of human development and living standards have stagnated since 2009, after strong improvements from 1990 to 2008. The Human Development Index (HDI), which measures long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development (a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living), has remained at 0.742 since 2008, placing Jordan in the 86th position of 188 in the HDI ranking.1 This situation is explained by several factors: the effects of the Syrian crisis, the fallout from the 2007–2008 global financial crisis, among other macroeconomic challenges. 2. Jordan faces a significant demographic challenge with the influx of large numbers of Syrian refugees. The Syrian refugee crisis adds to the fiscal stress and puts serious strains on the government’s ability to provide public services, including health and education. As of August 2017, Jordan hosts 660,5822 registered Syrian refugees, of which 232,8683 are school-aged children requiring the provision of education services. Eighty percent of refugees live in host communities, representing 10 percent of Jordan’s population, while the remaining live in dedicated refugee camps. Per the recent 2016 government census, the total number of Syrians in Jordan reached an estimated 1.265 million, representing 13.2 percent of population4. Jordan has been committed to integrating Syrian refugee children in the public formal sector, and as of June 2017, approximately 10 percent of children in public schools were Syrian refugees. Therefore, it is important that education services to refugee children in Jordan respond to the nature of the challenges they face in the education system. 1 Human Development Data (1990–2015); Human Development Report 2016. 2 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), August 6, 2017. 3 Brussels Conference Paper, 2017. 4 Department of Statistics (DOS); National census November 2016. 3. Jordan’s economic development hinges on the existence of an education system that provides students with the cognitive and socioemotional skills needed to succeed in the labor market. Realizing the full potential of educational investments for economic prosperity requires improving access and quality of education for both girls and boys.5 Additionally, the cost of not educating refugee children is high in terms of loss of human capital for regional economic development, as well as for the long-term processes of peace, stability, and reconstruction. It is thus necessary for the education system to be agile and address the existing education quality challenges by strengthening the system's ability to manage a growing number of students, including refugee and vulnerable children. B. Sectoral and Institutional Context 4. The pre-tertiary education system in Jordan is organized in three levels : (1) early childhood education or preprimary—kindergarten (KG) 1 and 2, (2) compulsory basic education, comprising primary and lower secondary levels (grades 1–10), and (3) upper secondary education comprising both academic and vocational streams (grades 11 and 12). The pre-tertiary education system is managed by the Ministry of Education (MOE), while the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR) manages tertiary institutions (universities and vocational colleges). 5. Over the last two decades, Jordan has made efforts to improve access to education to boys and girls, and to increase the efficiency of its education system. The country has spent many years pursuing reforms towards a knowledge economy. Through multi-donor development programs such as the “Education Reform for Knowledge Economy� (ERFKE), Jordan made impressive strides in terms of schooling access and attainment and enrollment rates: under the first phase of ERfKE, the primary gross enrollment ratio increased from 71 percent in 1994 to 99 percent in 2010 (98 percent for girls and 99 percent for boys), and the transition rate to secondary school increased from 63 percent to 98 percent (98 percent for both girls and boys) over the same period.6 The transition rate between grades is relatively stable above 96 percent from grades 1–8; however, in grade 9, there is a marked drop down to 90 percent and a corresponding surge in dropout up to 7 percent. Repetition peaks at 3 percent in grade 10, but it is comparatively lower than in many other MENA countries and beyond. 6. Most Syrian refugee children have access to education services in Jordan but challenges remain. The Government of Jordan (GOJ) has committed to protecting Syrian children’s right to education and has provided free education services to Syrian students by accommodating them in existing classrooms and creating double-shifts to meet the demand for schooling. In 2016, the GOJ adopted the Jordan Compact7 in which several donor partners8 increased their support to bring more children into the public education system, notably through the “Accelerating Access to Quality Formal Education for Syrian Refugee� plan. Through its “Catch-up� program, United Nations 5 OECD. 2016. PISA 2015 Results (Volume I): Excellence and Equity in Education, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en. 6 World Bank EdStats data base—illiteracy rates, primary gross enrollment ratio, and transition rate to secondary school. 7 The Jordan Compact was presented at the 2016 London conference and sets out a series of major commitments aimed at improving the resilience of refugee and host communities, focusing mainly on livelihoods and education. 8 These include the governments of the United States (USAID), UK (DFID), EU, Canada, Norway, and Germany (KFW). International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has also been providing Syrian refugee children 9 to 12 years old with a pathway into formal schooling. Approximately 83 percent of Syrian refugee children have access to education services: 54 percent through formal public provision and an additional 29 percent through non-formal education. However, enrollment in formal education is not uniform across grade levels. While more than half of basic education refugee children are enrolled in formal education, less than 10 percent are enrolled in preprimary formal education. Out of 232,868 school-aged Syrian refugee children in Jordan, 83 percent have access to educational services (54 percent in the formal sector and 29 percent in the non-formal sector).9 The GOJ’s recent National Education Sector Plan (NESP) 2016–2022 sets out clear objectives to increase the enrollment of Syrian refugee students (male and female) in public schools in formal and non-formal sectors, with the assistance of donors, civil society organizations, and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 7. Interventions to increase education access for refugee children should be targeted at the parts of the education system in which there is greatest need. Enrollment rates for Syrians are dramatically low in early childhood education (ECE), where the enrollment rate is less than 20 percent, and secondary education, where the enrollment rate reaches approximately 20 percent. While there are significant challenges in absorbing both Jordanian and Syrian refugee children in ECE, low enrollment rates in secondary education are due to high dropout rates – often linked to early marriage for girls and to child labor for boys, most Syrian refugees attend all grades of basic formal education. So, while it is paramount to increase the supply of education services for the youngest children, it is also necessary to retain students in classrooms to the end of secondary school and provide a quality education throughout. 8. Syrian children face substantial challenges, many of which are the same as those faced by disadvantaged Jordanian children. Not only do Syrian children face a limited supply of places in ECE and a system that fails to efficiently and effectively graduate students from the end of secondary school (as do their Jordanian counterparts), but they carry the consequences of family disruption, the psychological and emotional consequences of forced displacement, and the challenges of integration in the host communities. Given this, it is important that any intervention that touches Syrian refugee children is accompanied by a strong component that fosters prosocial behavior, promotes respect and peaceful cohabitation, and reduces violence and bullying in schools, which has been documented particularly in boys schools. These interventions would benefit both Syrian refugees and Jordanian students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. 9. The expansion of education access to Syrian refugees has exacerbated challenges in maintaining and improving the quality of education. While the immediate focus of the MOE has been on its ability to provide additional classrooms or school buildings, including furniture and textbooks, the most concerning impact of the crisis is the protracted deterioration of the quality of education that jeopardizes the delivery of services. The introduction of double shifts in schools is restraining instructional time for students in both shifts. Additionally, newly recruited teachers are insufficiently trained, and are expected to manage large class sizes, making the school environment less conducive for learning. 10. Jordan needs to improve learning outcomes and make its education system more resilient to shocks by deepening and implementing quality- and access-enhancing policies. The main 9 Brussels conference paper, 2017. underlying challenges that significantly impact the performance of the education system, as outlined below, are low access to quality early childhood education (ECE) and its impact on school readiness, and a learning crisis attributable to the existing learning environment, teaching quality, and the student assessment and examination system. Any intervention that increases the quality of education would impact not only all Jordanian children in the system, but also all Syrian refugees. 11. A key challenge facing the education system is the low access to quality ECE services that leads to poor school readiness, particularly for children from poorer and disadvantaged backgrounds, including Syrian refugee children. High-quality ECE yields numerous benefits for children that affect them well into adulthood, including improved school performance, lower repetition rates, fewer dropouts, and better outcomes in the labor market.10 Yet, enrollment in the first and second years of KG remains low at 13 and 59 percent, respectively, in sharp contrast to the universal enrollment rates achieved for primary and secondary. With KG enrollment strongly associated with family income,11 it is estimated that most children from the two bottom income quintiles are deprived from the benefits of an early childhood education. Far from leveling the playing field for all children, this enrollment structure is likely to widen the school readiness gap across socioeconomic lines in the first years of primary school12. Limited specialized in-service training opportunities and pedagogical support constraint KG teachers’ ability to structure learning around age-appropriate and play-based activities that stimulate child development and early noncognitive skills. This, coupled with a lack of an efficient quality assurance system for KGs that does not monitor progress nor incentivizes continuous quality improvements, is likely to be limiting ECE’s contribution to children’s school readiness in the country. The 2014 Early Development Instrument, for example, revealed that a quarter of children enrolled in public KG2 in Jordan are “not ready to learn�, mainly due to inadequate levels of socioemotional development. As such, expanding access and ensuring quality in the provision of KG are likely to transform Jordanian and non-Jordanian student's’ ability to learn and succeed in school. 12. Poor student learning outcomes at all levels are at a crisis level in Jordan. One in five students in grade 2 cannot read a single word from a reading passage, while nearly half are unable to answer a single subtraction task correctly, thus lacking the foundational literacy and numeracy skills that enable further cognitive skill development.13 With a weak start, skills deficits compound such that by age 15, two-thirds of students do not meet the most basic level of proficiency in mathematics, and half are below basic proficiency in reading and science, as measured by the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Furthermore, learning outcome data show a reverse gender gap with girls performing better than boys in reading, math, and science. International comparisons place Jordan in the bottom 20 percent of PISA-participating countries and economies, substantially below average in mathematics, reading, and science; this is equivalent to three years of schooling below the OECD average.14 13. A key contributor to the learning crisis is the misalignment of policies related to teacher selection, preparation, management, and pedagogical practices. Teachers in Jordan are ill prepared for the challenges of classroom teaching. This is largely because they receive insufficient and highly 10 Gertler and others. 2014, Karoly 2016, Phillips and others. 2016., Dickens and others. 2006. 11 El-Kogali and Krafft 2015; EDI 2014. 12 According to MOE data for the 2015-2016 academic year, enrollment is similar for girls and boys. 13 Latest (2012) EGRA and EGMA scores for Jordan. 14 Thirty points in the PISA scale are estimated to be the equivalent of roughly one year of schooling. theoretical preservice training, limited in-service training, and often suffer from weaknesses in subject specific knowledge and skills to advance the potential of children irrespective of their gender and socioeconomic background. The profession attracts poor-performing students (despite comparatively higher salaries and working conditions) and does not have sufficient professional development mechanisms to nurture novice entrants into the profession. Moreover, high- performing teachers are not recognized in the system, and incentives to motivate improved performance do not exist and are hard to assess given the absence of teacher professional standards. Teacher career paths are still dependent on seniority and offer few avenues for teachers to explore possible promotion based on performance outcomes. 14. The MOE has been working toward the development and implementation of a comprehensive and integrated National Teacher Policy and Strategic Framework (NTPSF). The framework will outline policies for teacher preparation, selection, utilization, development, performance evaluation, and career path. Despite wide agreement with the NTPFS, the MOE has only been able to implement a few of its initiatives over the last seven years, mostly due to the prioritization of other activities and budget constraints. This has hindered the ability of MOE to attract high-performing candidates to the teaching profession and to effectively manage teachers to improve teacher classroom practices. With renewed political commitment, along with the directives posed in the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS)(2016–2025), the MOE is working toward formalizing and implementing the NTPSF. The overall aim of the NTPSF 2016 is to tackle the low status, social prestige, and quality of the professional performance of Jordanian teaching staff, and expand preservice. This will be achieved by integrating all significant policies related to the teaching profession into a consistent and coherent vision that is inclusive of (1) the National Teacher Professional Standards, including a code of conduct; (2) the National Professional Development Framework; (3) a national teacher evaluation and appraisal framework; and (4) a national teacher career path and ranking framework. 15. The significant expansion in access to education, coupled with a weak maintenance system, has put serious strains on the education system’s infrastructure. Schools do not prepare maintenance plans, do not conduct preventive maintenance and in many cases, there are significant differences between the way girls’ and boys’ schools are managed. Additionally, the ceiling for maintenance works conducted by the school is low and does not exceed 200 Jordanian Dinars (JOD) per transaction (approximately US$282). For maintenance works exceeding the ceiling, schools are required to request the works to be conducted by the regional offices (for works not exceeding 10,000 JOD) or the central office of MOE (for works exceeding JOD 10,000 and below JOD 250,000). The school-level ceiling has not increased with the Syrian refugee crisis, even for schools that are enrolling a larger number of students and for the approximately 200 schools that are operating double shifts. In contrast, the average number of maintenance requests from schools to MOE has increased by 8.8 percent in the 3-year period 2013–2015 compared to the period 2010–2012, which predates the Syrian refugee crisis. In parallel, total spending by MOE on maintenance has nearly doubled over this same period, reaching an increase of 92.5 percent. 16. Competition for scarce resources between Jordanian and Syrian students is increasing social tensions and cases of school based violence. Tensions between Syrian and Jordanian students are visible and have been a matter of concern for teachers and school leaders who have limited capacity and support to manage violent and disruptive behaviors in a positive and constructive manner. It is estimated that 70 percent of Syrian students are bullied or verbally abused in schools (UNICEF 2016). While 78 percent of parents state their children are subject to physical violence from teachers (UNICEF 2016). Syrian students are reported to leave school (1,600 students left due to bullying in 2016), or not enter at all, to preserve their safety and self-respect. 17. Teachers and school leaders are poorly trained to handle violence and disruptive behaviors. They have limited capacity to manage negative behaviors in a positive and constructive manner. Rather, teachers themselves are still prone to use aggressive means for managing classrooms and disciplining students. In the 2015-2016 school year, 18 percent of children report experiencing verbal violence in schools and 11 percent report experiencing corporal punishment. Serious concerns also exist about the increase in student-to-student violence and disruptive behaviors (particularly in schools with Syrian refugees), including vandalism, harassment, bullying and gender- based violence. The MOE has made concerted efforts, including the introduction of the school-based program Ma’an, to promote nonviolent and positive student discipline. The MOE has also instigated monthly violence surveys that act as deterrents for teachers from using violence and help keeping all actors accountable for their actions. However, further efforts are needed to support cohesive safe school environments. 18. Jordan faces an additional major challenge in relation to its student assessment system. Jordan administers several census and sample-based student assessments that appear to have weak feedback loops and therefore fail to inform the system on its performance early and effectively. There are three major national student assessments: (a) census-based national tests for grade 4, 8, and 10 in four core subjects (Arabic, mathematics, science, and English); (b) the sample-based National Assessment for Knowledge Economy (NAFKE) for grades 5, 9, and 11 (in Arabic, mathematics, and science); and (c) the general Secondary Certificate Examination (Tawjihi), which serves the double function of secondary education graduation and competitive screening for university admission. The Tawjihi is administered twice a year to grade 12 students, although any Jordanian having completed grade 12 is entitled to sit the examination. In addition, Jordan has participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for grade 8 in mathematics and science since 1999, and PISA for 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics, and science since 200615. Jordan also recently started administering the Early Grade Reading and Math Assessments (EGRA and EGMA)16 for grades 2 and 3 students, although this assessment is run by external donors and has not been institutionalized. 19. The general Secondary Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) is the single most influential and decisive high-stakes exam in Jordan’s education system. This examination has been used for many decades with the dual purpose of a gateway to high school (upon achieving a passing score), and to determine the admissions track to higher education. Results from the exam split students into either technical education and vocational training (TVET) tertiary colleges or universities (with extremely demanding cut-off scores to access the most sought-after faculties and programs). Since approximately half the students who sit for the Tawjihi do not obtain a passing score and a further 20–25 percent simply do not show up for the examination, the issue of graduation and certification for secondary school remains unresolved for most students. This leaves them empty-handed in terms of qualifications and with just a “Tawjihi failure certificate� (which, paradoxically, is required in some public-sector jobs of low qualification). In other words, the focus and prevalence of the 15 TIMSS assesses grades 4 and 8 students worldwide, but Jordan only participates in the grade 8 assessment. 16 EGRA and EGMA were sponsored and supported by USAID and are considered by GOJ to be part of the institutional student assessment system in the country. Assessments were conducted nationwide over five years (2012-2017) in grades K-3 (about 400,000 children). competitive/selective function of the Tawjihi has a devastating exclusion effect on an overwhelming percentage of Jordanian youth. Moreover, despite the efforts of previous reforms in basic education around the integration of knowledge economy skills, the examination focuses on the memorization of facts and basic data, which means it fails to test the full range of skills required to succeed in tertiary education and in the 21st century labor market. 20. As it stands today, the Tawjihi seems to exacerbate inequality of opportunity: 81 percent of schools in which no student passed Tawjihi were in rural areas. A fundamental reform of the Tawjihi, as part of a comprehensive and coherent redesign of all national student assessments, is an indispensable requirement for the new education reform to reach its full potential. Such reform of the Tawjihi would need to be aligned with a revision of the curriculum of secondary education and its implementation. The double purpose of certification and university admission, and the selection criteria of tertiary education institutions must also be simultaneously reformed to better align schools towards learning, not passing exams. The GOJ has shown commitment by creating a High Commission for the reform of the Tawjihi, with specific changes already to become effective in the 2017/18 school year, and by deepening the dialogue with the MOHESR. 21. The final challenge that hinders further improvements in access and quality for all children in the education system is the MOE’s ability to manage the system efficiently, including the system’s capacity to absorb growing populations of students. Since the start of the Syrian refugee crisis, Syrian refugees have accounted for an increase of more than 10 percent in the public student population. Additional financial resources are essential to cater to a growing number of students, many of them coming from vulnerable backgrounds and refugee populations, while improving and preserving gains in learning and education quality. Despite the increase in financial and technical support by international partners, the current capacity does not align with the challenges on the ground. 22. Moreover, investments in strengthening data systems (both technical and financial) need to continue to deepen the use of data for evidence-based decision making in the sector and further improve resource allocation. MOE has successfully deployed an education management information system (EMIS), which is now hosting data on all schools and students in the system. Additional investments in a geographical information system (GIS) are ongoing and will allow MOE to better plan for expansion of access across all regions in the country Leveraging the data available through the EMIS for decision making in the sector is a key opportunity for MOE which will require additional technical assistance and capacity building to materialize. In addition, the collection, analysis, and use of student learning data and disaggregated and gender-sensitive data is essential for monitoring, targeting pedagogical interventions, and improving teacher practices in the classroom. C. Program Scope 23. The PforR Program supports a portion of the Government’s National Education Sector Plan (NESP) across four key Results Areas. These Results Areas fall under the access and quality themes for ECE and basic and secondary education. Table 1: Number of Syrian refugees benefitting from the Program Number of Total Number of % Syrian Level of Result Syrian Refugee Benefittin Beneficiaries Education Area (RA) Children within g from of the PforR Age Group Program Program Basic Education 182,000 RA 2, RA3, Secondary 150,000 71% RA4 30,000 Education ECE (KG2) RA 1, RA4 10,000 20,000 50% Total RA1-4 160,000 232,000 69% (*) Through DLI 1 (Number of beneficiaries from the Program) the Program targets an increased enrollment of 30,000 students into the formal sector (one third of them expected at the ECE level). Increased enrollment through the program is mostly achieved by activities that support expansion of ECE where Syrian refugee children enrollment is very low and retention of basic education and secondary education students. 24. The total cost for the Bank-supported operation is US$200.0 million, out of which the GCFF will provide US$52.3million. The Bank-supported operation will be a hybrid operation consisting of: (1) a Program-for-Results (PforR) program component (US$192.0 million); and (2) a technical assistance (TA) component using Investment Project Financing (IPF). The TA component, estimated to cost US$8.0 million, will support a set of TA and capacity building activities (see Annex 6) that will contribute to the achievement of the Program results and outcomes. 25. The rationale to use an IPF for TA activities – using WB procedures – is to allow for the timely procurement of consultants and firms to produce strategic studies, impact evaluations and technical assistance and capacity building activities. While the GOJ has strong procurement systems for procurement of goods and services, the systems in place for contracting consulting services may not be sufficient for the timely procurement of high quality consultants and firms to undertake upfront analytical activities that will critically inform the design and implementation of core Program activities. These activities are critical to achieve the results of the PforR Program and through WB systems, the quality and alignment of interventions can be ensured. D. Program Development Objective(s) 26. The Program Development Objective (PDO) would be to support the Ministry of Education (MOE) to expand access to early childhood education, and to improve student assessment and teaching and learning conditions for Jordanian and Syrian refugee children. 27. The PDO Indicators are:  Number of Jordanian and Syrian refugee children enrolled in KG2, disaggregated by gender and type of school  Percentage point reduction in the dropout rate of Syrian refugee children, disaggregated by gender  Percentage of teachers evaluated against the new National Teacher Professional Standards (NTPS) who meet the minimum performance standards  First phase of Tawjihi reform completed E. Environmental and Social Effects 28. The assessment of the social risk level associated with the Program is Substantial. It is envisaged that the Program will not include any Category-A type investments. While the use of Government land or swapping of land between ministries is a common practice, it is likely that it will be necessary to acquire land under the Program under Result Area 1. Land availability is a significant barrier to school expansion in Jordan, therefore it will be necessary to introduce adequate screening systems to assess land availability, and provide technical support during implementation to ensure that land acquisition and compensation to potential project affected people (PAPs) follow the WB safeguards standards. Direct economic and social impacts could include loss of land, assets and income, access to assets or housing resulting in adverse impacts to livelihoods. Unless properly managed, involuntary resettlement may result in long-term hardship and impoverishment for affected persons and communities, as well as social stress in areas to which they have been displaced. The Program Action Plan (PAP) includes procedures to make sure that adequate measures are taken to prevent negative impacts on physical cultural resources and natural protected areas. The Program will require that engineers or other MOE staff screen out construction of new schools on private land, as well as closely monitor cases that are categorized as Voluntary Land Donation (VLD) to ensure that the act of donation is undertaken without coercion, manipulation, or any form of pressure on those donating. Impacts on informal land users will also need to be addressed if these occur. 29. The broader social risks associated with the Program, particularly in Results Area 2 are deemed Moderate. These risks are broader, contextual and political risks have neither been caused by the Program nor have contributed to the risks, however are considered substantial and, if not mitigated, may exacerbate other project-related risks related to inclusion and access. These include: violence in schools (various forms), gender biases in school curriculum, inadequate support to children with disabilities and special needs, vulnerability and psychological distress amongst poor Jordanians and Syrian refugees leading to negative coping strategies such as child labor, and early marriage and begging which may contribute to children dropping out. 30. The applicable federal and governorate environmental and social management systems in Jordan, from a legal, regulatory, and institutional perspective, are considered to be generally appropriate and comprehensive. Therefore, no significant changes to the overall structure of these management systems are required or proposed. However, enforcement of the legal framework governing compliance on child protection, labor and environmental standards is weak. 31. It is proposed that Jordan’s environmental and social management systems will be enhanced by: (a) strengthening the capacity of the MOE in land acquisition processes through recruitment of staff, development of standard procedures aligned with WB standards, and training, (b) implementing a socioemotional learning program to improve school environment and minimize violence, (c) updating of Jordan school construction standards to emphasize design alternatives with low-to-no maintenance costs, and (d) piloting of private sector contracts for school operations and maintenance, among others, and (e) enhance the capacity of MOE staff and respective partners to mainstream gender in teacher training (KG-12 grade), and process of constructing and maintaining schools. 32. Gender assessment. Gender inequalities and gaps in educational system are qualitative in nature. Gender issues within the educational system are multifaceted and integral to the Ministry’s overall operation. Enrollment rates in primary education for girls and boys is almost equal. However, the learning environment, curricula, teaching methods, physical environment, and management systems continue to reinforce the socially ascribed and stereotyped gender roles. Differences in the education system are visible in enrollment rates in secondary school, the performance and achievement of girls and boys and their teachers. Girls achieve better results than boys while boys dropout rates in secondary school is higher than girls. Inadequate teacher accountability and qualification, lack of ownership of learning process and focus on rote learning have contributed to disengaging the students, girls and boys, from the learning process. Violence towards students and among students (bullying), especially boys, is yet another factor that leads to low attainment and drop out. In rural areas drop out is also associated with the distance of secondary school from the student residence. In addition, economic fragility and increased inflation has led families to force and or encourage children to leave school and as a result, rates of child labor, early marriages and violence have increased. 33. To minimize and mitigate these risks, the Program will contribute to strengthening MOE’s Gender Unit by mainstreaming gender through various activities including: (a) investing in training and certification of teachers that introduce on gender-specific modules, (b) introducing a socioemotional learning intervention which will, among others, address issues of gender-based violence and discrimination, integrating gender considerations and specificities in handling cases of violence; (c) capacity building to the gender unit, and (d) tailoring student assessments to analyze for potential differences in attainment and performance of girls and boys. 34. Communities and individuals who believe that they are adversely affected as a result of a Bank supported PforR operation, as defined by the applicable policy and procedures, may submit complaints to the existing program grievance redress mechanism or the WB’s Grievance Redress Service (GRS). The GRS ensures that complaints received are promptly reviewed in order to address pertinent concerns. Affected communities and individuals may submit their complaint to the WB’s independent Inspection Panel which determines whether harm occurred, or could occur, as a result of WB non-compliance with its policies and procedures. Complaints may be submitted at any time after concerns have been brought directly to the WB's attention, and Bank Management has been given an opportunity to respond. For information on how to submit complaints to the WB’s corporate Grievance Redress Service (GRS), please visit http://www.worldbank.org/GRS. For information on how to submit complaints to the WB Inspection Panel, please visit www.inspectionpanel.org. F. Financing Source Amount (US$ % of Total million) Total Operation Cost 700.0 - Total Program Cost 692.0 100% TA IPF Component Cost 8.0 - Total Program 700.0 100% Financing Government 500.0 71% IBRD (with 200.0 29% concessional financing) Financing Gap 0.0 0% G. Program Institutional and Implementation Arrangements Program implementation 35. The Ministry of Education (MOE) is the Government’s responsible entity for implementing the program, with the administrative support of the Development Coordination Unit (DCU). Under the leadership of the Minister, MOE directorates will plan and implement activities related to their component. The MOE is ultimately accountable for meeting the program objectives, providing program oversight through the General Policy Steering Committee (GPSC), monitoring and evaluation, and technical support to the various MOE directorates involved in implementation, and coordinating activities among various stakeholders and donors. 36. The Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MOPWH), which was mandated to manage the construction and extension of schools under ERfKE II, will continue to be responsible for the procurement processing and implementation of civil works under the proposed Program. MOPWH will be commissioned by MOE for any works contract over the threshold limit of JOD 250,000. Program coordination 37. At the policy level. Coordination at the policy level will be ensured by the GPSC. The GPSC, appointed and chaired by the minister of education or their representative, will ensure overall oversight of program planning and implementation as well as effective coordination of all institutions and stakeholders involved in the overall education program. The GPSC will also endorse annual plans for MOE’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities. The GPSC will includes representatives of education reform stakeholders. The DCU will serve as the Secretariat for the GPSC and will assist the GPSC in its technical and administrative functions and to supplement its capacity in education reform execution. 38. At the Program level. Given its extensive experience in coordinating multi-donor programs such as ERfKE II, the DCU will be the focal point for the program and will be responsible for: (1) facilitating the coordination of implementation with MOE management, (2) monitoring and reporting on project implementation progress through the production of progress reports, (3) preparing interim unaudited financial reports (IUFRs) for the TA component of the Program, and (4) coordinating with other donor partners to ensure that parallel financed activities are synchronized with overall program implementation. Given the scope of the program, the capacity of the DCU will need to be significantly strengthened through recruiting and training additional staff. With the financial and technical assistance support from donors, the DCU will be reinforced with one senior program manager, one monitoring and evaluation expert, one finance officer and one construction and maintenance expert. H. Contact point World Bank Contact 1: Juan Manuel Moreno Olmedilla Title: Lead Education Specialist, Task Team Leader Email: jmoreno@worldbank.org Contact 2: Karine Pezzani Title: Senior Operations Officer, co-Task Team Leader Tel: +1 202 492 3783 Email: kpezzani@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Contact: Ms. Zeina Toukan Title: Director, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC) Email: zeina.t@mop.gov.jo Implementing Agencies Name of Agency/ies: Ministry of Education Contact 1: Ms. Firyal Aqel Title: Director, Development Coordination Unit (DCU) Tel: +962 7 9524 5356 Email: Firyal.Aqel@Moe.gov.jo Contact 2: Mr. Fawaz Al-Hammouri Title: M&E Officer, Development Coordination Unit (DCU) Tel: +962 7 9657 9146 Email: Fawaz.Al-Hammouri@MOE.GOV.JO For more information contact: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 458-4500 Fax: (202) 522-1500 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop