Document of

The World Bank

Report No: 20898-YEM

PROJECT APPRAISAL DOCUMENT

ON A

PROPOSED CREDIT

IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 42.4 MILLION (US$56 MILLION EQUIVALENT)

TO THE

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

FOR A

BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

September 8, 2000

Human Development GroupMiddle East and North Africa Region

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS

(Exchange Rate Effective 01/21/2000)

Currency UJnit = Yemeni Rial (YER)YER I = US$0.00617

US$1 = YER 162

FISCAL YEARJanuary I - December 31

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

APL Adaptable Program Lending LACI Loan Administration Change InitiativeBEP Basic Education Project IDA International Development AssociationBEEP Basic Education Expansion Project ITTI In-Service Teacher Training InstituteCAS Country Assistance Strategy MNSHD Human Development Group, Middle East and North

Africa RegionCAU Credit Administration Unit MOCSAR Ministry of Civil Service and Administration ReformCIT Central Implementation Team MOE Ministry of EducationCPU Community Participation Unit MOF Ministry of FinanceCSO Central Statistical Office MOPD Ministry of Planning and DevelopmentCU Coordination Unit NCB National Competitive BiddingDEO District Education Office NER Net Enrollment RateESAS Education Sector Assistance Strategy O&M Operations and MaintenanceESIP Education Sector Investment Project PER Public Expenditure ReviewEMIS Education Management Information System PMR Project Management ReportEMP Environmental Management Plan PPF Project Preparation FacilityFMIS Financial Management Information System PSMAC Public Sector Management Adjustment CreditFMPM Financial Management Procedures Manual PWP Public Works ProjectFOE Faculty of Education RFP Request for ProposalGER Gross Enrollment Rate SFD Social Fund for DevelopmentGIT Govemorate Implementation Team SGEOPS Sana'a Govemorate's Education Office Projects SectorGOY Government of Yemen

Vice President: Jean-Louis SarbibCountry Manager/Director: Inder Sud

Sector Manager/Director: Marlaine Lockheed/Jacques BaudouyTask Team Leader/Task Manager: Regina Bendokat

REPUBLIC OF YEMENBASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

CONTENTS

A. Project Development Objective Page

1. Project development objective 22. Key performance indicators 2

B. Strategic Context

1. Sector-related Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) goal supported by the project 22. Main sector issues and Government strategy 23. Sector issues to be addressed by the project and strategic choices 7

C. Project Description Summary

1. Project components 92. Key policy and institutional reforms supported by the project 93. Benefits and target population 104. Institutional and implementation arrangements 10

D. Project Rationale

1. Project alternatives considered and reasons for rejection 152. Major related projects financed by the Bank and other development agencies 183. Lessons leamed and reflected in proposed project design 184. Indications of borrower commitment and ownership 195. Value added of Bank support in this project 20

E. Summary Project Analysis

1. Economic 202. Financial 213. Technical 214. Institutional 215. Environmental 236. Social 247. Safeguard Policies 26

F. Sustainability and Risks

1. Sustainability 262. Critical risks 273. Possible controversial aspects 28

G. Main Conditions

1. Effectiveness Condition 282. Other 28

H. Readiness for Implementation 28

I. Compliancewith Bank Policies 29

Annexes

Annex 1: Project Design Summary 30Annex 2: Detailed Project Description 33Annex 3: Estimated Project Costs 40Annex 4: Economic Analysis 41Annex 5: Financial Summary 50Annex 6: Procurement and Disbursement Arrangements 51Annex 7: Project Processing Schedule 62Annex 8: Documents in the Project File 63Annex 9: Statement of Loans and Credits 65Annex 10: Country at a Glance 66Annex 11: Letter of Basic Education Policies 68

MAP(S)

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

Project Appraisal Document

Middle East and North Africa RegionMNSHD

Date: September 8, 2000 Team Leader: Regina Maria BendokatCountry Manager/Director: Inder K. Sud Sector Manager/Director: Marlaine Lockheed hacques F.

BaudouyProject ID: P043255 Sector(s): EP - Primary EducationLending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan (SIL) Theme(s): Education; Gender And Development; Poverty

Reduction; Public SectorPoverty Targeted Intervention: N

Project Financing DataO Loan 1 Credit O Grant [ Guarantee Ol Other (Specify)

For LoanslCredits/Others:Amount (US$m): SDR 42.4 million (US$56.0 million equivalent)

Proposed Terms: Standard CreditGrace period (years): 10 Years to maturity: 40Commitment fee: Standard Service charge: 0.75%

Financing Plan: Source Local Foreign TotalGOVERNMENT 4.80 0.00 4.80IDA 29.50 26.50 56.00LOCAL COMMUNITIES 1.80 0.00 1.80

Total: 36.10 26.50 62.60

Borrower: GOVERNMENT OF YEMENResponsible agency: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Address: Ministry of Education, Sana'a, Republic of YemenContact Person: H.E. Dr. Yahya Mohammed Al-Shuaibi, Minister of EducationTel: (967) 1- 274-548 Fax: (967) 1- 274-555 Email:

Estimated disbursements ( Bank FYIUS$M):FY 2001 2002 2003 -- 2004 -2005- 2006 2007

Annual 0.5 5.4 9.3 12.9 15.4 12.0 0.5Cumulative 0.5 5.9 15.2 28.1 43.5 55.5 56.0

Project implementation period: 2001-2006Expected effectiveness date: 01/01/2001 Expected closing date: 06/30/2006

OCQ P R. , iCCO

A: Project Development Objective

1. Project development objective: (see Annex 1)

The project supports Yemen's education sector strategy which gives highest priority to providingall children with basic education of adequate quality as a direct way of addressing poverty. Amongthe 12 Priority IDA Countries with severe gender gaps in education, Yemen has the largest gap: a40% disparity between girls' and boys' enrollment in basic education. Government strategy focuseson increasing access especially for girls in underserved rural areas. The project aims at addressingthe most fundamental education needs., taking into account the limited implementation capacity inthe country; it focuses on the first six years of basic education in the four Governorates whereenrollments of girls are lowest and for which a school mapping database has been developed. Thedevelopment objective of BEEP, therefore, is to increase the grade 1-6 enrollment of ruralchildren, especially girls, in basic education of adequate quality. This project would lay thefoundation of an education reform process on which future IDA operations would be built.

2. Key performance indicators: (see Annex 1)

The key performance indicator will be the increase in the gross enrollment rate (GER) for girls ingrades 1-6, in the four Governorates covered by the project. At the district level, it is expected thatenrollments will increase by 30% overall with girls constituting the majority of the increase.Yemen does not have the capability yet to assess learning achievements; increased enrollments andproject outputs (teachers trained, ava:ilability of teaching/learning materials) will be used asproxies for better quality of education.

B: Strategic Context

1. Sector-related Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) goal supported by the project: (seeAnnex 1)

Document number: IDA/R99-80, IFC/R99-65 Date of latest CAS discussion: May 25, 1999

The CAS recognizes the crucial role of education in Yemen's development strategy and inreducing poverty. The project supports two of the four CAS objectives: (i) the creation of an earlystream of social benefits in education which directly address poverty and strengthen the capacity toachieve a broader range of development objectives; and (ii) the creation of a modern publicadministration. The CAS highlights the education of girls as an important factor in Yemen inimproving the status of women, reducing fertility, and increasing productivity in the long run. Italso stresses the need for efficient resource use in the education sector. The project aims atimplementing these CAS strategies through its focus on basic education, especially for girls in ruralareas, and through a range of capacity-building measures that strengthen MOE's resourcemanagement.

2. Main sector issues and Government strategy:

While Yemen's education system has expanded rapidly over the last 10 years, adult literacy is stillat a low 44%, and the school-age population will continue to grow rapidly for the next 20 years.The main issues in the education sector are: (a) low participation rates and large disparities inaccess, with girls and rural areas at a disadvantage; (b) poor quality of education at all levels; and(c) a weak Government capacity which results in (d) inefficient resource use. The Governmentspends a high 8% of GDP on education and needs to accommodate any expansion of the systemwithin this resource envelope to ensure financial sustainability. MOE is responsible for basiceducation (nine years) and secondary education (three years); higher education is overseen by aCouncil which leaves a lot of leeway for e ach institution. While the Government gives priority to

-2-

basic education in its strategy, there has been pressure to expand higher education as well, and theresult has been a gradual erosion of the budget share going to basic education. The Government,with assistance from the Bank, is addressing these sectoral strategy and resource issues, in partthrough a study on higher education rationalization.

The Government and the Bank have agreed on a sector strategy, reflected in the Yemen EducationSector Assistance Strategy Note (September 1999), which gives highest priority to basic education.Recent sector and project preparation work includes: a series of Public Education ExpenditureReviews (PERs) and the UNICEF/World Bank Study of Children and Women in Yemen (1999).Quantitative analysis in these studies is mostly based on: the Population Census of 1994; theComprehensive Education Surveys of 1997/98 and 1998/99; and the Demographic and HealthSurvey of 1997. The description of sector issues and Government strategy below focuses on basiceducation, where the needs and the poverty impact are greatest. The Government's Letter of BasicEducation Policies (Annex 11) summarizes the Government strategy and the actions that theGovernment has taken or is committed to take to implement its strategy.

(a) Low and inequitable participation: Educational attainment in Yemen is among the lowest inthe world: only 17% of the population age 10 and above have completed 6 years of basiceducation. Social indicators, such as high rates of fertility, maternal and child mortality, andchild malnutrition, reflect this low level of education. Participation in basic education remainslow, as only 50% of children age 6-14 are enrolled. The net enrollment rate (NER) is 80% inurban areas (75% for girls and 84% for boys), but only 48% in rural areas, where 70% of thepopulation reside, with a large gender gap: 28% NER for girls and 67% for boys. Distance is akey obstacle for parents in rural areas to send their daughters to school. Only 6% of basicschools have toilets, another important factor in enrollment of girls. While MOE employsenough teachers to provide one for every 40 children, a deficit of nearly 80,000 classroomskeeps Yemen from achieving 100% _nrollment in basic education. Without reform, 3.7 millionchildren ages 6-15 would lack a place in school in 2020. The ongoing school constructionprogram is too small in scope and Government-funded construction has been too inefficient toprovide a viable solution to the shortage of classrooms.

Government strategy: The highest priority in the Government's education strategy is toincrease enrollment in basic education. To advance this objective, the Government first aims atincreasing the number of classrooms available in rural areas. To meet demand, it hasintroduced the following policy measures to increase the efficiency of school construction andto rationalize decisions on school locations: (a) using low-cost standardized designs for schoolconstruction; (b) involving communities in school construction as a way to reduce costs andretain students; (c) basing school location decisions on school mapping tools and onconsultations with the communities; and (d) providing additional allowances for teachers inremote rural areas through the new Teacher Law of 1998. Second, MOE also has adoptedmeasures that aim at increasing girls' enrollment: (a) placing small schools closer to girls'homes; (b) obtaining the community's commitment to enrolling girls as a prerequisite forschool construction; (c) changing the physical design of schools to include sanitary facilitiesand boundary walls; (d) providing separate classrooms for girls in grades 7-9; (e) buildinggirls' secondary schools to encourage parents to keep their daughters in basic education; and (f)providing more female teachers at the upper basic and secondary levels. To increase thenumber of female teachers in rural areas, the Government is hiring female secondary schoolgraduates, reducing the entrance criteria for female secondary graduates to the Faculties ofEducation (FOE), and piloting a scholarship program for rural females to enroll in the FOEs.

(b) Poor quality: Quality and outcomes of basic education remain poor, as evidenced by highdropout and repetition rates. Dropout rates are higher for girls, and they start dropping out atan earlier age. There is no nationwide mechanism for monitoring students' learning

-3-

achievements in grades 1-8, nor is there any means for controlling the quality of studentassessments in these grades. While curriculum reform is in progress for most subjects ingrades 1-6, as well as for some subjects in grades 7-12, the activities required for theimplementation of the new curriculum (e.g., in-service teacher training, setting of learningstandards, and teaching evaluation criteria) are not yet fully developed. Shortages andmaldistribution of teachers anc! learning resources contribute to poor quality. Thestudent:teacher ratio of 23:1 masks extreme shortages of teachers in rural areas (particularlyfemales), and of specialists in mathematics, science, and languages nationwide. Half of theteachers have not completed secondary school; and teachers receive inadequate supervision andsupport. Furthermore, schools experience shortages of instructional materials; a recentOperations and Maintenance (O&M) study shows that only 30% of O&M requirements at theschool level are being met. Social and informal assessments show that parents in disadvantagedareas have difficulties buying essential educational materials such as notebooks and pencils andpaying the YER 150 fees to the schools. Without basic educational materials, quality oflearning would be greatly reduced.

Government strategy: The Government is starting to more strongly align curriculum -

including textbooks and instructional materials, teacher training, and classroom instruction intoa coherent system to improve the quality of basic education. The central element of theGovernment's strategy to improve quality for grades 1-6 is the introduction of new curriculathat promote interactive learning with improved textbooks and teaching skills; implementationwill start in September 2000. This requires substantial in-service teacher training. TheGovernment has begun to provide an initial one-week orientation to teachers in August 2000and is preparing for continued in-service training as well as improved teacher supervision. TheGovernment also realizes that further investment in school facilities would not yield resultswithout appropriate provision of furniture, equipment, and O&M. The Government isdeveloping a strategy to improve O&M at the school level using the results of theComprehensive Education Surveys amd the above-mentioned O&M study.

(c) Weak governance: As in many sectors, capacity in the MOE is weak and there is littleoutreach to its clients. MOE administration is centralized, cumbersome and characterized bydiscretionary decision making and lack of capacity to enforce regulations. Severe shortcomingsexist in personnel management.

* MOE staffing. Since the early 1 990s, the civil service has been acting as the employer offirst resort and a central component of the Government's social safety net. The educationsector absorbed many of these hires, from among the rapidly-increasing number ofgraduates from universities, teacher training institutes and secondary schools, and nowemploys two-thirds of the civil servants. The result is an overstaffed MOE administration,as evidenced by a high non-teacher:teacher ratio (2:5) and poorly qualified teachers, asmentioned above. Implications for Government expenditure are a high share of the wagebill which is squeezing out O&M expenditure. There is also an issue of low wages andlimited room for reflecting hardship postings in wage differentiation. While the number ofteachers for basic education is adequate, their deployment is inefficient and lacks incentiveand enforcement mechanisms. As a result, many remote areas have difficulties attractingand keeping teachers assigned to them.

* Community participation. MOE's approach to providing basic education has notinvolved communities to any significant extent in decisions on location, construction, andmanagement of schools. The result is schools without children, communities withoutschools because of budget limitations, and poorly run schools with absentee teachers andpoor maintenance. MOE has not been adequately staffed to assist communities in

-4-

organizing their support for schools. In addition, school principals and teachers have notbeen trained to involve communities in school programs.

Government strategy: The Government is aware that management capacity is crucial toimproving the performance of the education sector and that strengthening capacity will be along process. At the macro-level, several reform programs are underway to improve publicadministration; they include a long-term civil service reform and the recent adoption of theDecentralization Law. These reform efforts will also benefit the education sector and provide aframework for the reform measures which the Government is implementing in the educationsector. These measures include:

* MOE staffing. The Govemment has embarked on a long-term civil service reformprogram, described in the Strategic Framework for Civil Service Modernization which wasapproved by the Cabinet in 1998. This program will allow MOE to remove ghost workersfrom its payroll. MOE has initiated a study aimed at streamlining and decentralizing itsfunctions. Based on the study, MOE intends to redefine its structure, unit functions, andjob descriptions at the Central, Governorate, and District levels and to proceed withassociated redeployment and skill development of its staff. The Teacher Law of 1998increases the pay for teachers in rural areas; it also provides MOE with a basis forimproving the effectiveness of the existing teaching corps by linking wage increases todeployment and performance. MOE is moving towards vacancy-based hiring anddeployment, which would allow schools to get adequate staff on time. The Cabinet passeda decree on redeployment of teachers on June 27, 2000 and created a committee whichconsists of the Ministers of Education, Finance, and Civil Service and AdministrationReform to propose the criteria and mechanism for teacher redeployment. A workshop washeld in July 2000 to prepare a teacher redeployment plan. MOE is now finalizing thedeployment plan and monitoring mechanism, starting with Sana'a Governorate as a pilotcase in 2001.

* Community participation. MOE has adopted an approach of involving communitiesmore actively in education programs. Building on recent project experiences, MOE isestablishing capacity at the Central and Governorate levels to increase communityparticipation, especially for school construction and management. MOE is alsoacknowledging the important role of the district offices as a major link with communities,and plans to enhance capacity at the district level. MOE has already established aCommunity Participation Unit (CPU), consisting of four staff at the Central level, four inSana'a Governorate, and two in each of the other Governorates; the CPU is gender-balanced to allow communication with both male and female members of communities.MOE will also identify staff at the district level to work directly with the communities.CPU staff are conceptualizing community participation approaches and will collaboratewith other MOE departments in implementing these approaches in all MOE projects.Efforts have started in school construction programs where experience exists and willgradually extend to school management. All CPU staff attended a community participationworkshop held by the World Bank's Sana'a Field Office in February 2000. The centrallevel and Sana'a Governorate staff, in addition to staff from the Projects Sector of MOE,attended two additional workshops in May and June 2000.

(d) Expenditure management: Weak expenditure management, in the aggregate, is reflected inthe high share of GDP and budget expenditure allocated to education while Yemen's GER inbasic education is lower than that of comparable countries. In addition to the large wage bill,shortcomings in the management of O&M, the investment program, and in subsector planningand information contribute to the inefficiencies in expenditure for basic education.

-5-

* O&M. MOE's budget for O&M (15% of recurrent education expenditure) includes largeallocations for centrally-administered items, in particular textbooks and scholarships, whileother services important for the quality of education, such as in-service training, teachersupervision, teaching and learn.ing materials, and school maintenance, are neglected. Thereare no clear policies for allocating the O&M budget to schools, and as a result, allocationsare very low and inequitable. The YER150 school fee collected per child is transferred tobudgets at the Governorate and National level.

* Investment program. Poor location decisions, inefficient designs, a complex flow offunds, and a lack of supervision have resulted in high costs for school construction. Inaddition, poor coordination with other agencies, e.g., the Social Fund for Development(SFD) and Public Works Project (PWP), regarding school location, design, and provisionof furniture and teachers has reduced the effectiveness of educational investments.

* Programming, budgeting and information. Decision-makers at all levels within MOEare hampered by a lack of easy and timely access to needed data. Coordination amongMOE departments is poor in providing information, with negative repercussions forprogramming, implementation, and monitoring of MOE activities. This seriously affectsthe formulation of the MOE budgets; furthermore, the accounting system is notcomputerized and does not produce reports on actual expenditures in a timely manner.

Government strategy: The Government is aware that it needs to increase the efficiency ofeducation expenditure if the expansion and quality improvement envisaged for the basiceducation subsector are to be financially sustainable. Improvements in overall budgeting andexpenditure management are under preparation at the Ministry of Finance and should also havea positive effect on resource management in the education sector. Within the education sector,the Government aims to ensure an adequate share for basic education by addressing issues ofgrowth in other subsectors, particularly higher education. Within basic education, severalmeasures are being prepared or implemented which aim at strengthening expenditureprogramming based on needs.

* O&M. MOE is preparing several measures to improve the structure and effectiveness ofO&M expenditures: It is undertalking a study which aims at rationalizing the scholarshipprogram. MOE is also preparing pilot programs to increase O&M allocations to schoolsand changing the allocation mechanism for community contribution fees in order toincrease the share going directly to schools.

* Investment program. In addition to increasing the effectiveness of school construction,MOE is trying to streamline the flow of funds and supervision, thereby allowing effectivedevolution of school construction programs to the Governorate level and reducingconstruction periods; MOE is also improving coordination among construction projects toimprove school location decisions and coordination between the construction and operatingdepartnents of MOE. The Government is also exploring whether double shifting can beincreased to reduce the need for school construction.

* Programming, budgeting and financial management. Over the last two years, MOE hasmade initial attempts at prioritizi.ng its school construction program. It has invested inextensive data gathering on schocls through school surveys and initiated school mapping.These tools will now be applied gradually to the preparation and prioritization of schoolconstruction programs. In order to increase the efficiency of its operations, MOE'sstrategy includes improving its educational and financial information; work is underway tointroduce appropriate management information and financial management systems.

-6-

3. Sector issues to be addressed by the project and strategic choices

(a) Sector issues to be addressed by the project

The project will support the Government's strategy for basic education and specifically address thelow participation of rural girls in the first six years of basic education as the most importantsector issue. The first six grades have been selected because: (a) most girls drop out during thesegrades; and (b) the Government's quality improvement program starts with curriculum reform forgrades 1-6. The project will address three issues related to the low participation of rural girls inbasic education: (i) the lack of classrooms in rural areas, which prevents girls from enrolling;(ii) the poor quality of resources available at schools, which contributes to low enrollment andhigh drop-out rates, especially among girls; and (iii) the weak capacity of edewationmanagement, which hampers the institutional and financial sustainability of programs that areintended to improve access and quality.

(b) Strategic choices

(i) Lack of classrooms in rural areas

Apply new policies for school construction. The project will support the implementationof the Government's new approach to school construction using tools which have beenintroduced recently to promote rational decision-making: school mapping, standardizedlow-cost design norms with features that are important in attracting girls, e.g., toilets andboundary walls, and community involvement. These policy measures, especially low cost-design norms and community participation in site selection, have been developed on thebasis of experiences from MOE, SDF, PWP, and other projects supported by donors.These, however, represent significant changes in policies and also require behavioralchanges of MOE staff at several levels [see (iii)]. If successful, they would allow MOE tosignificantly increase its school construction program over the medium term. The projectwill also assist MOE to develop new approaches to O&M at the school level, to sustain theinvestment made in classrooms.

(ii) Poor quality of resources available at schools

* Select inputs for impact. Since educational attainment and institutional capacity are lowin Yemen, a strategic choice was to focus on inputs which affect quality of education andgirls' retention. The project focuses on the inputs which are the weakest elements in thecurrent system: in-service teacher training and strengthened supervision, provision ofsupplemental learning/teaching materials, and provision of furniture to new classrooms.

(iii) Weak capacity of education management

* Build capacity of MOE. The most important strategic choice for the project was tosupport MOE's capacity building aimed at improving basic education and to have theproject implemented through MOE rather than a separate project management unit. MOEstaff has been involved in project preparation, is taking ownership of the project, and isreceiving training on project management. A second strategic choice on educationmanagement was to devolve the implementation authority to the Governorate level, whileat the same time strengthening monitoring functions at the Central MOE level.

-7-

* Mobilize community support. Another strategic choice aiming at increasingimplementation capacity and ownership of the program was to have greater communityparticipation. This involves supporting MOE's new Community Participation Unit (CPU)at the Central and Governorate level. The project will support MOE's new policy ofinvolving communities in school construction as a means to ensure commitment toeducating their daughters and to reducing the cost of it. Decisions regarding the locationof new schools will take into account a conmmunity's willingness to contribute towards theconstruction cost through e.g., donation of land and construction materials. The formationof fathers' or mothers' councils to participate in school oversight would be another elementof involving the community in its school. Stronger community participation also has apositive impact on the demand for education. While experience in Yemen indicates thatdemand for basic education for girls has increased over the last few years, sustaining thecommitment of keeping girls in schools will benefit from community involvement. Giventhat community participation is an important but relatively new function for MOE, MOE isconsidering options for external technical assistance. MOE is discussing with GTZ thepossibility of providing technical assistance and training to MOE staff to gain sufficientexperience.

* Gradual expansion of regional coverage. Considering the limited capacity of MOE, thegeographic focus of the project will be the four Governorates in which girls' enrollment inbasic education is lowest and for which school mapping has been done. A school mappingdatabase has been developed in eight Governorates as a tool for improving managementcapacity since late 1998. These pilot Governorates were originally six -- Sana'a, Al-Mahweet, Taiz, Lahej, Hadramout and Al-Mahrah -- selected from the north, south-centraland eastern regions and includ;ing large and small, and administratively stronger andweaker Governorates. In 1999, the Government changed the boundaries of someGovernorates and added two new Governorates (Amran and Al-Daleh). Thus, MOE hasdeveloped school maps for eight pilot Governorates and selected the four projectGovernorates. About 800,000 children age 6-15, i.e., nearly 20 percent of the basicschool-age population of Yemen, reside in these four Governorates. Projectimplementation will commence in Sana'a Governorate and expand gradually to the otherthree Governorates. In each Governorate, the access and quality components of the projectwould be implemented in about four focus districts. The Government plans to graduallyextend the program to all 20 Governorates. The CAS discussion at the Board in 1999referred to the longer-term need of IDA involvement in the sector around a follow-up tothis project. Provided that progress in implementing BEEP is satisfactory, IDA couldconsider supporting this expansion through a follow-up project which could follow as earlyas 2002.

* Flexible implementation plan. rhe education strategy and associated policy reformssupported by the project are summarized in the Government's Letter of Basic EducationPolicies (Annex 11), which provides the basis for project design. The reforms areambitious given the weak capacity of MOE and the uncertainties as to how quicklycommunity participation would evolve. Therefore, the implementation plan will beflexible and evolve annually. The annual work-plans will translate the principles andpolicies articulated in the Govermment's Letter of Basic Education Policies into actions tobe mutually agreed by the Government and IDA. The first year work-plan has been agreedand is summarized in Annex 2.

-8-

C: Project Description Summary

1. Project components (see Annex 2 for details)

Indicative Bank- % ofComponent Sector Costs % of financing Bank-

(US$M) Total (US$M) finaneing

1. Expansion of Access EP: Primary 43.60 69.6 37.70 67.3

1.1 School construction, extension, Educationand rehabilitation

1.2 School maintenance program

2. Quality Improvement EP: Primary 11.20 17.9 10.70 .19.1

2.1 Improving teacher skills and Educationdeployment

2.2 Supplying furniture andteaching/learning materials toschools

3. Capacity Building EE: 7.80 12.5 7.60 13.6

3.1 Community participation EducationAdjustment3.2 Planning, monitoring andevaluation

3.3 Support for projectmanagement

Total Project Costs 62.60 100.0 56.00 100.0

Total Financing Required 62.60 100.0 56.00 100.0

2. Key policy and institutional reforms supported by the project

The project supports policy and institutional reforms that aim to expand access to quality educationin the first six grades in a sustainable way. Key policy reforms, described in the Government'sLetter of Basic Education Policies (Annex 11), are as follows:

* The access component of BEEP will support the implementation of: (a) the new policy forschool location, which is based on school mapping and community participation; (b)standard designs for school construction that are cost-effective and take into account girls'needs; and (c) policies for the efficient use of classrooms through the expansion of doubleshifts.

* The quality component of BEEP will support: (a) new approaches to teaching and learning,which are being introduced with the revised curricula for grades 1-6; (b) the associatedintroduction of in-service teacher training; (c) improved deployment of teachers to ruralareas and remuneration linked to performance; and (d) an increase of O&M expenditure atthe school level and a modified funding mechanism (during the first project year, the studyon O&M will be completed and its recommendations translated into actions which will beagreed on under the second-year action plan).

Major institutional reforms are being implemented to ensure systemic improvements in both accessto and the quality of basic education. The project will support: (a) increased community

-9-

participation in school location, construction, and management; (b) building up MOE's capacity toimplement the access and quality program through stronger involvement in project preparation andimplementation at the central and the Governorate level; (c) gradual decentralization of MOEprogramming, implementation, and nionitoring functions to the Governorate level; and (d)strengthening of programming and monitoring tools through the use of annual work plans forproject implementation. The decentralization of MOE functions will be based on a study that iscurrently being completed and consistent with the Government's strategy of administrative andfinancial decentralization, for which legislation has been passed recently.

3. Benefits and target population

The main project benefits are expected to be more equitable access and increased quality in the firstsix years of basic education. These will be achieved through: an increase in the number ofclassrooms; improved teaching skills and performance; additional learning materials; conimittedcommunities and parents; and effective management at all levels. The target population will begirls in the grade 1-6 age group in underserved rural areas in four Govemorates with low NERs;about 100,000 girls will gain access to ecducation of acceptable quality. The project is also expectedto improve communication between the Government and beneficiaries (communities) in meetingtheir educational needs and increasing community involvement in basic education.

In the long term, the project is expected to benefit the population at large through support of theGovernment's education reform progra:m. Improvements in sector management capacity andefficiency at the Central level of MOE and a gradually increasing number of Governorates willallow more extensive and equitable access to schools of better quality. It is well documented inresearch literature that broader educational access stimulates economic and social development byincreasing labor market participation, raising household incomes, and improving productivity in themanufacturing and agricultural sectors. Female education, in particular, has major social benefitsin reducing fertility rates, increasing awareness of basic health and nutritional issues, andimproving the educational status of the next generation.

4. Institutional and implementation arrangements

Implementation period

The project will be implemented over a five-year period: from January 2001 to December 2005.Completion is estimated on December 31, 2005. The Credit will close on June 30, 2006.

Project oversight

The project is adopting a new implementation approach in which the MOE, at both its central andregional levels, is taking a more active role in policy formulation and implementation of theproject, while a Credit Administration Unit (CAU) will have a limited role (unlike most IDA-funded projects in Yemen where a Prcject hnplementation Unit approach has mostly beenfollowed).

The project will operate under the overall guidance and oversight of a Steering Committee (SC)chaired by the Minister of Education; members of the SC are: (i) MOE's Vice Minister, DeputyMinisters (Sector of General Education, Sector of Curricula and Education Inspection, and Sectorof Projects and Equipment), the Head of the Technical Office, and one representative from MOE'sCommunity Participation Section; and (ii) one representative each from the Ministry of Planningand Development (MOPD), Ministry of Finance (MOF), and Ministry of Civil Service andAdministration Reform (MOCSAR). The main task of the SC will be to set policy guidelines anddirect BEEP to ensure the achievement of the project objectives.

-10-

The SC will approve the annual work plans and budgets for the project. The SC will meetquarterly to discuss the project progress reports and take appropriate action for any deviations fromthe work plans. In its functions, the SC will be assisted by the CAU (see below).

The implementation framework is shown in Figure 1.

Project implementation and coordination.

The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Education under the leadership of the Ministerof Education who will be responsible for overall orientation, and through the existing operationalstructure of the MOE. Each administrative entity in the MOE, at both the Central and Regionallevels, will implement and monitor the activities that fall under its responsibilities:

(a) the Sector of Projects and Equipment will be responsible for the access component;

(b) the Sector of General Education will be responsible for teacher deployment;

(c) the Sector of Curricula and Education Inspection will be responsible for the teachertraining and supervision program;

(d) the Community Participation Unit will assist all the sectors with getting conmmunitiesinvolved in their respective activities; and

(e) the Technical Office will be responsible for planning, monitoring and evaluation.

Agreement has been reached with MOE on TA requirements in these entities and on TORs forfirst-year TA activities. With TA from the PHRD grant, MOE has prepared an organizationstructure and functions which aim at devolving responsibilities to the Governorate and Districtlevels. The project will help implement this devolution of responsibilities (detailed MOE proposalhas been submitted to Cabinet). In summary, the responsibilities for project implementation willbe shared as follows:

* Central level: Orientation, strategy, policy-making, program design, planning, monitoringand evaluation. Inplementation and supervision of centralized project activities.

- Governorate level: Implementation and supervision of decentralized project activities.

- District level: Assist the Govemorate to follow up on implementation and supervision ofactivities taking place at the district level, and working closely with the communities.

* Community level: MOE staff from the Governorate and District levels will work with thecommunities regarding school location, construction and oversight.

Responsibilities for project implementation and related procedures are described in more detail inthe agreed Operational Manual for BEEP.

Central level

At the Central level of the MOE, a Central Implementation Team (CIT), composed of DirectorGenerals of the three 'MOE sectors, the Technical Office and a representative of the CommunityParticipation Unit, are responsible for overall implementation of the project and report to theMinister of Education. The CIT will be assisted by the CAU, whose main responsibility will be toadminister IDA credits. The CIT will work closely with the CAU in coordinating project activitiesat the Central and at the Governorate levels.

-1 1-

Figure 1: BEEP - Implementation StructureCentral Level

rin Minister Minister Key TasksCommittee (SC) . of * Provide orientation and policy

Education 0 Secure counterpart fundingSC Key Tasks* Approve annual workplans & budgets* Set policy guidelines 1

CentralImplementation

Team (CIT) *\A

CIT Key Tasks* Design programs Credit* Manage central components Administration CAU Key Tasks* Coordinate and guide Unit (CAU) * Keep project accounts

Govemorate activities 0 Manage Special Account* Prepare annual workplans 0 Oversee Govemorate

and follow-up on implementation procurement* Oversee EMP implementation * Manage central procurement

0 Prepare projectGovernorate Level progress reports/M&E(at each of the four project Govemorates)

Goverorate Education OfficeGIT Key Tasks Impiementation Team* Implement project activities (GIT)* Manage decentralized

procurement* Monitor project progress

General Cucl rjcs&mmunit Plannin S ....... + ..... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~........_ .+ ......... ucaEqnuipent Particpton Saitc

District Level 4,Cistrict Education

DEO Key Tasks Office (DEO)

* Supervise schools* Distribute textbooks & materials* Select trainees [ unities] .............. Schools* Work dosely with communities

Notes:1 Supervision

........ - -Support/coordination

-12-

The CAU will report to the Minister of Education and be housed within MOE. Its main functionswill be to facilitate the project implementation of MOE by managing the administrative aspects ofprocurement of civil works and directly procuring goods and employing consultants, the utilizationof the proceeds of the Credit (maintaining project accounts and records for audits and Bank'sreview) and to monitor project progress. It will be composed of the following staff, recruited on acompetitive basis and financed with the proceeds of the Credit: a director; a financial officerassisted by an accountant; a procurement officer; a monitoring and evaluation officer; and anadministrative assistant. Other support staff will be provided and financed by the MOE. Terms ofreference for the key staff (i.e., director, financial officer, procurement officer, and planningmonitoring/evaluation officer) have been agreed with MOE. The CAU Director has been hired inJuly 2000 and assumed his functions. Hiring of the remaining key staff is underway and should becompleted in October 2000; support staff (e.g., secretary, clerk, driver) will be financed fromMOE's budget.

Governorate level

Most of the project activities will be executed at the Govemorate level. Within each GovemorateOffice, a Governorate Implementation Team (GIT) will be created, headed by the Director Generalfor Education. He/she will be assisted by five staff drawn from the three sectors, the department ofplanning and statistics, and the community participation unit. MOE assured the Bank thatcompetent staff will be assigned at the Governorate level. The GIT will be responsible for theimplementation of activities at the Governorate level and will be assisted by the District EducationOffices. The GIT will prepare work programs and related budgets for submission to the CIT.

District level

The District Education Offices (DEOs), headed by the District Education officer, will report to theGIT for project implementation purposes. The main tasks envisaged for the DEOs are: distributionof textbooks and materials; contribution to the selection of the teachers to be trained; andsupporting community participation activities. The District level staff have little or no facilitiesand weak management capacity but they are members of the community. Therefore, the main roleof the DEO in project implementation will be to support the involvement of the community inschool construction and management. Training of District level staff in community participation isincluded under the project.

Procurement arrangements

Civil works represent the bulk of activities under the access component. It will mainly beimplemented under the Govemorate education offices. The Projects Department at the Centrallevel has developed four standard designs for three- and six-classroom schools and correspondingstandard bills of quantities based on the IDA-approved standard bidding documents for NationalCompetitive Bidding (NCB). This will facilitate the work of the Governorate Education Offices inadapting bidding documents for new schools.

Since the component also includes rehabilitation and extensions of existing schools, consultingfirms will be hired by the CAU to support MOE's Governorate offices to survey the facilities thatrequire rehabilitation and/or extensions, develop the bidding documents (based on the standardbidding documents approved by IDA) for the ones selected for rehabilitation and/or extension andeventually supervise construction. Evaluation of bids in both cases (new construction andrehabilitation/extensions) will be done at the Governorate Education Offices.

-13-

Goods will mainly include school furniture and educational kits. The CAU will compilespecifications from central departments in the MOE and will develop and administer allprocurement of goods (with representation of the relevant department in the MOE in the evaluationcommittee). Consulting services will be procured in a manner similar to goods; i.e., the relevantMOE department will draft TORs and compile a shortlist; the CAU will produce the Request forProposal (RFP) and administer the remaining process with MOE's involvement in evaluation.

Accounting, financial reporting and auditing arrangements

The CAU will be responsible for financial management of the project, including budgeting,accounting, management of the Special Account, handling of financial transactions and reporting.The CAU financial functions will be undertaken by a qualified financial officer and an accountant.The financial management system for the project is being developed, building on systems that existin another education project unit and with staff that is familiar with IDA projects. The CAU willinstall a computerized accounting systern with PMR-based disbursement capabilities. The systemwill be based on generally accepted accounting principles and adequate internal control procedures.The MOE expects to have the PMR-based disbursement system operational by October 2001.Until then, disbursements from the IDA credit will be made using the traditional system. TheCAU, with TA, is completing the development of the FM systems and the project manual inaccordance with TORs and schedules agreed with IDA.

The CAU will submit quarterly financial reports on project activities to the Government and toIDA, in addition to the project's annual financial statements. Quarterly project managementreports (PMR) will be generated from the new system and will be submitted to IDA within 45 daysafter the close of each quarter; the Government aims at making the first PMR available byNovember 15, 2001.

The project financial statements will be audited annually by independent, private auditorsacceptable to IDA, and in accordance with TORs and terms and conditions acceptable to IDA,using appropriate auditing principles. Auditors for the project accounts of the project's first year ofimplementation will be appointed by Effectiveness. Annual audited financial statements andaudited reports - including an opinion on the use of the Special Account and Statement ofExpenditure procedure - will be submitted to IDA within six months after the end of thegovernment fiscal year. The cost of the audit will be financed from the Credit.

Monitoring and evaluation arrangements

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for the BEEP will comprise four elements:

* Implementation of the agreecl sectoral policies and actions. MOE will develop theannual education plan and budget within the framework of the agreed Letter of BasicEducation Policies and, once completed, the five-year education plan. The TechnicalOffice, in coordination with other departments, will monitor the implementation,especially in the project Governorates.

* Key performance indicators for the project development objective and outputs for eachcomponent (see Annex 1). Monitoring of these indicators and reporting will be doneon a semi-annual basis. The Govemnorate education offices will submit their data to theTechnical Office and the M&E officer of the CAU. He/she will be responsible forguiding MOE in preparing data and for submitting reports to the Steering Committeeand IDA.

* Implementation progress, which will be assessed from reports on the status of thevarious activities in progress and expenditure/disbursement performance. These reportswill indicate the status of each expenditure category (i.e., civil works, goods,

-14-

consultant services, and training) and source of finance (GOY or IDA). The Centraland Govemorate MOE, assisted by the CAU, will be responsible for consolidating thedata and submitting reports to the Steering Committee and IDA.

* Two evaluation studies of the BEEP approach. The Technical Office, assisted by theM&E officer of the CAU, will arrange one study before the mid-term review (i.e., thirdyear of the project) and the other in the fifth year of the project. The first study willanalyse the initial impact on girls' enrollments in the first four focus districts in Sana'aGovernorate.

Implementation monitoring will be carried out by MOE with TA and through semi-annualsupervisions of the Bank. The Bank's field office in Yemen will be heavily involved in projectimplementation, including one staff dedicated to supervision of the education portfolio almost fulltime. A mid-term review will be organized in the third year of the project. An implementationcompletion report to assess the overall performance of the project will be prepared by theGovernment and the Bank after the project is closed.

D: Project Rationale

1. Project alternatives considered and reasons for rejection

A number of alternative concepts and design options for the project were considered but rejected.The project concept and components that were chosen are the most appropriate for increasingeducation participation of girls in rural areas.

Alternative project concepts

* Adaptable Program Lending (APL). Since the project supports an agreed set of policymeasures which will be implemented over a longer period of time, the (APL) approach wasconsidered. This approach was rejected for the BEEP because of uncertainties concerning theimplementation structure and capacity. Provided BEEP implementation is satisfactory, an APLapproach starting with a follow-up project to BEEP could be considered.

* Targeting nine years of basic education. Coverage of the full nine years of basic educationwas considered, as MOE has integrated primary and preparatory education into basic educationby eliminating the standardized exarnination at the end of grade six. This alternative wasrejected because it is difficult for remote rural schools to provide grades 7-9 of basic educationwhich require specialized subject teachers and special school facilities. Urban secondaryschools often provide these upper grades of basic education. Therefore, to focus the project onthe most underserved, remote rural areas, the first six years of basic education were chosen as apriority.

* Addressing only the access issue. Given the huge backlog of classrooms needed, it wasconsidered to focus the project entirely on the construction of classrooms for rural children.This alternative was rejected because international experience shows that school buildingsalone do not increase girls' enrollment and retention rates in a sustainable way. Improving thequality of education is needed as well; therefore, the project will provide such educationalinputs as in-service teacher training, teaching and learning materials, school furniture, andbuilding maintenance.

-15-

* Provision of female secondary schools as an incentive for girls' schooling. The originalproject proposal included a cluster concept which entailed the construction of girls' secondaryschools and feeder basic schools. This was based on: (a) the experience in other countries thataccess to secondary schools is an incentive for parents to keep their daughters in basiceducation; and (b) the notion that more female graduates are needed for training as teachers.This alternative was rejected on the following three grounds: (i) recent information on pilotrural female secondary schools supported under the ongoing ESIP indicates that capacity atthese schools exceeds the current supply of female graduates from basic rural schools; (ii)savings from lower construction costs for secondary schools under ESIP are available forbuilding additional secondary schools for girls in rural areas; and (iii) there is increasingevidence from studies in Yemen that: male teachers are acceptable for teaching girls in the firstfour grades. Therefore, BEEP will focus on basic education, specifically grades 1-6, as the keybottleneck in providing education to girls.

* Starting project implementation in all Governorates. The Government considered country-wide coverage for the project with a focus on underserved districts in each Governorate. Thisalternative was rejected due to the complexity of project implementation and limited MOEcapacity. Therefore, project implementation will start in one Governorate, then expand to fourGovernorates where the need is greatest, preparatory work for school mapping has beencompleted, and where efforts can be concentrated so as to sufficiently strengthen capacity. Thisphased approach will allow a realistic pace for MOE capacity building and to gainimplementation experience before reform measures are introduced on a wider scale.

* Implementation of construction programs through PWP or SFD rather than the ProjectSector of MOE. This alternative was rejected for the following reasons: First, the number ofclassrooms needed for basic education vastly exceeds the implementation capacity of the PWPand SFD. IDA, therefore, agreed to support the combined capacities of MOE, PWP and SFDto address the need for school construction. Second, the concern of ensuring efficientconstruction under BEEP has been acldressed by agreeing on norms and standard designs forclassrooms that result in unit costs for BEEP close to those of the PWP and SFD. Third, andmost importantly, it has become increasingly clear, from the experience of the PWP, SFD andKfW/GTZ school construction projects, that there is a need to link the hardware and softwareelements of the education system, i.e., the construction, teaching, and maintenance parts. MOEseems to be in the best position to ensure these linkages. For all these reasons, the schoolconstruction component of BEEP will be implemented by MOE Project Sector.

Alternative design options for components

Component 1. Expansion of access

* Full decentralization of school design and siting. This idea was rejected due to its cost-ineffectiveness. The Governorate Elucation Offices are not equipped with the staff,management tools, and information necessary for a full process of school constructionprograms. Therefore, the project will support the gradual decentralization of implementation,with standard designs and criteria beinag developed at the Central level in consultation withstakeholders from all levels.

* Building only new schools. An estimate that about 25,000 villages do not have a single schoolimplies a large need for new rural schools. In addition, education surveys show that only 16%of the existing school buildings are in good condition. This suggests a large need forrehabilitating and extending existing schools in order to increase enrollments. Therefore, theproject design will be flexible, allowing the construction of new schools or the rehabilitation/extension of existing schools, according to needs in the catchment areas.

-16-

Component 2. Quality improvement

* Providing demand-driven school grants. Providing a small project fund directly to schoolscould increase the incentive for schools and communities to undertake initiatives such as girls'attendance awards. However, this idea would require special implementation arrangements,such as the direct transfer of project funds from the central or regional Government to schools,as well as a mechanism for ensuring accountability. The idea was discarded because it did notmature in time to be included in the project design.

* Promoting multi-grade training. In remote rural schools, teachers may teach students ofdifferent grades in one classroom. However, institutionalizing multi-grade teaching willrequire special teacher training in addition to the planned in-service teacher training for thenew curriculum. Given that Yemen's education system has limited experience with multi-grade teaching, and most teachers are not well qualified and first need to be trained in basicteaching skills, the idea was not included in the teacher training program supported by theproject.

-17-

2. Major related projects financed by the Bank and other development agencies

Latest Supervision (Form 590)Sector issue Project Ratings

(Bank-financed projects only)

Implementation DevelopmentProgress (IP) Objective (DO)

Bank-financed education projectsIncreased access to basic education; and the Basic Education Project S Screation of a foundation for improving quality

Improved student learning outcomes, with Education Sector Investment S Semphasis on science and mathematics in Projectpreparatory and secondary education; increasedaccess to secondary education for girls throughincreased community participation; andestablishment of labor market-orientededucation programs

Improved supply and quality of secondary Secondary Teacher Training S Sschool teachers

Increased access to education services in rural Child Development Project n/a n/aareas; and strengthening of capacities at thesubnational level

Bank-financed related projectsExpansion and improvement of school Social Fund for Development I HS Sbuildings and facilities for basic education

Expansion of school buildings Public Works Project I & 11 S S

Public expenditure rationalization for key Public Sector Management S Ssectors including education Adjustment Credit

Creation of a modem public administration that Civil Service Modernization n/a n/aprovides public services in a transparent and Projectefficient manner

Other major development aeenciesNetherlands Cofinancing of IDA Basic n/a n/a

Iducation Project

UNICEF Area-based Projects; n/a n/aCommunity School Projects

Germany: KFW & GTZ School construction and/or n/a n/arehabilitation; communityflarticipation in Abyan and Ibb

Islamic Development Bank School construction and n/a n/a_r.habilitation

IP/DO Ratings: HS (Highly Satisfactory), S (Satisfactory), U (Unsatisfactory), HU (Highly Unsatisfactory)

3. Lessons learned and reflected in the project design

The following lessons were drawn from international (especially IDA) experience:

* The project design needs to be consistent with priorities in IDA's assistance strategy.This is one of the two main principles for improving IDA assistance to Yemen that theOperations Evaluation Department (OED) recommended in its review of IDA assistance toYemen up to 1996. The proposed project design directly addresses the education prioritiesidentified in the 1999 CAS and the Yemen Education Sector Assistance Strategy of 1999,i.e., improving access to and quality of basic education for girls.

-18-

* Adequate facilities are needed for increasing enrollment of girls. The poor condition ofschool facilities, including the lack of toilets and boundary walls, is a constraint for girlsattendance. The mid-term review of the Yemen Basic Education Project also found that alack of toilet facilities is one of the major constraints for girls to enroll in schools.

* Community participation increases the efficiency and effectiveness of educationprograms. Yemen's experiences with UNICEF, SFD, and PWP programs show thatconstruction costs can be reduced dramatically through community participation andcontributions. In addition, UNICEF- and GTZ-assisted programs provide evidence that agood partnership between communities and local administration (e.g., the district educationoffice) improves school management. Experience from Pakistan and other countries whichpromote girls' education also indicates that parents' involvement was important in girls'enrollment and improving the quality of education.

* Project design should be kept simple while management capacity in the sector is beingstrengthened. Recent IDA projects supporting Yemen's education sector have beenhampered in implementation and in meeting their development objectives by weakimplementation capacity in the sector. The project uses as simple a design as possiblewhile addressing the urgent priorities of improving access and quality and mainstreamingproject management into MOE. The project design includes strengthening the capacity ofMOE in these areas.

* Involvement of key stakeholders in project preparation and implementation improvesproject design and increases support for education. The Public Expenditure Review(PER) found that a lack of coordination among MOE Departments, as well as betweenMOE and donor-funded project management units, reduced the efficiency of investmentprograms (e.g., schools did not receive furniture or teachers on time, or schools were builttoo close to another school). Therefore, the project design includes the strengthening ofcoordination and cooperation among various stakeholders in basic education. BEEPpreparation missions have conducted wide ranging consultations, including meetings andworkshops with regional education administrators, school staff, communities, students andparents, and other concerned Ministries. In addition, other donors have been consulted onproject design through donor meetings, workshops, and individual interviews.

4. Indications of borrower commitment and ownership

The Government's commitment to and ownership of the project is extensive, given the effortsmade to: (a) initiate education policy and expenditure reforms as a framework for the projectconcept; and (b) develop the project components prior to appraisal.

(a) The basis for the project concept was laid by the Government as it developed and initiatededucation policy and expenditure reforms in the following processes:

* setting the institutional framework for universal access to basic education in the EducationLaw of 1992 and the Constitution;

* identifying basic education as a priority for Government and for IDA assistance during theparticipatory development of the CAS of 1999 and the Education Sector AssistanceStrategy of 1999. Both strategy papers were developed intensively with the Government.In particular, the education strategy paper was based on discussions and work with MOE

-19-

during project preparation and the education expenditure reviews. The draft strategy wasalso discussed at a donor meeting chaired by the Minister of Education; and

* preparing the Letter of Basic E,lucation Policies which summarizes the goals and policiesfor basic education.

(b) During project preparation, the Government, especially MOE, was intensively involved in:

* preparing building blocks for the project with the support of the Japanese PHRD grantfund, a PPF, and ongoing IDA projects. The main activities undertaken are: a change inthe MOE structure aimed at streamlining administration; school mapping of the targetedGovernorates; introducing a comprehensive Education Management Information System(EMIS), based on education surveys; development of software for the FinancialManagement Information System (FMIS) and initial training of personnel; and piloting ofcommunity-based female secondary schools;

* defining a project concept that would best achieve the proposed objective (increased girls'enrollment and retention in basic education) at several meetings and workshops thatincluded Central and Governorate MOE staff; and

* preparing the three project components. MOE managers provided comments andsuggestions on project components and activities. MOE has constituted preparation teamsfor each of the project's three components; the teams prepared the project for appraisal,with support from consultancies Funded under the PPF and from ongoing projects. For thecommunity participation component, MOE has staffed the newly-created CPU andassigned staff in the four pilot Governorates.

5. Value added of Bank support in this project:

IDA's substantial experience in the education sector of Yemen and other countries has allowed itto: (a) tap international and local experience in designing and implementing programs to improveaccess to and the quality of basic education, particularly for girls and underserved groups; (b) helpensure that system restructuring and reforms draw on international best practices and experienceand adapt these to local conditions; (c) draw on the experience of other sectors and agenciesregarding communityJNGO-Government partnerships; (d) provide analytical support to help theGovernment assess the cost-effectiveness of measures; (e) assist with linkages to the macro-fiscalframework and sustainability of the expenditure program for basic education; and (f) strengthencoordination among donors in terms of their assistance for basic education.

E: Summary Project Analysis: (detailed assessments are in the project file, see Annex 8)

1. Economic: (supported by Annex 4)

-...]Cost-Benefit Analysis: NPV=US$ million; ERR= %[ x ] Cost Effectiveness Analysis[ x ] Other (specify)

The economic soundness of the project design has been ensured in the following ways: (i) theproject includes efficiency and education expenditure reform measures which the Governmentidentified and initiated based on PERs conducted with IDA; overall, these measures would ensurefinancial sustainability of basic education expenditure; (ii) the two major subcomponents(classroom construction and in-service teacher training) have been designed on the basis of a

-20-

detailed cost-effectiveness analysis; and (iii) the capacity-building component has been designedon the basis of a detailed assessment of MOE's capacity to implement expenditure reformmeasures and cost-effective subcomponent designs in Sana'a Governorate.

2. Financial: (see Annex 5) NPV=US$ Million; FRR= %

The financial soundness of the project has been confirmed through two analyses: (i) a fiscal impactassessment of the project, at the macro level and in Sana'a Governorate, which updates the workdone for the PERs (1998 and 1999) in light of the ongoing formulation of the five-year educationplan with new sector data and project cost estimates; this assessment confirms that MOE'sincremental operating expenditures resulting from the project are sustainable; and (ii) anassessment of the financial management structure being prepared for the project, including workunderway for the development of a project financial management manual and an integratedcomputerized accounting and project reporting system.

3. Technical

The project was designed in cooperation with the relevant Government counterparts, donors (NL,Germany, UNICEF, Japan) and international and national consultants, and it draws on bestinternational and national practices. Each project component has been designed to be cost-effective, feasible, flexible, and sustainable. During project preparation, the implementationcapacity of Sana'a Governorate was assessed and taken into account in the design of the projectimplementation structure. While the project includes innovations in the decentralized mannerimplementation would be carried out, design of components is based on tested methods andpractices. Therefore, no major technical challenges are anticipated.

4. Institutional

4.1 Executing agencies:

MOE will be the executing agency for this project. The Ministry has experience with IDA-fundedprojects and is involved in the two ongoing education projects financed by IDA.

4.2 Project management:

Project management arrangements under the project will adopt new approaches to emphasizeMOE's governance of the project and capacity building and to be in line with its strategy indevolving implementation responsibilities to the regional levels. The project will be the first IDA-financed project in the country to embrace the recently reached agreement between theGovernment and IDA on principles governing project management units. Under these principles,the functions of these units and their staffing will be limited to assist the technical ministries inadministering the project, with stronger emphasis on capacity building within the ministries.

Accordingly, as a first step, MOE has already consolidated existing project management units, andhas designated one unit to manage all on-going IDA-funded education projects and BEEP's ProjectPreparation Advance. This unit is the Coordination Unit (CU) of the Education Sector InvestmentProject. In parallel, the CU functions are also being gradually reduced to the agreed core functionswhich are primarily of an administrative nature and will be eventually integrated in the CAU,established under the project, according to the principles indicated above. The CAU will be staffedwith seasoned personnel in the field of management, procurement, accounting/auditing and

-21-

statistics, with strong interpersonal and mentoring skills, so that it can contribute to buildingcapacity in project management in MOE. The CAU Director has been hired in July 2000 andassumed his functions. Hiring of other key staff is underway.

Capacity building, in particular at the Regional level, is a long process. There is a substantial riskthat the implementation of the project will encounter delays. To mitigate the risk, the CapacityBuilding Component supports developing MOE's skills in implementing, monitoring andevaluating education projects. The component also supports strengthening general projectmanagement skills related to computer skills, budgeting and accounting, and the use of projectmanagement tools. In 1999, MOE staff participated in a training session on financial managementand procurement which was organized by IDA, and it heightened the awareness of MOE staffregarding IDA's operating procedures. In addition, in March 2000, MNSHD, in collaboration withthe World Bank Institute (WBI), held a six-day workshop on project management for projectmanagement units staff, which was attended by 10 managers from the MOE.

4.3 Procurement issues:

Reflecting the project's approach of stronger MOE involvement in project implementation and ofgradual decentralization, both the Central and Governorate levels of MOE are involved inprocurement under the project, with a reduced role of the CAU compared to previous projects. Aprocurement assessment was conducted at the Central level of MOE and the Sana'a GovernorateEducation Office, i.e., the units implementing project activities in the first year, and concluded thatthe systems in place are adequate, with some weaknesses. To reduce related risks, the followingmeasures are being taken:

* standard designs for school construction have been developed and bidding documents, withbill of quantities which will be used by the Regional MOE offices;

* technical assistance will be provided for the design, preparation of bidding documents andsupervision of school rehabilitation and extension; and

* procurement training is being provided to MOE staff at the Regional level.

Since this procurement arrangement is new to education projects in Yemen, an assessment of theprocess will be carried out at the end of the first year of the project. This assessment will look atthe overall performance of the arrangement (e.g., that prototypes and standard bidding documentsare being used, that bid evaluation is carried out in an acceptable manner and in a reasonable timeframe, that the quality of construction and supervision is acceptable). Based on this assessment,the project's procurement arrangement will either continue or alternative arrangements will beagreed on.

4.4 Financial management issues:

Risks. The main risk is a weak control environment in which the philosophy of emphasizing asound financial management system and dedicated work ethics is not widespread. This risk maycompromise the economical and efficient use of the proceeds of the Credit. To mitigate this risk,several elements have been integrated in the financial management arrangements of the project: (i)centralization of management of IDA Credit proceeds in the CAU; (ii) staffing the CAU withpersonnel having adequate qualification and experience in the field of accounting/auditing; (iii)computerization of the project financial management system; and (iv) auditing of the system toensure reliability of financial informati3n before declaring the system apt to adopt PMR-disbursements.

Compliance with audit covenants. For the last two years, audits of IDA-financed projects ineducation have been carried out by independent auditors, acceptable to IDA. The reports havebeen submitted to IDA on time.

-22-

Flow of funds. The GOY will pass on the IDA funds to MOE, with the foreign exchange risk borneby GOY. Based on the project annual work programs and budgets, approved by the SteeringCommittee, GOY will allocate the counterpart funds for the project through budgetary allocationsto MOE. IDA funds are available to finance eligible expenditures through the Special Account,opened at the Central Bank of Yemen, or directly through the Credit.

5. Enviromental assessment: Environmental Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C

5.1. Summnarize the steps undertaken for environmental assessment and EnvironmentalManagement Plan (EMP) preparation (including consultation and disclosure) and the significantissues and their treatment emerging from this analysis.

The three main environmental issues relevant to the project are:

* site selection for rural schools for grades 1-6* water availability for hygienic purposes* operation and maintenance of schools, including sanitation facilities.

Several steps were undertaken during project preparation to address these environmental issues.

For site selection, environmental criteria were identified and incorporated into the projectimplementation plan (PIP), and included into the Environmental Management Plan (EMP). Theimpacts related to school construction are expected to be minimal, as the civil works are small inscope and consist of expansion at existing schools (usually 3-6 classrooms), or construction at newsites. Furthermore these schools will not house any laboratories or vocational facilities, andconsequently potential impacts related to use of chemicals or paints are eliminated. To mitigateany potential impacts, an EMP has been prepared, and is part of the PIP for Sub-Component 1.1:School Construction, Extension and Rehabilitation. MOE engineers, trained to be familiar withenvironmental issues in Yemen, will be part of the technical teams that will conduct field visits andevaluations for the remaining sites to be identified; their TORs will cover environmental aspects.

For the water availability issue, the project will include construction of toilet facilities for eachschool because this is crucial to retaining female students. However given the scarcity of water inYemen, 'dry toilets' (without water for flushing) have been selected as the standard toilet design.Water availability for washing of hands will be discussed with communities during the siteselection process for rural schools, and in locations where water supply for schools is not feasible,communities will make water available for hygiene purposes under Component 3: ConununityParticipation. The project will also assist the GOY to explore alternatives and options for theprovision of water for hygienic purposes in elementary schools.

Adequate operation and maintenance of school facilities after initial construction is a continuingissue. Community involvement will be a measure for ensuring adequate maintenance activities atrural schools, including maintenance of 'dry toilets', as is also the case in GTZ supported educationprojects in Yemen. In the second year of this project, financing will be provided to schools formaintenance activities as part of sub-component 1.2: School Maintenance Program.

-23-

5.2 What are the main features of the EMP and are they adequate?

The EMP focuses on potential impacts related to (a) site selection; (b) standard design andspecifications; and (c) construction. The site selection process includes criteria that wouldminimize some of the potential impact issues identified above. Other issues in connection withconstruction activities are treated with more detail in the EMP. These relate to safety, disposal ofdebris from construction sites, as well as sewage, drainage, and sanitation services at the sites.

The EMP has been reviewed and found adequate by IDA. The EMP has also been reviewed withthe Client at Negotiations.

5.3 For Category A and B projects, timeline and status of EA:

A separate EMP has been prepared and submitted to IDA for disclosure at the Bank InfoShop inearly June 2000. The EMP was also disclosed to the public in Yemen.

5.4 How have stakeholders been consulted at the stage of (a) environmental screening and (b)draft EA report on the environmental impacts and proposed environment management plan?Describe mechanisms of consultation that were used and which groups were consulted.

As described below in Sections 6.2 and 6.3, project preparation involved consultations withcommunities; and project implementatio:rl will continue to do so.

5.5 What mechanisms have been established to monitor and evaluate the impact of the projecton the environment? Do the indicators reflect the objectives and results of the EMP?

The MOE and its project management set-up will follow up on implementation of the EMP and theenvironmental issues outlined above. As a first step, a standard set of architectural drawings andspecifications for small rural schools have been agreed with IDA. During construction, MOE willensure that contractors follow instructions in the specifications and construction documents. Inaddition, IDA supervision missions will fDllow up with MOE on all the relevant issues.

6. Social

6.1. Summarize key social issues relevant to the project objectives, and specify the project'ssocial development outcomes.

The project design reflects the findings of several social assessments, including: socialassessments prepared for the Child Development Project; a local NGO's review of a small-scale,multi-Governorate survey of girls, parents, and community members as part of project preparation;and UNICEF studies on girls' education. 'The main recommendations of these assessments include:(a) increasing community participation, with attention being paid to the capacity of communities;(b) improving subnational education administration; and (c) addressing demand-side issues forgirls' education. The expected social development outcomes of the project are: (a) reduced gendergap in basic education through an increase in girls' enrollment; and (b) increased prospects ofsustainable education programs through increased community participation.

6.2. Participatory Approach: How are key stakeholders participating in the project?

The primary beneficiary group (rural children, particularly girls) has been represented by theirparents and by community groups (e.g., local councils and school committees) during visits tovillages by IDA preparation missions and by the Government field teams for selection of sites for

-24-

the first year's workplan. A local NGO, commissioned by MOE, also interviewed rural girls, theirparents, and community members in targeted districts. The project preparation team paid specialattention to ensure women in the communities are involved in consultations and in the preparationprocess. During the team's village visits, parents demonstrated cormnitment to educating theirchildren and did not object to girls' education in grades 1-6. Mothers expressed willingness to bearthe opportunity cost of their daughters going to school, and to collaborate with teachers and schoolmanagers in ensuring their daughters' attendance. Fathers were willing to commit to theconstruction of new schools through formation of councils and donation of land and buildingmaterials. School-age children, including young girls, also expressed a keen enthusiasm towardsschooling.

The project preparation team also consulted with school managers, teachers, local and regionaladministrators. These discussions yielded suggestions on how to improve schools and schoolmanagement, and were incorporated in the design of the project. Other key stakeholders, includingMOE staff of all levels, school principals, and teachers, have been actively involved in projectpreparation, participating in several consultation meetings and regional workshops. Central MOEstaff have collaborated with the project preparation team in developing the project design.Representatives from the Ministry of Planning and Development participated in all regionalworkshops, formal and informal discussions, and wrap-up meetings during each preparationmission; and the highly-capable Central Statistical Office assisted MOE in developing the EMISand the school mapping system as part of the project preparation activities. Governors andrepresentatives of Ministry of Finance were also significant partners in the development of theproject.

6.3. How does the project involve consultations or collaboration with NGOs or other civilsociety organizations?

MOE has consulted with national and international organizations (PWP, SFD and GTZ) on theirexperiences with community participation in education projects. Furthermore, SFD providedtraining for MOE staff in community participation approaches and SFD consultants accompaniedMOE teams in their field visits. Local NGOs, where available, will participate in mobilizing localcommunities to participate in site selection, school construction and maintenance.

6.4. What institutional arrangements have been provided to ensure the project achieves itssocial development outcomes?

MOE established a Community Participation Unit (CPU) with staff both at the Central andGovernorate levels. MOE will also strengthen its function for community participation activities atthe District level. On the demand side, CPU staff are assisting the target communities in formingcouncils to promote a sense of ownership and ensure community participation and management ofschools.

6.5. How will the project monitor performance in terms of social development outcomes?

The project will monitor social development outcomes in two ways: (i) regular project indicatormonitoring report (educational statistics), especially to observe changes in the gender gap inenrollment; and (ii) reports of field visits of CPU staff to project school sites before and after theconstruction.

-25-

7. Safeguard Policies

7.1 Do any of the following safeguard policies apply to the project?

Policy Applicability (Yes or No)X Environmental Assessment (OD 4.01)

Natural Habitats (OP/BP/ aP 4.04)Forestry (OP 4.36)Pest Management (OP 4.09)Cultural Property (OPN 1 L.03)Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20)Involuntary Resettlement ! OP 4.30)Safety of Dams (OP 4.37)Projects on International VWaterways (OP 7.50Projects in Disputed Areas (OP 7.60)

7.2 Describe provisions made by the project to ensure compliance with applicable safeguardpolicies.

The proposed project will follow the World Bank guidelines of OP 4.01 on environmentalassessment and will adhere to the requirements of the Government of Yemen for such projects, asoutlined in the Environmental Protection Law, No. 26 enacted by the Parliament in 1995 and in theNational Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) prepared by the Environmental Protection Council(EPC) in 1996.

The project will construct schools on lancl provided by the local community, by the Government ordonated irrevocably to the community, and during project preparation no other issues related to OD4.30 Involuntary Resettlement were identified. Accordingly OD 4.30 is not applicable to theproject.

F: Sustainability and Risks

1. Sustainability:

Institutional sustainability: Key elements for the institutional sustainability of the project are: (a)ownership of the program by MOE staff at all levels; (b) the building of implementation capacitywithin MOE; and (c) the participation of communities in the construction and management of theirschools. The project addresses all these aspects. MOE staff have actively been involved indesigning program elements and are committed to implementing them. The project will assist MOEin operationalizing the reform concepts and gradually strengthening the capacity at Central andRegional levels to effectively implement reforms and the agreed-upon annual work programs. Inaddition, the project will support building IMOE's capacity to mobilize communities and work withthem. Taken together, these elements will contribute to the strengthening of the institutional settingfor improving access to and the quality of education.

Financial sustainability: Projections done in the context of the PERs for education demonstrate theneed for additional funding for classroom construction, some of which this project will provide.The project represents about 16% of the annual investment program of MOE. As for recurrentexpenditures for basic education, the project impact is expected to be marginal, amounting to a0.1% increase in current education expenditure once the project is completed. The project does notrequire additional teachers; all the staffing needs could be met through redeploying existing MOE

-26-

staff, which the project will support. Budgetary requirements would increase to the extent thatmore teachers become eligible for rural allowances. O&M expenditure will create additionalpressure on Government' s education budget. However, projections show that, if measures to reduceinefficiencies were taken, the recurrent expenditure implications of an expanded basic educationsystem could be absorbed. Another key element of ensuring financial sustainability is thecommunities' support of school construction and maintenance activities. With continued strongimplementation of these measures, the fiscal sustainability of the program appears feasible.

2. Critical Risks: (reflecting assumptions in the fourth column of Annex 1)

Risk Risk Risk Minimization MeasureRating

From Outputs to Objective

Economic conditions may not allow the M Continuous policy dialogue in the PovertyGovernment to allocate adequate budget Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and PERresources to the education sector. context will seek to ensure that basic education

maintains its priority status.

Central authorities (e.g., MOF) and S The project design will be closely linked tolocal political leaders (e.g., Governors) ongoing efforts to modernize publicmay not commit to the timely approval administration, especially budget and financialand implementation of MOE's annual management.education plan and budget. Government's Letter of Basic Education

Policies provides commitment to resourceallocation.

Communities commitment to girls' S MOE has assigned community participationeducation may be low and communities staff to implement community mobilizationmay not keep girls in school. measures under the project. Girls' attendance

will be closely monitored and assessed in astudy before the mid-term review of theproject.

From Components to Outputs

MOE implementation capacity at H Extensive capacity development measures atGovernorate level may expand too MOE' s Sector of Projects, includingslowly to implement access component strengthening of M & E capacity.as planned.

-27-

~Risk RiskRikiniatnMesr

The new management structure and H Extensive TA is being provided to help buildapproach adopted by MOE for BEEP up capacity. Stocktaking at the end of first-may prove too demanding. year implementation also will allow

adjustments in structure and procedures, ifneeded.

Trained technical staff may not remain M Prior to training, agreement will be reachedin positions relevant to training. regarding placement of trained technical staff.

Overall Risk Rating S

Risk Rating - H (High Risk), S (Substantial Risk), M (Modest Risk), N (Negligible or Low Risk)

3. Possible Controversial Aspects:

The project activities which might include potentially controversial aspects are: (a) increasing theroles of female MOE staff and mothers in education programs; and (b) promoting strictredeployment and reducing supply-driven teacher hiring. Mechanisms to manage these potentialissues, while increasing public understanding of the reform programs are included in the capacity-building component.

G: Main Loan Conditions

1. Effectiveness Condition

* The CAU will establish a finamcial management system acceptable to IDA, that canprovide with reasonable assurance, accurate, and timely information on the sources anduses of funds for the project.

* Independent auditors acceptable to IDA for the project accounts of the project's first yearof implementation will be appointed.

2. Other

* Implement an annual program in line with policies described in the Letter of BasicEducation Policies.

* Annual MOE budget allocations :reflect agreed O&M requirements.

H: Readiness for Implementation

[V] 1. (a) Standard designs have been submitted.

(b) Standard bills of quanti.ties have been prepared based on the IDA-approvedstandard bidding documents for NCB.

[t] 2. Site selection is underway; the first year's sites (including communityendorsement) have been identified.

-28-

['I] 3. (a) A Project Implementation Plan (PIP) has been prepared and agreed.

(b) An operational manual has been prepared and agreed.

I: Compliance with Bank Policies

[X ] This project complies with all applicable Bank policies.[ ] The following exceptions to Bank policies are recommended for approval. The project

complies with all other applicable Bank policies.

4/F , 1 W --

Regina Bendokat VM, aiXeLockheed Jacq edouy Inder SudTeam Leader SeN Manager tor Director Country Director

-29-

Aniex 1: Project Design Summary

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

Hierareby of Objectives Key Perfo00rmnelIndicators Monitoring & CrtcalmA phis_ _ _ T5$ :j::: d: :j000Ljf jS :0:00j003Li0000000 L 0a:i0ij; Evaluation L;

Sector-related CAS Goal: Sector Indicators: Sectorl country (from Goal to Bankreports: Misfion)

1. Create an early stream Gross enrollment ratios (GERs) for MOE statistical The politicatof social benefits in girls and boys in ':asic education yearbook; enviromnent willeducation which directly National Census remain stable.address poverty andstrengthen overalldevelopment capacity

2. Create a modem Improved structure of MOE Annual investmentpublic administration expenditure programs budget book;

public expendituremonitoring

Project Development Outcome / Impact Indicators: Project reports: (from Objective toObjective: Goal)

Increase the enrollments ... There will be spilloverofnmrease theienrollents 1. Increased GER for girls in grades 1-6 EMIS and MOE erets be sproverof rural children, in participating Governorates statistical effects to non-projectespecially girls, in grades yearbook districts in the1-6 education of adequate participatingquality in 4 Governorates 2. Increased enrollments of children in Evaluation study Governorates, resulting

grades 1-6 by 30% in about 20 focus in 3rd and 5th year in increased overalldistricts of project. enrollment

3. Girls' share in increased enrollments Semi-annualis at least 60% in the focus districts project

performancemonitoring report

Note: The ongoingschool survey199912000 willprovide baselinedata.

30

Herrchy of Objectives Key Performce Indicators Monitoring & Critical AssumptionsEvaluation

Output from each Output Indicators: Project reports: (from Outputs toComponent: Objective)

I. Increased number of 1.1.1 About 2,100 additional classrooms Governorate MOE Economic conditions willclassrooms available for rural for grades 1-6 in rural under-served annual statistics allow the Government tochildren, especially girls, to catchment areas (about 360 new schools allocate adequateenroll in grades 1-6 in focus and 160 extended schools) MOE semi-annual resources to the educationdistricts 1.1.2 About160ruralbasicschools follow-up report sector.

rehabilitated in under-served catchmentrehabilitate in under-served catchment Semi-annual project Central authonties (e.g.,

areas performance MOF) and local political

1.1.3 All schools built and rehabilitated indicators leaders (e.g., Governors)under the project have toilet facilities. monitoring report will commit to the timely

1.1.4 Agreed criteria and procedures for approval]andselection of location and standard design annual education planningfor schools are used in focus districts andabudgting.

and budgeting.1.2 A mechanism for routine schoolmaintenance is developed and operational Implementation capacity

of MOE at Governoratelevel is adequate.

Communities'commitment to girls'education will remainhigh.

Teachers who are trainedwill remain and teach attheir rural posts.

2. Improved quality of rural 2.1.1 80% of teachers in grades 1-6 in Same as output Ibasic schools, especially for have participated in annual refreshergrades 1-6, in the four project trainingGovernorates 2.1.2 80% of inspectors and

headmasterslheadmistresses haveparticipated in 3-week training programs

2.1.3 80% of schools in the 4Govemorates receive regular supervisionat least three times per year

2.1.4 Implementation of the teacherredeployment and hiring plan issatisfactory

2.2.1 All project classrooms (about2,600) have agreed set of basic schoolfturniture

2.2.2 All students in schools constructedor rehabilitated (about 90,000) by theproject are provided with agreed basiclearning materials

31

3. Strengthened capacity of 3.1.1 Agreements with communities on Reviews ofMOE and communities to their contribution; to construction have implementationefficiently and sustainably been implementecl capacity (to beimplement basic education 3.1.2 50% of prject schools have active supported underprograms in the four project unity participation in school component 3)Governorates

management (e.g., routine school

maintenance) Site visit reports

3.2 Satisfactory quality of annualeducation plan ancl follow-up reports, Annual educationusing EMISlFMIS/school mapping plans MOE semi-database annual follow-up

3.3 Satisfactory implementation of the reports

agreed BEEP annual workplan Project progress

reports

H iUerarchy of Objectives Key Performance Indicators Mouitorii'g & Critcl AssUmptiOns

Project Components / Sub- Inputs: (budget for each component) Project reports: (from Components tocomponents: Outputs)1. Expansion of access US$43.6 million Monthly MOE implementation1.1 School construction, disbursement capacity at Govemorateextension, and rehabilitation summary level will be adequate for1.2 School maintenance implementing Accessprogram Quarterly Component.

implementationmonitoring report: The new management1. Progress report structure and approach2. Financing adapted by MOE forstatement BEEP proves workable.

3. Procurementmanagement report Trained technical staff

Sem-&annual project will remain in positionssupervision reporot relevant to their training.

Annual audit reports

Site visit reports

Studies/reviews tobe funded under theproject

2. Quality improvement US$11.2 million2.1 Improving teacher skillsand deployment2.2 Supplying fumiture andclassroom kits to schools3. Capacity building US$7.8 million3.1 Communityparticipation3.2 Planning, monitoring,and evaluation3.3 Support for projectmanagement

32

Annex 2: Detailed Project Description

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

The development objective of the project is to increase enrollments of rural children, especially girls, inthe first six years of basic education of adequate quality. This objective is expected to be achieved by thefollowing three outputs: (i) an increased number of classrooms available in remote rural areas so thatchildren, especially girls, may enroll and complete the first six years of basic education; (ii) improvedquality of the resources (including teachers) available at schools, which would contribute to enrollmentand retention of students, especially girls, in basic education; and (iii) strengthened management capacityof education, including community participation, which would improve the efficiency and sustainabilityof programs that seek to improve access to and quality of basic education. To this end, the projectsupports the implementation of the policies summarized in the Government's Letter of Basic EducationPolicies and in the annual workplans.

The project will be implemented in four Governorates in which the net enrollment ratio for girls is lowestand school mapping has been done; these are: Amran, Al-Daleh, Al-Mahweet, and Sana'a. This groupincludes both large and small Govemorates, and two of them were newly established in 1998. Nearly 20percent of Yemen's population of basic school age reside in these Governorates. While the qualitycomponent will be initiated simultaneously in all four Governorates, the access component will be phasedin more gradually, to ensure that implementation capacity for a decentralized approach is adequate. In thefirst year, school construction will commence in four districts of Sana'a Governorate, selected on thebasis of a low basic enrollment rate for girls: Safan, Bilad Al-Roos, Nehm, and Al-Himah Al-Karijah.Based on the first-year experience, implementation will be extended gradually to the other threeGovernorates.

By Component:

Project Component 1 - US$43.6 million (of which US$37.7 million IDA)

Expansion of Access

The access component is expected to increase the number of classrooms available for grade 1-6 students,especially for girls, in about 20 focus districts (one third of the districts) of the four Governorates through:(i) construction of 3- or 6-classroom schools with toilets and boundary walls; (ii) addition of classroomsto existing schools (about 2,100 new classrooms); (iii) rehabilitation of serviceable schools (with about480 classrooms); (iv) routine maintenance of schools; and (v) strengthened capacity of MOE forimplementing access programs. These classrooms will be used for grades 1-6, with up to 40 students perclass (of whom about 60 percent will be girls). The classrooms will also be used for double shifts, wherepossible. The allocation between types of construction and per district will be flexible and defined on ayearly basis. The access component will be implemented by applying the following policy reformmeasures: (a) efficient and demand-based selection of school sites, using the school mapping databaseestablished in 1999 and community participation; (b) cost-effective school designs, using standarddesigns adapted to local conditions; and (c) an efficient use of classrooms, expanding double-shift use ofclassrooms.

33

Subcomponent 1.1. School construction, extension, and rehabilitation

This subcomponent will provide funds for construction, extension and rehabilitation of small schools forgrades 1-6 in underserved rural areas. To meet the varying enrollment needs of the districts, the standarddesign has two capacity variants: one with classrooms sized for 30 students (BEEP's Model 1) and thesecond with classrooms sized for 40 students (BEEP's Model 2). MOE already set up access teams inSana'a Governorate. The team consists of staff of the Sector of Project and the Community ParticipationUnit. Based on an agreed school mappin,g assessment methodology, the Governorate access team willidentify priority catchment areas and the scope of work for the following year's access program in eachfocus district. The final selection of a catchment area, site, and type of work will be based on a field visitof the Governorate access team. It will undertake a physical needs assessment and a communityassessment.

Site selection procedures have been tested in one of the focus districts in Sana'a Governorate for the firstyear (Al Haimah Al Kharijiya District) and are being applied to the other three Districts. The proceduresstart with a preliminary selection using the school mapping database, including data available mainlyfrom annual education surveys, the school mapping survey 1998/99, geographical information, and thepopulation census 1994. This selection is then assessed by field visits of a team comprising an engineerand a community participation staff from tlhe Governorate Education Office, and a representative of theDistrict Education Office. Site selection criteria, a standard composition of a field team, and its TORshave been agreed.

This subcomponent will also provide funds for building management capacity of MOE forimplementation of construction/rehabilitation programs at all levels of its administration. The scope ofactions will be defined on a yearly basis acc ording to results of the MOE capacity assessment, for whichcomponent 3.3 will provide technical assistance.

First year activities. This subcomponent will support in four Districts: (a) construction of 20 three-classroom and 20 six-classroom schools with toilets and boundary walls; (b) addition of 3-classrooms to 8existing schools; and (c) rehabilitation of 8 serviceable schools.

MOE has prepared an initial list of about 40 sites for the first project year for construction of new schoolsand a standardized bid package for each of the four design variants of new schools. Sana'a Governorate'sEducation Office Projects Sector (SGEOPS) will make minor adaptations to these packages to reflectcharacteristics of the selected sites for implementation in the first year. These adaptations would bereviewed by IDA. SGEOPS needs to coraplete the adaptations to the bid packages prior to BEEPeffectiveness to permit the bidding procedures to be started soon thereafter. Detailed design andsupervision of the school extension/rehabilitation would be carried out by independent consultant firms,based on agreed TORs.

For capacity building, this subcomponent will also support: (a) technical assistance for: review andimplementation of site selection criteria and guidelines, review of school design standards, supervision ofaccess programs, and preparation of programs in the other three Govemorates; (b) field visits for finalselection of sites for the second-year's programs; and (c) workshops for access programs at the Centrallevel and in Sana' a Governorate.

Subcomponent 1.2. School maintenance program

This subcomponent will provide funds for the implementation of cost-effective maintenance and repairmethods, which will, over time, reduce the need for costly rehabilitation. This subcomponent will alsoprovide funds for building management capacity of MOE for implementation of routine school

34

maintenance programs at all levels of administration. The scope of actions will be defined on a yearlybasis according to results of the MOE capacity assessment.

First year activities. This subcomponent will be prepared during the first year of the project and will bebased upon the O&M study (expected to be completed later this year); and implementation will begin inthe second year.

Project Component 2 - US$11.2 million (of which US$10.7 million IDA)

Quality Improvement

The quality component is expected to improve the learning environment of rural basic schools, especiallyfor grades 1-6 in the four project Governorates through: (i) in-service training of teachers; (ii) training ofinspectors and headmasters/headmistresses; (iii) supervision support to teachers; (iv) teacher deployment;and (v) adequate provision of furniture and educational materials for students/teachers.

The inputs of the quality component will be implemented in the context of the following policy reforms:(a) introduction of the new curriculum, which aims to change the teaching methodology to a moreinteractive approach, starting September 2000 (new curriculum and textbook revision are funded underthe ongoing Basic Education Project); (b) cost-effective in-service teacher training (the approach has beendeveloped under the Basic Education Project); (c) continued implementation of the Teacher's Law (1998),which aims to improve the deployment of teachers to rural areas and link remuneration to performance;and (d) an increased operations budget for teacher training and school supervision.

Subcomponent 2.1 Improving teacher skills and deployment

This subcomponent will support in-service teacher training, inspector training, school supervision, andreforms in teacher deployment in the four project Governorates. These inputs are provided in asystematic and coordinated manner at the Governorate level in order to build synergy and enhance theimpact of each of the interventions. In preparation for the introduction of the new curriculum, the MOE isproviding a 5-day orientation training to all teachers for grades 1-6 starting in August 2000 with fundingfrom the Basic Education Project. In addition, the Basic Education Project is also funding audio-visualequipment for the Central In-service Teacher Training Institute (ITTI), 20 Regional ITTIs and 200district-level teacher training centers (TTC) to enhance in-service teacher training capacities. Most of thedistrict-level TTCs are one or two rooms at schools in central locations of the districts. Thissubcomponent will build on these efforts of the Basic Education Project.

(a) Annual refresher teacher training: There will be a 5-day annual refresher training for all grades 1-6 teachers in the project Governorates prior to the start of each school year. This training isdesigned to refresh teachers' skills, primarily on pedagogical practices and alert them toupdates/changes on textbooks or teacher's guides. The training programs will be delivered atdistrict-level TTCs and will make use of the audio-visual equipment available at these centers.The project will support TA required to prepare and help deliver updated refresher trainingcourses each year.

(b) Two-three day annual teacher training: Teachers in the project Governorates will be offered a 2-3day training module annually in teaching domains that they need improvement in as assessed byinspectors and headmasters and as requested by teachers themselves. These modules will bedelivered at the district-level TTCs. Teacher Training Centers will schedule training. Some of themodules required for this training have already been developed by the MOE but others will bedeveloped with TA support during the first half of 2001 and updated in subsequent years.

35

(c) Inspectors, headmasters/headmistresses training: All inspectors, headmasters, and deputyheadmasters will be provided wit:h a 3-week training on supporting and mentoring teachers,assessing their performance and areas for improvement, and providing constructive feedback.The training, which will be held at the Regional ITTIs, will also include sub-modules insupervision and school management for inspectors and headmasters/headmistresses. The MOEhas developed modules that could be used in this training program; TA will be provided duringthe first half of 2001 to consolidate and finalize the training modules and materials. The trainingwill be conducted during the first summer, prior to the start of the refresher training of teachers.In addition, inspectors and headmasters/headmistresses will also take a follow-up annual trainingof up to 5 days at the Regional I`17Is. The inspectors and headmasters/headmistresses will alsobe encouraged to make use of the district-level TTC facilities on a continuous basis.

(d) Supervision Support: Trained inspectors will support teachers in the project Governorates throughfeedback on their teaching performance in consultation with school headmasters/headmistresses.Inspectors will visit each school ir the project Governorate every alternate academic month (4times per school year). The project will provide funds for transportation and related costs.Inspectors will be paid on the basis of their supervision reports and a stamp from the schoolsvisited. The supervision reports will be filed in the Governorate offices and will be used forvarious administrative purposes, including performance-based remuneration and teacherdeployment. TA will be provided for developing detailed mechanisms for supervision andlinkages to the teacher training programs. Supervision support will be piloted in Sana'aGovernorate starting in academic year 2001 and will be expanded to other Governorates only onthe basis of positive results. The sub-component will be carefully evaluated during the Mid-termReview.

(e) Teacher deployment and hiring plan: BEEP will support: (i) the formulation of a national teacherdeployment and hiring plan on the basis of the agreed criteria; (ii) monitoring of theimplementation in the project Governorates, especially in the focus Districts; and (iii) annualreviews of the experiences to update the criteria and implementation/monitoring mechanism. Itwill fund TA and workshops. The implementation and monitoring will also be supported byactivities discussed above such as training inspectors and headmasters/headmistress andstrengthening supervisions of schools. It will be also expected to utilize the MIS strengthenedunder subcomponent 3.2.

Subcomponent 2.2. Supplying Furniture antd Educational Materials

This subcomponent will support the provision of furniture and educational materials to schools that arenewly built or rehabilitated under the project.

(a) Furniture: All classrooms built or rThabilitated by the project will be furnished. The agreedstandard requirements of school furniture will be supplied with the completion of civil works.

(b) Educational materials: All students in schools builtlrehabilitated by the project will receive abasic kit of pencils, notebooks, erasers, and pencil sharpeners. These will be provided asincentives for parents to send their children to school. Since project schools will be built inhighly disadvantaged areas, where parents are poor and have difficulty paying for basic schoolsupplies for children (evidence from social assessments and numerous anecdotes suggests thatparents have difficulty paying the YER 150 or US$1 annual fees to schools); these kits willprovide essential incentives at aboult US$1.5 per child per year. Supervision of schools(supported under subcomponent 2.1.) will ensure that these kits reach the students. The sub-component will be phased in when school construction and furniture delivery are completed.

36

However, the provision of these kits will be phased out as MOE is able to facilitate resourceallocations for educational supplies for highly disadvantaged areas. Community initiatives mayalso be able to raise funds for buying these essential learning materials for disadvantagedchildren. The sub-component will be carefully evaluated during the MTR and alternativemethods of financing explored.

First-year activities. BEEP will support: (a) annual refresher teacher training in the four projectGovernorates in the summer of 2001; (b) annual 2-3 day teacher training in Sana'a Govemorate; (c)training of all inspectors and headmasters in Sana'a Governorate; (d) supervision support in Sana'aGovernorate; (e) monitoring and review of the teacher redeployment and hiring plan 2000/01 for Sana'aGovernorate and preparation of the plan 2001/02 for the four project Governorates; and (f) provision offurniture and educational materials as civil works are completed and schools become operational in theinitial four Districts of Sana'a Governorate. For capacity building, this sub-component will support TAfor review and revision of training modules/programs, teacher deployment plan, and supervisionmechanisms and linkages with teacher training programs.

Project Component 3 - US$7.8 million (of which US$7.6 million IDA)

The capacity building component is expected to strengthen the capacity of MOE to efficiently andsustainably implement the project and basic education reforms, especially in the four Governorates. It willstrengthen the capacity of MOE for: (i) increasing community participation; (ii) preparing educationalstatistics and monitoring; (iii) implementing access programs; (iv) implementing quality programs; and(v) project management in terms of regulatory frameworks, business guidelines, staffing, skills,management information, and management equipment and facilities.

Subcomponent 3.1. Community Participation

This subcomponent will provide funds for building management capacity for community participation. Acommunity participation unit (CPU) was established within MOE in December 1999 consisting of fourstaff (male and female) at the Central MOE, four in Sana'a Governorate, and two in each of the otherGovernorates. The role of the CPU is: (a) to ensure community participation in all activities of the MOEthrough collaboration with the various sectors and departments in MOE at the Central, Governorate andDistrict levels; (b) to involve communities (men, women and children) in addressing their educationalneeds through commitment and contribution; and (c) to help communities in helping themselves bybuilding capacity, encouraging team work and promoting a sense of ownership.

The CPU will prepare annual work programs, in coordination with other concerned departments, foractivities to increase community participation in education programs, including: (a) communityassessment and mobilization for access programs, with the aim to increase community participation in: (i)decisions of the location and design of new classrooms or schools; (ii) construction supervision activities;(iii) contribution for school construction and rehabilitation; (b) community mobilization for operationsand maintenance for schools, with the aim to increase community participation in school management andcontributions for school routine maintenance, educational classroom kits, and innovative programs forgirls education such as provision of transportation for girls; and (c) information dissemination to increasethe knowledge and awareness of all stakeholders regarding the role of communities in basic educationreforms and their experiences. The CPU staff will guide other concerned staff at all levels in theimplementation of these activities.

This subcomponent will provide: (a) technical assistance for: reviewing, developing and/or revising theimplementation guidelines and action plans for community participation activities; and facilitatingimplementation of action plans; (b) 3-day Central and Governorate level workshops to train MOE staff on

37

visits to construction sites and schools; and (e) funds for community mobilization activities such asworkshops, meetings and printing materials.

First year activities. This subcomponent will target four Districts in Sana'a Govemorate for ensuringcommunity participation in the implementation of school construction and rehabilitation. It will alsotarget a few Districts in each of the four project Govemorates for mobilizing communities in selection ofnew sites for the second year's implementation. The activities will include visits to the identified sites tomobilize the target communities, assist them in organizing councils or committees, and ensure theimplementation of communities' agreements. Training activities will include: a workshop for CentralMOE staff for mainstreaming CPU activities within MOE; a workshop for CPU staff at the Central,Governorate and District levels; and a workshop for representatives from the communities (NGOs,councils, informal associations). Technical assistance for the design, implementation and evaluation ofCPU activities will also be provided at the Central, Govemorate and District levels. Technical Assistancewill also be provided for developing bylaws for the CPU. The CPU will also promote awareness about itsfunctions within MOE, and the importance of community participation in MOE activities. This willinclude awareness campaigns, seminars and workshops for MOE staff.

Subcomponent 3.2. Planning, monitoring., and evaluation

This subcomponent will provide funds for improving the management capacity of MOE for: (a)implementing the routine annual school survey; (b) planning and follow-up on the implementation ofpolicies and workplans through preparing and analyzing educational indicators; and (c) utilizing themanagement information and communication system for planning and decision-making. Thissubcomponent will support the overall improvement of education data collection and utilization and theintensive effort in the project Govemorates.

(a) Routine annual school survey. MOE will implement annual school surveys. MOE will publishthe results in annual education statistical yearbooks for dissemination and make the data availablein the computerized MIS at the Central level and in the project Governorates. The project willsupport technical assistance for reviewing and proposing necessary changes with respect to thecoverage, quality, implementation procedures, and costs. The project will also supportimplementation of the survey, including: workshop and other non-personnel costs for improvingthe capacity of Govemorate staff, District staff, school principals, and teachers for collecting andreporting accurate school data and the capacity of central and Governorate staff for organizingand reporting the results. The scope of IDA assistance will be reduced as MOE improves itscapacity.

(b) Annual education plan and follow-up. The MOE statistics and planning team will prepare annualeducation plan and follow-up reports of education indicators according to annually agreedstandards with respect to the coverage and quality. The follow-up reports will be prepared twiceper year, including: (a) annual assessment of education outcomes (e.g., number of enrollments);and (b) annual monitoring of achievements of access, quality, and capacity building programs(outputs) such as classrooms built and teachers trained. The Central MOE planning team willorganize planning/follow-up workshops yearly at the Central level and in the projectGovemorates. The project will also provide technical assistance to a central planning team forrevising the monitoring guideline and designing workshops.

(c) Management information system. MIOE will implement an MIS strategy by upgrading andupdating computerized key databases and increasing the effective use of MIS for policy planningand monitoring, especially: (a) school mapping database in selecting school sites; (b)teacher/personnel database in preparing a teacher deployment and hiring plan; and (c) financialdatabase in reporting actual MOE expenditures. The MIS strategy and action plan for the central

38

database in reporting actual MOE expenditures. The MIS strategy and action plan for the centralMOE and Sana'a Govemorate have been developed and started implementation under theongoing Education Sector Investment Project. Implementation under BEEP will begin in thesecond year. BEEP will support the implementation at the Central MOE and in projectGovernorates by provision of technical assistance for review and revision of the MIS strategy foreducation management (e.g., utilization of database, organizational responsibilities for updatingand sharing data, staff skills, tool requirements), workshops at the Central and Governoratelevels, and software/equipment.

First year activities. (a) implementation of the Routine Annual School Survey 2000/01; (b) follow-upand evaluation of the annual plan 2001 for Sana'a Govemorate; and (c) preparation of the 2002 plan forthe four project Governorates. The action plan of the management information flow strategy will besupported under the ESIP for the Central MOE and Sana'a Govemorate.

Subcomponent 3.3. Project management and coordination

This subcomponent aims to ensure that project activities are executed and managed in an efficient mannerwithin the scope and objectives of the project. Resources and staff will be available to ensure a successfulexecution of BEEP, as follows: (i) technical assistance to strengthen project implementation capacity ofMOE; (ii) technical assistance for semi-annual supervision; (iii) the establishment of a creditadministration unit (CAU), to assist the MOE in developing annual work plans and coordinating day-to-day operation of BEEP; (iv) training MOE's staff in project management, including training in computerskills, accounting, and IDA's procurement and financial procedures; (v) necessary equipment for the CAUand the Govemorate offices involved in the implementation of BEEP; and (vi) operational costs,including annual audit cost.

Table 1: Regional scope of interventions by subcomponent

Focus districtActivities Project Non-project Governorate National

______________________ schools schools levelConstruction/rehabilitation XSchool routine maintenance X X,Trainig of teachers x

Supervision of schools X!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. ._._ ....__.__..__...-----....... ___._. _._._.___._._._._._._._._........ ....... ...... .. ___,.__._, _.._._._.Z._. ............ ... .._ .......... .... ._ ._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._ __.__..

, Cssro kits X ,. _. . ... ~~~~~~~~~~~......._. ._._.. ........ ... . ....... ... .. ............ .. .... .............. . .. .. ............ .. .... .... ........ ..... ............ ............ ... Conmmunity participation field visits X ............. ....... ..... ..

Community participation capacity building X XEducation monitoring X X X

39

Annex 3: Estimated Project Costs

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

Project Cost By Component Local IForegnTotal

, ,~~~~~~~~~~~._. _ _....... __._-_ .... ------ ---- -- -- ---- ..........t_. _..Lo aF re g I T t l i___ Proiect_Cot pBy_Compoent I Us$ million US$ million US$ million,1. Expansion of Access 22.7 16.2 38.92. Quality Improvement . 6.5 _ 3.3 9.83. Capacity Building _ 3.0 4.0 7.0Total Baseline Cost 32.2 23.5 55. 7Physical Contingencies 1.4 1.2 2.6Price Contingencies _2.5_ __1.8 4.3__

Total Project Costs i 36.1 26.5 62.6Total Financing Required 36.1 26.5 62.6

40

Annex 4

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

Economic Analysis

The economic soundness of the project design is ensured by: (i) basing the project concept on the CountyAssistance Strategy (CAS, 1999) and sector work, especially the Public Education Expenditure Review(PER, 1999) and the Education Sector Assistance Strategy (ESAS, 1999); (ii) selecting cost-effectiveoptions for the two major sub-components--classroom construction and in-service teacher training; (iii)including implementation of key education policy and expenditure reform measures aimed at fiscalsustainability; and (iv) strengthening institutional capacity.

I. Project based on CAS and ESAS

The objective of the project-increase the enrollments of rural children, especially girls, in grades 1-6-isconsistent with one of the four CAS objectives, the creation of an early stream of social benefits whichdirectly address poverty. The project also supports capacity building of MOE and communities to ensuresustainability of the project and efficiency of public expenditure, addressing another CAS objective-thecreation of a modem public administration.

The project also reflects strategic directions in the ESAS: (i) reorienting new lending programs toward thefirst stage of basic education; (ii) restructuring supervision for results, which is reflected in a stronglinkage between ongoing IDA projects and the BEEP; and (iii) supporting policy reforms, which isreflected in the design of project components.

Poverty reduction, the central goal of the CAS, is supported by the project through: targeting grades1-6 of basic education, rural children, girls, and under-served Governorates and districts. The expectedoutcome of the project (increased enrollments in focus districts by 30%) would contribute to increasingthe overall gross enrollment ratio in grades 1-6 of basic education. To increase the gross enrollment ratiofrom 70% in 1998/99 to 80% in 2004/05, enrollment would increase by nearly 20%, from 2.2 million in1998/99 to 2.6 million in 2004/05. While four Governorates are currently close to the target, theremaining Governorates require special attention. The project has selected four Govemorates amongthose that have low enrollment ratios for girls.

The project targets four Governorates including nearly 20% of school-aged population and 370,000students in grades 1-6. The project will focus on one-third of the 55 districts of the four Govemorates (20Districts) which provide the least access to basic education for girls. The selection of Districts requiresstrong coordination among all agencies involved in school construction. For example, the SFD targetsunder-served Districts nationwide and the Child Development Project also targets 30 Districts in 9Governorates. District selection for BEEP will take into account interventions by other agencies as wellas information from the school mapping exercise.

The project would provide additional school places for nearly 80,000 rural children in the focus Districtsby constructing 2,100 new classrooms and associated basic facilities. In addition, the project would addschool places for 16,000 children by rehabilitating existing schools to improve the capacity of about 500classrooms. The effectiveness coefficient of an additional school place to enrollment is assumed to behigh (0.8) for this project since the project includes measures such as community participation and schoolquality improvement. Therefore, the project is expected to increase enrollments in 20 focus Districts by30%. At least 60% of them are assumed to be girls.

41

The project is also expected to have spillover effects on enrollment increases and girls' participation innon-focus Districts of pilot Governorates through capacity building of central and Governorate MOE.With a modest estimate of 10%, enrollment increase in the remaining 35 Districts, enrollment in the pilotGovernorates would increase by 20%, resulting in an increase of the enrollment ratio by 10%.

II. Project supports cost-effective approaches

For two major sub-components of the project-school construction and in-service teacher training - thedesigns are selected on the basis of cost-effectiveness analysis.

Cost-effective construction of rural schools for girls in grades 1-6. To increase availability and use ofschool places in rural areas, the design of the component addresses two key elements:

(a) Low cost of classroom. The cost per classroom ranges from US$5,000 to US$30,000 amongprojects being implemented in Yemen (see Table A.4. 1). The cost difference is mainly explainedby school design, type of construction (i.e., construction of a new school or extension), andadministration procedures. Classrooms built under the SFD represent the low-cost end of therange, applying low-cost design, community participation through land donations and othercontributions, intensive supervision of project site, and a streamlined payment system.Classrooms built under the PWP and the UNICEF Area-Based Program also provide evidencethat community participation is a critical element to lower the construction cost.

(b) High probability of impact on girls' enrollments. The average size of classrooms for grades 1-6 is29.25 sq.m in Yemen, which is expected to accommodate about 40 students. MOE and otherconcerned agencies/donors suggest that better coordination and information sharing regardinglocation decision would result in reducing duplication of efforts for expanding schools andincreasing the impact of new classrooms on enrollment increases. Feedback from concernedofficials indicates a high probability that at least 50% of students in the new classroom would begirls, provided the project has design features such as community participation and schoolactivities targeted to girls.

The construction program of the BEEP is being designed applying elements to increase its cost-effectiveness discussed above: (a) low-cost school design based on the agreed standard arearequirements; (b) data-based school site identification; (c) community participation in confirnmingappropriateness of site and school design for girls; (d) community contribution to school construction; (e)decentralized and streamlined supervision of the construction program; and (f) provision of furniture tonew classrooms. The classroom cost per square meter is estimated at US$150.

Cost-effective in-service teacher training for rural schools. The in-service teacher training componentof BEEP builds on work being done under the ongoing BEP. BEP will finance the initial orientation ofteachers required to introduce the new curricula for grades 1-6. BEEP will finance the continuing trainingfor teachers. The objective of training programs selected for further cost-effectiveness analysis is torefresh knowledge and pedagogy of grades 1-6 teachers. The elements of training approaches which couldaffect the cost and scale of outputs are analyzed, by reviewing programs and training facilities available inYemen and other countries' experiences (see Tables A4.2a and A4.2b).

(a) Feasible recurrent and investment requirements. The difference in costs of in-service teachertraining is mainly explained by costs of travel, accommodation, and international technicalassistance. While a central-based training would have a large class size (lower instructor cost pertrainee), the travel and accommodation costs would reduce the benefit from the economics of

42

Table A4.1: Data for cost-effective analysis of classroom construction for girls

ProbabilityProject name Average Average Average Average I .Supervision Community Specific activity to Specific activity to that at lat

(major number of number of cost ($) per construction 2. final participation and ensure availability of ensure availability of 50%financier) classrooms students per classroom2 period approval for contribution furnliture and teachers and O&M for of students in

and key classroom (per rn2) payment to equipnment for new new classrooms newfacilities (ma) contractors classrooms classrooms

are girls 3'

ESIP 12 50 7000 15 month 1. MOE Land, list of girls to The project provides The project facilitates High

(IDA) Lab, (38.95 m2) ($170-180) 2. MOF be students in new furniture and communityWall, schools, identified equipment participation programSanitary local females to teach for identification of

in new schools female teachers

BEP 4 40 Low: 12 month 1. MOE Not specific The project provides Agreement with MOE High

(IDA/NL) Wall (34.45 m2 ) 12,000 2. MOF furniture and on allocation of femaleHigh: equipment teachers to new15,503 schools($ 188) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

PWP 3 40 Low: 8-10 1. PMU Proposals for projects Coordinate with SFD No Low(IDA) (29.25 in2 ) 5,558 month 2. MOF Contributions of

High: more than 5% of theLi 7,605 total costs

_________________________($170) ________ _______________SFD 3 40 Low: 7 1. Consultants Community The project provides The project facilitates Medium

(IDA) (29.25 m2) 3,949 month as project proposals for sub- fumiture/ equipment formulation of O&MHigh: manager & projects for some schools committees for new6,435 SFD Provision of land, (depend on proposals). schools($163) 2. SFD Sign up other

contribution beforetender

ABP N/A. Q 40 Low: 7 1. Consultant Facilitator for The program provides The program provides High

(UNICEF) (30.4 in 2) 3,333 month as project comrmunity furniture and school UNICEF school kitsHigh; manager & mobilization is media for some for some schools5,185 MOE located in program schools($110-171) 2. UNICEF sites

MOE- 3 40 Low: 24 1. Central Not specific Coordinate with Coordinate with Low

Central (29.25 m2) 16,341 month MOE: concemed MOE concemed MOE

(GOY) High: 2. MOF offices offices25,982 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

MOE- 3 40 Low: 24 I.Govemorate Not specific Coordinate with Coordinate with Low

Govemorate (29.25 m2 ) 14,109 month 2.MOF concerned MOE concerned MOE(GOY) High: offices offices

39,757

Sources: Unit cost per square neter for IDA projects come from CPPR December 1998, PAD of CDP, MOE, CU for ESIP.Notes: Costsarebasedonacmtalin 1997 orearly 1998. For MOE projects, exchange rates euf 135 YR per dollar was used.1/ ESIP constructs ew schools. Other projects construct rew schools or expand existing schools.2/ Costs perclassroomfor BEP, ESIP, and MOE are estimation using data fromtotalcosts ofconistration and the umber of elassooms. Tlerefore, the costs for projects including extensive facilities (e.g., wals, sanitary) ate overestimated.

3/ World Bank staff estinatin of probability that 5 of stkdents in new classrooms are girls, High (far naore than 50%), Medium (about 5%), Low (much less thn 0%) 4/It is difficult to decide average classrooms of the UNICEF program bcause the pgram rehabilitates, adds

classrooms to existing schools, or builds new schools, New schools have averages 6 classrooms and one admsinistrative room Supervision and payment process is for lager contracts For small contracts, a consultant frrm will not be involved.

scale. Regarding technology, there is not yet a strong intemational evidence that high technology-based training such as video-conferencing and intemet-based training would be cost-effective forin-service teacher training in low income countries such as Yemen which faces a scarcity ofengineers and managers for operating the system, little familiarity of trainees with self-learningand distance learning, and necessity to import expensive equipment.

(b) Adequate impact of a new curriculum on classroom teaching. International experiences show thatimplementing a new curriculum in grades 1-6 requires special attention to issues that anorientation training cannot provide by itself; it should be supported by regular supervision andopportunities for teachers to discuss problems with their peers and local teaching inspectors; andpreparation of teachers needs to include head teachers and principals who would oversee theimplementation of the new curriculum at schools.

The in-service teacher training program of the BEEP is being designed and initiated as a part of theongoing Basic Education Project through applying elements to increase cost-effectiveness discussedabove: (a) adequate and fiscally feasible technology, such as television, video-cassette, and tape recorder,which could be used in existing training facilities and with their trainers; (b) a cascading approach,starting from training of trainers at the central institute, training of supervisors at the Govemorate traininginstitutes, and training of teachers at the district-level centers (about one center for one or two Districts),these district-level centers would be part of schools or adniinistration buildings; (c) provision of follow-up activities such as supervision visits to schools at least three times per year; and (d) provision oftraining of supervisors and principals to assess impact of training on classroom teaching. The unit cost of5-day training per teacher is estimated at US$35.

Table A4.2. a. Comparison of donor-funded in-service teacher training in Yemen

UNESCO UNICEF

Project status A pilot project under planning Ongoing

Location School in remote areas School

Number of targets 10 schools/sites (to be funded by Schools in 3 Governorates (Ibb for 2 regions; Abyan forUNESCO) and 3 schools 4 regions; and Hodaidah for 5 regions)

Trainees Teachers in nearby schools as Teachers,the need arises. No definite Headteachers,figures available Local supervisors

Components and No definite plans available yet. (a) 2 weeks initial training for classrooms teachersduration of program (b) 2 weeks course for inspectors

(c) Monthly meeting for teachers, with materialsdevelopment sessions.(d) Bi-monthly newsletters.

Cost US$1,500 per school Unit cost for a teacher attending initial training course in(estimated) Sana'a is US$142 (including travel costs)

In addition, the project covers the following travel costs:(a rough estimate unit cost for a (a) 2 two weeks training for inspectorsteacher: US$300, assuming that (b) Supervisory visits schools, twice monthly.a remote rural school would (c) Teachers travel to attend monthly meetingshave 5 teachers on average. Total cost: US$1.6 million for three years

Equipment A set of TV, VCR, radio andcassette players per school :rsub-center

44

Table A4.2.b. International comparison of a short-term teacher in-service training

Yemen Belize MalaysiaEstimate for a new

program inGroup-Trainees Capacity 20 trainees 20 trainees 20 traineesDuration of program 5 days/6 hours per day 5 daysl6 hours per day 5 days/6 hours per dayUnit costs per trainee US$58.5 US$300 US$105Location Regional center-based Regional based. Regional college-basedApproach as a whole Cascading No information available. Cascading.programCost estimates

(a) Subsistence and local No provision for US$15 x 20 participants x 5 US$4 x 20 x 5 days =travel for participants participants' subsistence. days = 1,500 400

(b) Participants' travel US$6 x 20 x 5 days=600 (included in item (a)) US$15 x 20 participants= 300 (accommodationprovided)

(c) Travel and per diem US$20 x 2 x 5 days = 200 US$100 x 2 x 5 days Not applicable.for local technical 1,200assistance

(d) Professional fees for No provision. US$300.00 x 2 x 5 days = US$30 (per hour) x 6local technical assistance 3,000 hours x 5 days = 900

(e) Internal travel for local US$16 x 20 = 320 US$150 x 2 = 300 Not applicable.technical assistance.

(f) Stationery and US$10 x 5 days = 50 No information available US$5 x 20 x 5 days =supplies 500

(g) Utilities and secretarialassistance

Total US$1,170 US$6,000 US$2,100

Source: Aziz, Arfah. (January 2000) "Comprehensive Report In-service Teacher Training Options for Yemen.,Notes:1. The estimate for Yemen is based on a proposed training for 23,000 teachers for orientation to the new curriculum in 2000.

The total estimate for the course in Yemen is lower as it does not provide for daily subsistence for participants, as well thereis no provision for professional fees for the trainers.

2. In the Malaysian case, there is provision for professional fees for the trainers if the course is conducted during the periodof vacation.

45

III. Project supports fiscal sustainability

Macroeconomic framework and funding availability for basic and secondary education. To assessthe fiscal viability of public expenditures for basic and secondary education (MOE) over the next fiveyears, the macroeconomic framework projected by the Government for the Interim Poverty ReductionStrategy Paper (IPRSP) was used. GDP is projected to grow at 3-5% per year in real terms. Publicrecurrent expenditures are projected to remain constant at its 2000 level in real terms while its share ofGDP would decrease from 30.8% in 2000 to 23.7% in 2005. Development (investment) expenditures areprojected to increase their share of GDP from 5.7% in 2000 to 6.8% in 2005. The Government has alsoprojected to increase expenditures for the social sectors (education, health, and social safety net) from9.3% of GDP in 1999 to 11.1% in 2005.

Official projections of public expenditures for basic and secondary education (or the Ministry ofEducation) are not yet available. Thus, this analysis assumes that MOE's central government currentexpenditures will stay at its 2000 level in real terms given that (i) the government has completedsubstantial increases of salaries and wages incurred by the implementation of the Teacher Law (i.e.,introducing new allowances such as incentive and special allowances at 100% of base salary) during1998-2000 and (ii) it aims to rationalize the overall staffing and increase recurrent budgets for adequateoperations and maintenance. For development expenditures, this analysis assumes that the MOE's shareof central government development expenditures would increase nearly to the level in 1998 (13%). Thisassumption reflects the facts that (i) increasing access to basic education is the highest priority in theGovernment's education strategy; (ii) the MOE has not started any major new project in 1999-2000 butconcentrated on completing all ongoing projects; and (iii) the MOE plans to start new projects in 2001.

Expenditure requirements for basic and secondary education and fiscal impact of the BEEP. TheMOE is currently formulating the five-year education plan (2001-2005) as input to the second five-yearplan. The formulation of the plan is an ongoing and dynamic process which involves stakeholders suchas MOE staff of all levels, Ministries of Planning and Finance, and donors. The five-year education planwill reflect (i) the General Framework for the Second Five Year Plan which addresses the priority of thesocial sectors and (ii) the Letter of Basic Education Policies agreed between the Government and IDAwhich the BEEP supports. The Letter of Basic Education Policies includes policy and expenditure reformmeasures, chosen from those on which the Government and IDA agreed during the PER for Yemen toexpand basic education within a sustainable rnedium-term macroeconomic framework. They cover:

(a) Overall budget: maintaining the priority of basic education as measured by its share in theGovernment budget and GDP. The project contributes directly to this priority.

(b) Personnel: freezing overall MOE hiring with exemptions only to rectify identified shortages, e.g.,female teachers and some secondary school subjects; rationalizing overall MOE staffing throughteacher deployment and reduction of administrators; and improving linkage between salaryincreases and teacher performance. lThe project will support these measures gradually, startingwith monitoring teacher deployment within each pilot Govemorate.

(c) Operations and maintenance (O&M): increasing budget allocations for O&M, channeling these toschools, and increasing accountability for the use of O&M funds; improving the allocation ofO&M expenditure among Governorates; and allowing schools to retain the communityparticipation funds they collect. The project will support these measures, starting with pilotingadequate of O&M funding available at schools in focus Districts, based on the O&M study beingcompleted in 2000.

46

(d) Investment: prioritizing allocation to ongoing projects for completion in the planned projectperiod; extending the double-shift system to reduce the need for additional classrooms; adoptinglower-cost construction design standards; improving school siting through communityparticipation; reducing costs with community contributions; and, in the medium term, throughschool mapping; improve construction efficiency through improved flow of funds, shorterconstruction periods, and better supervision. The project will support these measures, startingwith construction projects in focus Districts and extending the experiences, especially in pilotGovemorates, through the capacity building component.

A reform scenario is used for updating projections of expenditure requirements for basic and secondaryeducation to demonstrate the fiscal sustainability of the project and to assist MOE's ongoing work for theformulation of the five-year plan. The projections will also provide benchmarks for monitoringimplementation of reform measures in the four project Governorates (a set of monitoring indicators isincluded in the PIP). The reform scenario aims to increase the GER for basic education from 61% in1999 to 71% in 2005 through implementing the expenditure and reform measures discussed abovecountry wide. Table A4.3 shows key indicators from projections of a macroeconomic framework,funding availability and expenditure requirements for basic and secondary education. The reform scenariowould have no recurrent financing gap. The small investment financing gap could be reduced byfinancing resources which are not included in the projection of financial availability such as PWP. Forrecurrent expenditure requirements, a status quo scenario is also used to assess the impact of personnelpolicies. The status quo scenario assumes that the implementation of personnel policies would not besatisfactory in some non-project Govemorates and thus the total number of MOE permanent staff(administrators and teachers) would remain at the same level as 2000. The financing gap (about YER 8billion) suggests a high sensitivity of assumptions used for the personnel policies and a high attention andcommitment required for following up and monitoring the implementation of the policies.

The total costs of the BEEP are US$62.6 million (YER 10,105 million) over a five-year implementationperiod. The project investment costs will represent about 16% of the investment expenditures for basicand secondary education. The project recurrent costs will be 14% of the project costs (US$9.0 million)but a small percentage of the projected total MOE recurrent expenditures (less than 1%). The project willcreate incremental recurrent costs during its implementation and after project completion. The projectshould contribute to more efficient allocation and use of funding through (i) implementing policy andexpenditure reform measures discussed above; (ii) monitoring/following up the implementations of thesemeasures in the project Governorates; and (iii) building capacity of central and pilot Governorates for theimplementation and monitoring. Thus, the incremental recurrent costs of the project are estimated fiscallyaffordable.

47

Table A4.3. Key Indicators for Fiscal Inmact AssessmentEst. Est. Projection 4/

M1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2001-2005Macroeconomic FrameworkReal GDP at market prices (% change) 3.8 3.9 3.1 3.5 4.1 4.8 5.4 n/aTotal fiscal expenditures (% of GDP) 32.1 36.5 34.6 32.4 31.6 30.9 30.5 n/a

Current expenditure (%of GDP) 26.5 30.8 28.4 26.1 25.1 24.3 23.7 n/aDevelopment expenditure (% of GDP) 5.6 5.7 6.2 6.3 6.5 6.6 6.8 n/a

Total budget social expenditures (% of GDP) 1/ 9.3 10.1 10.6 10.7 11.0 11.0 11.1 n/aMOE Funding Availability 2/

Recurrent (YER ml, constant 1999) 51,396 65,490 65,490 65,490 65,490 65,490 65,490 327,452Investment (YER ml, constant 1999) 5,774 6,568 9,183 9,657 10,372 11,038 11,986 52,236

Key Indicators for Basic Education ReformsGER-basic education (%) 62 61 61 62 65 68 71- n/aGER-secondary education (%) 29 30 30 31 31 31 32 n/aGirls share-basic education (%) 33 35 37 38 38 39 39 n/a

MOE Expenditure Requirements(YER ml, constant 1999)Reform scenaio

Recurrent, of which salary and wages 49,350 47,596 45,802 45,203 45,689 233,640Recurrent, of which operations and maintenance 8,270 8,858 9,905 11,149 12,467 50,649Recurrent, of which transfer and scholarship 5,586 5,481 5,411 5,376 5,428 27,282Total Recurrent 63,206 61,935 61,118 61,728 63,584 311,571Investment of which construction/rehabilitation -4,231 6,838 10,207 10,654 10,500 42,430Investment of which others 1,610 1,950 2,359 2,336 2,225 10,479Total Investment 5,840 8,789 12,565 12,990 12,725 52,909

Status quo scenariofor staffingRecurrent, of which salary and wages 53,016 52,988 52,327 52,311 51,939 262,581Total Recurrent 67,180 67,745 68,135 69,367 70,312 342,739

Reform scenario (% of recurrent distribution)Recurrent, of which salary and wages 78% 77% 75% 73% 72%Recurrent, of which operations and maintenance 13% 14% 16% 18% 20%Recurrent, of which transfer and scholarship 9% 9% 9% 9% 9%Total Recurrent 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

MOE Finaning Gap (YR ml) 3/Reform scenario

Recurrent -2,284 -3,556 -4,373 -3,762 -1,906 -15,881Investment -3,342 -869 2,193 1,952 739 673

Status quo scenario for staffingRecurrent 1,689 2,254 2,645 3,877 4,822 15,287

BEEP Project Costs (YER ml)Recurrent n'a n/a 57 203 295 401 509 1,465Investment n,'a n/a 882 1,462 2,060 2,395 1,885 8,685

BEEP Project Costs (% of MOE ExpenditureRequirements)

Recurrent % of MOE recurrent n/a n/a 0.09% 0.33% 0.48% 0.65% 0.80% 0.47%Recurrent % of MOE non-salary recurrent 0.41% 1.42% 1.92% 2.43% 2.85% 1.88%Investment n/a n/a 15.1% 16.6% 16.4% 18.4% 14.8% 16.4%

Sources: Government of Yemen Budget Book 2000. IPRSP July 2000. IMF and World Bank staff estimates.Notes: 1/ Social expenditures include all spending on health, education, and social safety net.2/ Projection based on the macroeconomic framework and the assumptions.3 /MOE expenditure requirements minus MOE funding availability4/ While a fiscal year starts in January, a school year starts in September. This analysis assumes 1999/00 as 2000.

48

IV. Project design and preparation aim to strengthen institutional capacity

The main risk associated with the IDA education projects in Yemen relates to potential projectimplementation delays caused by: changes in political and administrative leaderships, lack of incentivesamong MOE staff related to low ownership of the project, cumbersome bureaucratic procedures amongministries, weak institutional and organizational capacity at all levels of education management, andcomplicated project design. This set of risks has been reduced by: (a) involving MOE and otherstakeholders in project preparation; (b) giving high priority to capacity building in the project design; (c)making the project concept simple; and (d) keeping the implementation plan flexible.

(a) Involving MOE and other stakeholders in project preparation. The project concept is built onongoing efforts of MOE and other concerned Government agencies/donors. In particular, MOEstaff have actively been involved in designing program elements and committed to preparationactivities.

(b) Giving high priority to capacity building in the project design. Project preparation has helpedMOE clarify the organizational framework, establish a policy framework for the next five years,and establish basic requirements for a modernized education and financial managementinformation system at Central MOE and pilot Governorates. The capacity building component ofthe project will further help MOE utilize the core capacity for annual education planning,budgeting, and monitoring. The implementation of the project will start in Sana'a Govermoratewhere a capacity assessment and development plan for project implementation has been prepared.The project implementation plan is also being developed, specifying roles and functions in detailand drawing key stakeholders into the implementation process. A Credit Administration Unit isbeing established, limited to core functions.

(c) Making the project concept simple. To maximize ownership and participation at all levels, theobjective of the project is kept simple: it is accepted by all stakeholders as the highest sectorpriority. Considering the limited current capacity of MOE, the initial geographic target of theproject will be under-served Districts in a few Governorates with low enrollments of girls in basiceducation. The project will start in one Governorate and expand to three more Governorateswhere the need is greatest and where efforts can be concentrated so as to sufficiently strengthencapacity. This phased approach will allow for gaining implementation experience before reformmeasures are introduced on a wider scale, and will allow a realistic pace for building MOEcapacity.

(d) Keeping the implementation plan flexible. The reforms which the project supports (summarizedin the Government's Letter of Basic Education Policies) are ambitious given the capacity of MOEand communities. Therefore, the implementation plan of the project needs to take intoconsideration the stage of capacity development, which could differ by sub-component and targetareas. To adjust to progress in capacity building, the detailed project plan will be based on annualworkplans which the Government and IDA will agree on the basis of the Letter of BasicEducation Policies.

49

Ainex 5: Financial Summaary

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

Implementation Period Operational Period

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total 2006 2007 2008

Project CosisInvestment Costs 5.4 9.0 12.7 14.8 11.6 53.5Recurrent Costs 0.3 1.3 1.8 2.5 3.2 9.1 3.7 3.5 3.7

Total 5.7 10.3 14.5 17.3 14.8 62.6 3.7 3.5 3.7

Financing Sources(Amounts)

IDA 5.4 9.3 13.0 15.4 12.9 56.0Government 0.2 0.7 1.1 1.4 1.4 4.8 3.4 3.5 3.7Communities 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.5 1.8

Total 5.7 10.3 14.5 17.3 14.8 62.6 3.4 3.5 3.7

Financing Sources(% of Total Project Costs)

IDA 95% 90% 90% 89% 87% 89%Government 4% 7% 8% 8% 9% 8% 100% 100% 100%Communities 2% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3%_ _ _ _

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Note: Figures may not add up due to rounding

50

Annex 6: Procurement and Disbursement Arrangements

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

Procurement

Within its mandate to assist MOE in the administration of the IDA credit, the Credit Administration Unit(CAU) will cover a wide range of responsibilities, ranging from managing central procurement (mainlyprocurement of goods and consulting services), overseeing procurement of civil works at the Governoratelevels to provide technical advice to the Implementation Teams.

While MOE has been involved in the implementation of IDA-financed projects through PIUs, BEEP willintroduce new procurement arrangements in which MOE staff at the Governorate level will directly beinvolved in the procurement of civil works for new schools. The proposed approach relies onstandardized designs, standard bidding documents approved by IDA, training, and technical assistance fordesign, preparation of bidding documents and supervision of schools to be rehabilitated/extended.Results will be evaluated at the end of the first year of project implementation to assess whether theapproach is working or not (i.e., standard bidding documents and standard drawings are being used,advertising and bid evaluation is done in a reasonable period of time etc.). Based on the results of thisassessment, the proposed approach may be continued or changed.

The CAU will be staffed with competent professional staff hired through a competitive process. Thisrecruitment will be carried out prior to Board presentation.

A procurement assessment has been carried out and an action plan prepared to remedy the problemsidentified. They are both available in the Project Implementation Plan (PIP). The procurementassessment was conducted for the Central level of the MOE (specifically, the General Directorate forDesigns and Projects -- GDDP) and the Sana'a Govemorate office where implementation will take placein the first year. Based on the discussion with the relevant authorities and individuals during theassessment, both the GDDP and its Sana'a branch office have the experience and capacity to implementthe works contracts to be financed under the project. They have been doing similar types of projects formany years. However, they have weaknesses which need to be addressed and rectified.

Recommended actions to help mitigate these weaknesses are discussed below:

1. The use of the Bank Standard Bidding Documents (SBD) and Guidelines in the procurementprocess. Documents including the engineering designs and bill of quantities have already been preparedby GDDP and are being reviewed by IDA for approval.

2. Introduction of Staff Service Rules and Manual of Procedures as a management tool. These toolsare being prepared by the Borrower.

3. Training sessions will be organized on the Bank's SBD, Evaluation Form, and the Guidelines forProcurement of Works and Goods; they will be completed for the Sana'a branch of GDDP beforeDecember 31, 2000. This action would give implementation teams more insights into the Bank'sprocurement guidelines and procedures.

4. Introduction of a project management tool: the yearly Project Implementation Plan (PIP) & theassociated Work Program and Operating Budget, will be prepared and discussed with the IDA project

51

team three months before the beginning of the fiscal year. This action would help improve the planningcapacity of the implementation teams.

5. Operating budget and top up of core staff salary. The Government will allocate out of its ownbudget funds to cover the cost of construction supervision for new schools and for paying incentives tocore staff working on the project. This acilion would help reduce risks associated with the low pay levelof Government employees. During negotiations The Minister of Education has committed to allocateadequate funds through the ministry's budget.

The CAU will be responsible for the preparation and the monitoring of procurement plans, and for allcentralized procurement. It will also provide guidance on procurement procedures to the ImplementationTeams at the Governorate levels. It is agreed that all goods (which will mainly be school furniture andeducational material) will be centrally procured by the CAU as well as technical assistance and training.The MOE's Governorates' offices will procure all civil works, with TA in case of rehabilitation andextension. The Credit will finance civil works, goods, technical assistance, and training. Procurementunder the Credit will be carried out in accordance with the Bank's Guidelines for -Procurement underIBRD Loans and Credits - January 1995, revised January and revisions up to January 1999 and for--Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers-- January 1997 and revisions up toJanuary 1999. Project components not financed by the Bank will be procured in accordance with nationalregulations. The Bank's guidelines and standard documents will be used for the procurement of work andgoods. Although some goods will be procured under International Competitive Bidding (ICB)procedures, most procurement will follow National Competitive Bidding (NCB); an Arabic version ofBank-approved standard bidding documents for works and goods will be used by the project.

Procurement methods (Table A)

WORKS. Civil works undertaken by BEEP will comprise construction, extension and rehabilitation of 3-or 6-classroom schools, and are estimated at US$36.3 million. Civil works will be of smnall value andspread throughout rural areas of the four project Governorates. They will not attract foreign firms andtherefore ICB is not foreseen. All civil works contracts will be awarded under NCB procedures. Forcontract values above US$100,000, advertisement in two national newspapers will be required. Forcontract values below US$100,000 up to art aggregate amount of US$20.0 million, simplified biddingdocuments and announcements through posti ng in public areas will be used.

GOODS. Goods and equipment will primarily include furniture for schools, as well as classroom kits,and office equipment and computers for the CAU, and are estimated at US$5.9 million. Goods withestimated contract values above US$350,000 will be procured through International Competitive Bidding(ICB) procedures. Goods with estimated contract values below US$350,000 up to an aggregate amount ofUS$3.0 million will be procured through National Competitive Bidding (NCB) procedures withadvertisements in at least two national newspapers. Goods with an estimated contract value belowUS$50,000 up to an aggregate amount of US$500,000 will be procured through International/NationalShopping (IS/NS) by soliciting at least three competitive quotations from suppliers, in accordance withIDA guidelines. Classroom kits, up to an aggregate amount of US$500,000, will be procured throughIINICEF, and vehicles, up to an aggregate amotunt of US$100,000, will be procured through IAPSO.

SERVICES. Services to be contracted include long-term and short-tern international and nationaltechnical specialists, architects/engineers, trainers, financial specialists, and auditors. Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) will be the preferred method to be used with firms. Auditors will be selectedusing the Least Cost Selection (LCS). Other smaller assignments with firms and individuals will useconsultant qualification (CQ). In exceptional cases, for contracts below US$50,000, Single-SourceSelection (SS) may be used.

52

Table A: Project Costs by Procurement Arrangements(US$ million equivalent)

Procurement MethodlExpenditure Category ________Total Cost

ICB NCB Other2 N.B.F.

1. Works 0.0 36.3 0.0 0.0 36.3(0.0) (32.7) (0.0) (0.0) (32.7)

2. Goods 2.0 3.0 0.9 0.0 5.9(1.9) (2.9) (0.8) (0.0) (5.6)

3. Services 0.0 0.0 11.4 0.0 11.4(Technical Assistance and (0.0) (0.0) (11.4) (0.0) (11.4)Training)4. Recurrent Costs 3/ 0.0 0.0 9.0 0.0 9.0

(0.0) (0.0) (6.3) (0.0) (6.3)Total 2.0 39.3 21.3 0.0 62.6

(1.9) (35.6) (18.5) (0.0) (56.0)1/ Figures in parenthesis are the amounts to be financed by the IDA Credit. All costs include contingencies.

2/ Includes goods to be procured through UN agencies (IAPSO and UNICEF) and intemational and national shopping, consulting

services, services of contracted staff of the Credit Administration Unit, training, workshops, and technical assistance services.

3/ Include supplies, transport, gas, rent, translations (for Credit Administration Unit), field visits (transport and per diem for field

teams), and maintenance and repairs of buildings, equipment and fumiture.

Prior review thresholds (Table B)

Civil Works: All works contracts, with an estimated value above US$200,000 equivalent, as well as thefirst three works contracts in each governorate irrespective of their value, will be subject to prior review.Post-review will be conducted during supervision missions and procurement audits.

Goods: All goods contracts, with an estimated value above US$200,000 equivalent and the first threegoods contracts will be subject to prior review. The first three contracts for goods will be subject to IDAprior review. Post-review will be conducted during supervision missions.

Services: All Termns of Reference (TOR) regardless of the amount of the contract will be subject to IDAprior review. All contracts above US$100,000 for firms, and US$50,000 for individual consultants willbe subject to IDA prior review (TORs, short lists, requests for proposals, draft contract, technical andfinancial proposals, contract award).

Procurement Plannin . The monitoring system presently in use for civil works, goods and servicesincludes data on the main procurement steps (date of advertisement, bid document date, bid evaluationdate, awarded bidder, estimated and actual cost, progress to date versus plan). A detailed procurementplan has been prepared for the first year of the project and is included in the PIP. This will be the MOE'sblueprint for subsequent years. Methodology for preparing procurement packaging will be subject to aspecial presentation prior to project launch.

53

Table B: Thresholds for Procurement Methods and Prior Review 1

Contract Value Contracts Subject toExpenditure Threshold Procurement Prior Review

Category (US$ thousands) Method (US$ millions)1. Works => US$100,000 NCB All contracts > US$200,000.

(Advertisement in 2 nationalnewspapers)

< US$100,000 Simplified NCB (Advertisement First 3 contracts in each Governoratein a public areas) regardless of contract value.

2. Goods > US$350,000 ICB All contracts > US$200,000.(Advertisement in newspapersand Development Business)

> US$50,000 & NCB First 3 contracts regardless of contract< US$350,000 (Advertisement in 2 national value.

papers)

< US$50,000 ISINS First 3 contracts regardless of contract"Three competitive quotations value.

from suppliers)3. Services Firms > US$100,000 QCBS (Advertisement in All contracts above US$100,000;Consultants national papers; andand Training Development Business for

contracts above US$200,000)

Individuals > US$50,000 CQ All contracts above US$50,000;

Firms < US$100,000 QCBS, LCS, CQ, SS All TORs and cost estimatesregardless of contract value.

All SS methods.

Individuals < US$50,000 CQ, SS All TORs and cost estimatesregardless of contract value.

________ ____ __ _______ _______ _ ____________All SS m ethods.Total value of contracts subject to prior review: US$10 million

Overall Procurement Risk Assessment

Average

Frequency of procurement supervision missions proposed: One every 6 months (includes specialprocurement supervision for post-review/audits). However, the first year will require three missions toensure proper implementation start-up and famniliarization of the Ministry with IDA's procedures. Twoex-post review missions per year will take place to review randomly selected contracts below prior reviewthreshold. At the end of the first year of implementation, a procurement assessment will take place todecide whether the above arrangements will be continued for other Govemorates or if alternativearrangements must be used.

I Thresholds generally differ by country and project. Consult OD 11.04 "Review of Procurement Documentation" and contact the Regional

Procurement Adviser for guidance.

54

Disbursement

Allocation of proceeds (Table C)

The Credit of US$56.0 million will be disbursed over a 5-year period in accordance with Table C. Allproject activities are expected to be completed by December 31, 2005, and the Credit will close on June30, 2006.

Table C: Allocation of Proceeds

Expenditure Category Amount in Financing Percentage. . . . . ... .. ... .... .. . ....... .US$ mi ion

1. Civil works 31.1 90%... . .. .... . . . .. .. ....... --.1 .. .. ., .., ........... . ........ ...................I............ .............................. .. ... .......... ............. .. .._ .- . . . .. . . .. ........ ..... .... ........ ..... . ............

2. Goods (furniture, equipment, 5.0 100% of foreign expenditures,educational materials & vehicles) 100% of local expenditures (ex-factory costs); and

90% of local xpenditures items procured locally3. Training 7.7 100%4 Consultants Services __ 2.8 _ __ _ 100%

i5- Maintenance and repair of 3.6 60%buildings, furniture andequipment - ___ __ __

6. Incremental operating 1.7 90%expenditures _

7. Refunding of Project 1.5 Amount due pursuant to section 2.02 (b) of Credit AgreementPreparation Advancep8. Unallocated 2.6 lTotal Project Costs 56.0 __Total 56.0 _

Use of statements of expenditures (SOEs):

Disbursements for Goods and Works contracts below US$200,000 and Services contract belowUS$100,000 for firms and US$50,000 for individuals will be made on the basis of Statements ofExpenditures (SOEs). Documentation will be maintained by the CAU and made available for review bymembers of IDA supervision missions. Documentation relating to SOEs will be retained for up to oneyear after the final withdrawal from the credit.

Documentation for Withdrawals. Withdrawal applications for contracts for goods valued at more thanUS$200,000; for works of more than US$200,000; and for consulting services of more than US$100,000for firms, and US$50,000 for individuals, will be presented with full documentation (in English) fordisbursement.

Special account:

To facilitate disbursements against eligible expenditures, the Government will establish a SpecialAccount (SA) in the Central Bank of Yemen, to be operated by the CAU under terms and conditionssatisfactory to IDA. The authorized allocation of US$2 million represents about 3 months of estimateddisbursements from the IDA Credit. Initially, the allocation will be limited to US$1 million, while thefull allocation can be claimed when disbursements reach US$4 million. The CAU will submitreplenishment applications for the SA on a monthly basis. The replenishment applications will besupported by a bank statement of the SA and a reconciliation of the SA against the bank records.

Project Preparation Advance (PPA):

To speed up the preparation of the project, a PPA in the amount of US$1,500,000 has been approved onFebruary 5, 1998. Disbursements under the PPA are made using traditional Bank disbursement methods.

55

ANNEX 6(a): Assessment of Financial Management System

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

Summary of the Financial Management Akssessment:

The financial management of the project will be undertaken by the Credit Administration Unit which isalso taking over the financial management of the PPA from the Coordination Unit (CU) of theEducational Investment Sector Project. The CAU is headed by a director, who reports directly to theMinister of Education. The CAU which w:ill be mainly concerned with the administration of the Credit,will have the overall responsibility for the financial management of the project, including budgeting,accounting, management of the Special Account, handling of financial transactions and financialreporting using systems and procedures acceptable to IDA.

To have in place an adequate financial management system that can provide, with reasonable assurance,accurate, and timely information on the status of the project, the CAU will use a computerized accountingsystem, developed locally, with PMR-basecl disbursement capabilities. The CAU, also, will acquire theservices of a qualified consultant who will set up a financial management system for the project andfinalize the project's Financial Management Procedures Manual. This Manual will document inter aliathe procedures to be followed in project financial management. The TORs incorporate main features ofthe FM arrangements which are given below.

The accounting and financial system has to be set up in accordance with generally accepted accountingprincipals. The functioning of the accounting system will incorporate internal control and checksmechanism. The system will cater for the provision of accounting and financial data to the managementof both the Central and Governorate administration. Initial steps toward setting up project FMarrangements are being undertaken; action plans for completing the system has been agreed.

IDA supervision missions, including countiy office-based staff, will closely monitor the progress ofCAU staff in their installation and use of the new system (including the PMR), and will provideassistance as and when needed.

Staffing. The CAU is headed by a ful' time director with overall responsibilities of planning,implementation and reporting. Among the key staff of the CAU will be a Financial Officer and anAccountant. Central procurement will be managed by a procurement officer. Recruitment of these keystaff will be carried out prior to Board presentation. Selection criteria are mentioned in the action plan.These individuals will receive on-the-job training in World Bank/IDA procurement, disbursement, projectaccounts, financial reporting and auditing guidelines and procedures.

Flow of Funds. GOY will pass on the IDA funds to the MOE, with the foreign risk born by GOY,through a special account in the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY). GOY will provide counterpart funds forthe project, through deposits to the project counterpart Yemeni Rial special account in the CBY.Budgetary allocations will be based on the annual plan, which outlines project activities at Central andGovernorate levels.

Financial and Accounting Policies. Financial and accounting policies for the project will be developedand incorporated in the FM Manual to ensure transparency and uniformity, provide clarity regardingfinancial aspects to the various parties, and to enforce accountability. These policies inter-alia cover thefollowing aspects: (i) treatment of expenditures, including their classification; (ii) eligibility of

56

expenditures to be reimbursed from the IDA Credit; (iii) efficient management of funds; (iv) projectaccounting policies; and (v) internal control mechanism.

Project Accounting System. The CAU will use customized accounting books and records on a cash basis.The CAU will keep separate accounts for the operation of the CAU, for the use of consultant services, forequipment, for civil works and other contracts, and for the Special Accounts and Statement ofExpenditures (SOEs). The CAU will develop and disseminate financial statements and financial reports,and ensure timely audit of the financial statements. Funds received from different resources will beidentified separately and reflected in the project accounts and financial statements. The trial balance willshow all project related receipts, expenditures, and other payments as well as project operation costs.Project financial statements and financial reports will be fully based on the project books of accounts andsubstantially generated from the financial accounting system.

Financial Management Procedures Manual (FMPM). The FMPM, which will be completed byEffectiveness, will cover: (a) flow of accounting documentation and information through the budget,acquisition, and procurement cycles at the central and governorates level; (b) financial and accountingpolicies and procedures; (c) internal control system, including computer data entry and data basemanagement procedures, identification of key control points within information flowcharts, and othermeasures necessary to ensure the confidentiality, quality and reliability of financial data; (d) Chart ofaccounts; (e) financial reporting including formats of PMR tables and reporting formats required byGOY; (f) auditing arrangements; (g) budgeting processes; and (h) procedures for the operation of theaccounting software and related internal control arrangement and levels of protection and security of thesystem. The Manual will be periodically updated and improved based on implementation experiences.

Financial Management Reports. The CAU will submit for IDA review and evaluation a quarterly PMRfor the project from the computerized financial management system. The first PMR is expected to coverthe quarter ending on September 30, 2001. The report will include the following standard parts (PMRformats have been agreed and are included in the PIP):

(i) Financial statements that include:

Summary of sources and uses of fundsUses of funds by project activityProject balance statement of affairsCash withdrawalCash forecastSpecial account statement

(ii) Project progress statements that include:

Output monitoring report using contract management information, orOutput monitoring report using unit variance as monitoring indicator

(iii) Procurement management report that includes:

Contract expenditures report - Goods and worksContract expenditures report - ConsultantsProcurement management report - Goods and worksProcurement management report - Consultants

57

Physical information on key performance indicators that can be readily linked to the financial costs wouldbe maintained as part of the financial management system. Initially this would be maintained for the highcost items, which count for a significant portion of project cost, and for items for which data on physicalactivities can be easily captured. These items will be identified and will be indicated in the manual. Thislist of items would be gradually expanded during implementation.

Audited Project Financial Statements. The CAU will submit to IDA the audited Project FinancialStatements (PFS) annually. PFS will include: (i) a statement of sources and utilization of funds orbalance sheet, indicating funds received from various resources, project expenditures, and assets andliabilities of the project; (ii) schedules classifying project expenditures by components, expenditures bycategories and sector; (iii) a Special Account reconciliation statement; and (iv) a Statement ofWithdrawals made on the basis of Statement of Expenditures (SOEs).

Audit Arrangements:

Project financial statements will be auditecl annually by independent private auditors acceptable to IDAon the basis of Terns of Reference (TOR) and terms and conditions acceptable to IDA. By Effectiveness,the CAU Director will appoint auditors for ithe first year of the project on terms and conditions acceptableto IDA, and the TOR will be part of the FM[PM. Annual audited PFS will be submitted within 6 monthsafter the fiscal year. The audit will be comprehensive and cover all aspects of the project (i.e., all sourcesand utilization of funds, and expenditures incurred), and will be carried out in accordance withInternational Standards of Auditing (ISA). Terms of reference (TOR) for this assignment will coveraudit of financial transaction, and an assessment of the financial management system, include review ofinternal control mechanism.

Disbursement ArranLyements

Disbursements from the IDA credit will be initially made on the traditional system (reimbursements withfull documentation and against statement of expenditures- SOEs and direct payment). It will be convertedto the new procedures (based on Project Management Reports - PMR- based disbursement report) afterthe assessment of the accounting and reporting system and the issuing of a certification ensuring that thesystem is operating satisfactory. This would allow to issue the first PMR by November 15, 2001.

Financial Manaaement Action Plan

To meet the Bank's PMR-based disbursement requirements and to ensure that the financial managementsystem is in place by Effectiveness, the CAU will oversee the implementation of the following agreedAction Plan. The Action Plan is based on a planned Board date of October 2000, and an Effectivenessdate of January 2000.

58

Action Output Responsibility By

1. Preparation for the CAU staff to be Detailed job position MOE Donerecruited description and TOR

2. Recruitment of the financial officer Contract acceptable to IDA MOE September 15, 2000

3. Preparation of TOR's for the consultant: TOR's and documentation CAU's Director SeptemberlO, 2000specialist in accounting and financial acceptable to IDAmanagement to develop FMPM

4. Appointment of the consultant and Contract for the consultant CAU's Director September 30, 2000launching of the assignment

5. Developing of the FMPM Draft of the FMPM to be CAU'S Director October 31, 2000submitted to CAU and and theIDA consultant

6. Acquisition of the software for Reception and installation CAU's Director October 31, 2000accounting and reporting of the package

7. Implementation of the accounting and Set-up of the system and CAU's Director November 15, 2000reporting system testing documents and the

consultant

8. Transfer of the financial management Transfer of accounting CAU's Director November 31, 2000of the PPA to the CAU records and related

document from the CU

9. Appointment of auditors acceptable to Audit Report CAU's Director December 15, 2000IDA

10. Issuing of the 1st PMR PMR to be submitted to CAU's Director November 15, 2001IDA

59

Annex 6(b): LACI Certification

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECt

Report on the Assessment of the PMR-based DisbursementsIneligible for PMR-based Disbursements

Part I: Financial Management System

I have reviewed the financial managemeni: system relating to this project. The objective of the review wasto determine whether the project has in place an adequate financial management system as required by theBank/IDA under under OP/BP 10.02.

My review, which included visits to the project implementing agency, was based on the Bank's guidelinesfor "Review of Financial Management System," and focused on the assessment of the project's accountingsystem, internal control, planning, budgeting and financial reporting system, selection of an auditor, aswell as the format and contents of the Project Management Report (PMR) to be submitted by theBorrower in support of Withdrawal Applications.

I confirm that the project satisfies the Bank's minimum financial management requirements. This projecthas already started the process aiming at implementing an integrated computerized accounting and projectreporting system that has been developed locally, in accordance with general accepted accountingprincipals, with PMR-based disbursemenis capabilities and incorporated with internal control system.Also, the project has hired a consultant to complete the development of the financial management systemsof the project. In my opinion, this will enable the project to have in place an adequate project financialmanagement system that can provide, with reasonable assurance, accurate, and timely information on thestatus of the project PMR-based disbursements, and satisfies the Association minimum financialmanagement requirements.

Signed by: (I 6 'c.Financial Management Specialist

Afif Al-Saqqaf MNCYE Date

Part II: ProcurementlContract Management System

I have reviewed the procurement/contract mnanagement system relating to this project. The objective ofthe review was to determine whether the procurement/contract management system adopted by theproject conforms to the Bank's guidelines fcor procurement in investment projects.

My review was based on the "Assessment: of Agency's Capacity to Implement Project Procurement,Setting of Prior Review Thresholds and Procurement Supervision Plan" guidelines issued by the Bank.

I confirmed that the project satisfies the Bank's minimum procurement management requirements.However, in my opinion, the project does not have in place an adequate procurement/contractmanagement system that can provide the appropriate data on major procurement and contractmanagement (PMR - Section 3) as required by the Bank/IDA.

I have detailed in the attachment the inadequacies that I found in the system together with an agreedaction plan by the Borrower to remedy the sicuation.

Signed by: c/6& iO5cProcurement Specialist

Ali Khamis, MNSID Date

60

Part III: Physical Monitorable Indicators and Overall Assessment

I have reviewed the project's system for monitoring physical implementation progress, including itsmonitorable indicators for major outputs. In my view, the system cannot provide the appropriate data onphysical progress (PMR - Section 2) required by the Bank/IDA.

I have detailed in the attachment the inadequacies that I found in the system together with an agreedaction plan by the Borrower to remedy the situation.

Also, based on the assessments of the FMS-OPR and PS, and/or considering my overall assessment of theproject, I am of the view that this project is not suitable for PMR-based disbursements.

Signed by:Task Team Leader e /' 2CW

Regi Bendokat, MNSHD Date

Part IV: Concurrence of LOA for Eligibility of Project for PMR-Based Disbursements

I have conducted a reasonable review of the process followed by the Task Team in assessing the project,and I concur with its recommendation that this project is not eligible for PMR-based disbursements.

Signed by:FMS-LOA/DO

Andrina A. Ambrose-Gardiner, LOAEL Date

Signed by:Disb. Off.-LOAlDO 'km act/ /l z

Thao Le-Nguyen, 1:6AftL Date

61

Annex 7: Project Processing Schedule

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

Project Schedule Planned Actual

Time taken to prepare the pioject (months) 27 35First Bank mission (identification) 07/07/97 07/07/97Appraisal mission departure 11/30/99 06/17/2000Negotiations 12/14/99 08/23/2000Planned Date of Effectiveness 01/01/2001

Prepared by:

Ministry of Education

Preparation assistance:

PHRD grant signed on August 22, 1998, and fully disbursed.

Bank staff who worked on the project included:

Name Specialty

Afif Al-Saggaf Financial Management SpecialistAli Husni Operations OfficerAli Khamis Operations Officer (Procurement Assessment)Alia Achsien Program AssistantArun Joshi Education SpecialistCeline Gavach Program AssistantDung-Kim Pham Operations Analyst/Financial ManagementGustav Brest Van Kempen Architect (Consultant)Hind Tawfeek Team AssistantRegina Bendokat Cluster Leader, Pr. Education EconomistSafaa El Tayeb El-Kogali Young Professional (Community Participation/Gender Specialist)Saleha Al-Nahdi NGO SpecialistTakako Yuki Operations Analyst/EconomistVasilios Demetriou Sr. Implementation SpecialistWilliam Darnell Education Management Specialist (Consultant)Yasser El Gammal Operations Officer

Project preparation started in 1997 with a diflerent team, for an Education Management Reform Project.The project concept was changed in August 1999, to reflect the pace of Government AdministrativeReform and revised sector strategy. The pre-appraisal mission for the project took place in November1999

62

Annex 8: Documents in the Project File*

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

A. Project Implementation Plan

1. Description of project components2. Implementation arrangements3. Project costs4. Disbursement table (per year)5. Annual workplan for the first year6. Key monitoring indicators for the first year7. Detailed schedule of activities for the first year8. Terms of Reference for site selection9. List of civil works sites for the first year of implementation10. Terms of Reference for consultants for first year11. List of equipment to be procured in the first year12. Procurement plan for the first year13. Procurement assessment report and action plan14. Financial management assessment and action plan15. Environmental management plan (EMP)

B. Bank Staff Assessments

1. Aide Memoire/Memorandum of Understanding for BEEP (after the project concept was changedin August 1999)

(a) March 2000(b) December 1999

2. Report of Technical Missions (before the project concept was changed; It was then calledEducation Management Reform Project.)

(a) January 1997(b) April 1997(c) August 1997(d) December 1997(e) March 1998(f) August 1998

Hajjah Workshop 1997 (Inspection and Evaluation Sector)

Summary Report of Workshop & Recommendation

Darnell, William "Initial Report on Training Female Teachers in Rural Area - Basic Component ofEMRP". World Bank, Washington D.C. (November 1998).

Republic of Yemen, "Teacher and the Education Professions ." Law No. (37) of 1998.

63

UNICEF, World Bank, and Radda Barnaen in Partnership with the Government of Yemen "The situationof Women and Children in the Republic of Yemen, "Volume I, Yemen Situation Analysis, Sana'a,February 1998.

UNICEF, World Bank, and Radda Barnen in Partnership with the Government of Yemen. "State of Basic

Education in the Republic of Yemen," Volume III Yemen situation analysis. Sana'a, February 1998.

Yemen. "Human Development Report 1998". Sana'a, December 20, 1998

Lockheed, Marlaine, Regina Bendokat, Takako Yuki "Republic of Yemen: Education Sector AssistanceStrategy." MNSHD (Human Development Group Middle East & North Africa) Discussion PaperSeries No.3 The World Bank, Washington DC (November 1999).

Bendokat, Regina; Takako Yuki (1999) "'Yemen Public Education Expenditure Review 1999." WorldBank.

C. Other

Aziz, Arfah A. "Comprehensive Report In-service Training Option for Yemen." (January 2000). Papersubmitted to the Ministry of Education and the World Bank as consultant service for the BasicEducation Project.

Nagl, MM; MA Al-Hiziazi; and AM Eng. Al-Sharjabi, "Assessment of Decentralization Experiencewithin MOE Sector." Ministry of E&ucation (MOE), Coordination Unit (CU), Sana'a, Yemen(September 1997).

Al-Abbasi, Mutahar A., Yahya Y. Almutawakel, and Abdulkhalek Ba-Alawi. "Decentralization andEducation Expenditures in Yemen." National Expertise for Consultancy, Studies & Training(NECST) Sana'a, Yemen (May, 1997).

The Arab Regional Conference on Education for All, 2000 Assessment "Report, The Republic ofYemen", Cairo 24-27/1/2000.

Republic of Yemen, Ministry of Education "Program for the Preparation of the Ten Year Education Plan1999-2008, Sana'a 1999.

Grimsrud, Bjorne. "Working Children in Yemen: Who are they? A Study of Child Labor in Yemen."Oslo, June 1998.

Piotte, Fernand. 2000. "Republic of Yemen, Blasic Education Expansion Project, Project ImplementationArrangements." Report submitted to the Ministry of Education and World Bank, Sana'a. May 7,2000.

*Including electronic files

64

Annex 9: Statement of Loans and CreditsREPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

Difference between expectedand actual

Orginal Amount in US$ Millions disbursementsProject ID FY Borrower Purpose IBRD IDA Cancel. Undisb. Orig Frm Rev'd

P005904 1993 Yemen, Republic BASIC EDUCATION 0.00 19.70 0.00 3.95 3.71 2.17

P005911 1994 Yemen, Republic EDUCATION SECTOR 0.00 33.00 0.00 19.33 16.78 5.56

P005910 1993 Yemen, Republic FAMILY HEALTH 0.00 26.60 0.00 12.72 13.92 12.86

P048522 1997 Yemen, Republic FLOOD EMERGENCY 0.00 30.00 0.00 6.45 8.44 0.00

P005836 1992 Yemen, Republic LAND & WATER CONSERV 0.00 32.80 5.55 0.99 5.02 0.10

P050483 2000 Yemen, Republic RY-CHILD DEVELOPMENT 0.00 28.90 0.00 28.00 0.00 0.00

P050706 2000 Yemen, Republic RY-CIVIL SERVICE MODERN 0.00 30.00 0.00 29.52 0.00 0.00

P057915 1999 Yemen, Republic RY-LEGAL & JUDICIAL DEV 0.00 2,50 0,00 2.13 0.26 0.00

P005806 1991 Yemen, Republic RY-MULTI-MODE TRANSPORT 0.00 35.80 0.00 5.09 -3.14 2.26

P049735 2000 Yemen, Republic RY-PRIVATIZATION SUPP. 0.00 10.90 0.00 10.89 2.00 0.00

P060132 1999 Yemen, Republic RY-PUBLIC WORKS II 0.00 50.00 0.00 41.48 11.60 0.00

P050530 1999 Yemen, Republic RY-SANAA EMERG. POWER 0.00 54.00 0.00 34.58 16.79 0.00

P005907 1999 Yemen, Republic RY-SANAAWSISANITATION 0.00 25.00 0.00 15.23 -1.38 0.00

P068830 2000 Yemen, Republic RY-Second Social Fund for Development 0.00 75.00 0.00 74.34 0.00 0.00

P041267 1998 Yemen, Republic RY-TRANSPORT REHABILITATION 0.00 37.00 0.00 18.22 20.53 9.58

P005902 1998 Yemen, Republic S.GOVAGRI PRIVATIZA 0.00 24.70 0.00 21.22 11.18 0.00

P039171 1998 Yemen, Republic SEEDS &AG. SERVICES 0.00 12.50 0.00 7.63 3.28 0.00

P041199 1997 Yemen, Republic SOCIAL FUND DEVPT 0.00 30.00 0.00 3.76 -11.40 0.00P005912 1996 Yemen, Republic VOC. TRAINING 0.00 24.30 0.00 15.85 14.32 0.00

Total: 0.00 582.70 5.55 351.38 111.91 32.53

REPUBLIC OF YEMENSTATEMENT OF IFC's

Held and Disbursed Portfolio

In Millions US Dollars

Committed DisbursedIFC IFC

FY Approval Company Loan Equity Quasi Partic Loan Equity Quasi Partic1999 ACSM 12.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 8.00 0.00 0.00 0.001998 Radfan 3.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 3.80 0.00 0.00 0.00

Total Portfolio: 15.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 11.80 0.00 0.00 0.00

Approvals Pending Commitment

FY Approval Company Loan Equity Quasi Partic

Total Pending Commitment: 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

65

Annex 10: Country at a GlanceREPUBLIC OF YEMEN: BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT

11A EastPOVERTY and SOCIAL A North Low-

Yimen Afdca Incoma Development diamond'1992d Poplation, md-year (mitIions) 165s 285 3615 Life expectancyGUNP p capita 4Atlas method, USS) 300 2050 520GNP (At.as method. USS b.lilons) 4.9 588 1,844

Avage annual growth. 19S9z-9

Population (%) 2.9 2.2 t7Labor force (%) 3.4 30 t.9 GNP Gross

uostracest Gstimato (latest yonr ovollAblo, 100244) per I o / primaryMliloat recent timete (iahsteayeasr .v hie1e 199248) ;capita enrollmentPoverty (% Of poputa tion beow national pOV4fy fine 1)Urbanipopulation f% oftotaioopotolori 36 58 31Life expectancy atbirth (years) 15 4 67 83Infant mortality (pr 1,060 Nve birth sl W 49 88Child malnutriion: (% o? children cdrS) 29 1:4 .. Access to safe waterAccess to saf water %of population) 39 81 74lliteracy (5 of pulation age 15+) 58 38 32Gross primarv enrollment ( of schoolXas population) 70 s9 108 -Yemen, Rep.

mate 10D 103 113 -Low-income groupcamels 40 89 103

KEY ECONOMIC RATIOS and LONG-TERM TRENDS;

1977 1987 199,17 1998Economic ratios

GDP (US$ baillons) -.. 5.7 5.4Gross domestic investmentiGOP 21.2 21.5Exports of goods ard serviceesGOP . . 44.0 34.5 radeGross domestic savings/GOP 12,0 2,4Gross national savings/DP . 2368 17.5

Current account balance/GoP 2.4 -4 0interest payments/GOP O S 0 0 Domestic InvestmentTotal deatUSOP . 67. 37.3 Savings1Tt debt alce/Xdrtas . 28 Present value of debtGDP . . 25Present value of debt(exports .. , 80.8

Indebtedness197747 1*884-9 197 1998 1"943

(average annual growth)GbP 3.S S.4 s 5.1 - Yemen, Rep.GNP per ceapita .. .1.0 -06 4.8 2.3 Low-income groupExports otf oods and services .. 6.9 7,1 42 3.8

STRUCTURE of the ECONOMY1977 `1987 1997 1998 Growth rates of output and investment 1%)

of GDP) 30Agriculture 1682 16.2Industry 449 44.9 20

Manufacluring 10.5 10.5 1|Services 38.9 38.9 s0s

Private consumption 6885 75.7 -10 S s 07 seGeneral government consumption 18.7 21.9 _ GDI -GDPImports of goods and services 52.4 53.6

(average annyual growth) 197747 1988-98 1997 1998 Growth rates of exports and Imports (%.

Agriculture 4.3 2.2 0.7 60Industry .. 8.4 3.4 3.8 40

Manufacturing 1.6 3.4 3.8 f / XServices . 1.7 9.6 6.1 20

Private consumption 1.9 -3.0 6.0 oGeneral government consumption 3.0 49.1 121 93 -7Gross domestic investment 8 8 6 -27 20Imports of goods and services .. 3 0 8.1 -0.7 - Exports eIrmportsGross national product 2.6 2.0 7.3

Note: 1998 data are preliminary estimates.

The diamonds show four key indicators In the countrv (in bold) compared with its income-group aver,qe. If data are missing, the diamond willbe incomplete.

66

Yemen, Rep.

PRICES and GOVERNMENT FINANCE

Domestic prices 1977 1987 1997 1998 Inflation (%}

('Y change) S.Consumer prices .. .. 6.3 8.5 eo.-

Implicit GDP deflator .. 7.0 -4.6 40

Govemment finance 20(% of GDP, includes cuffent grants) oCurrent revenue 377 29.8 -20 93 94 es O 97Current budget balance .. .. 6.0 1.4 -G OP deflator 0 CPIOverall surplus/deficit .. .. -1.8 -5.0

TRADE

(US$ millions) 1977 1987 1997 1998 Export and Import levels (US$ millions)

Total exports (fob) 2,262 1,632 D,0Crude oil (govemment share) .. .. 1,004 599Crude oil (companies' share) .. .. 935 743 o..

Manufactures .. .. 199 142Total imports (cii) .. .. 2,601 2,553

Food .. .. 916 881 ,.000Fuel and energy .. .. 185 133Capital goods 85 73 o

Export price index (1995=100) .. .. 114 91 92 93 94 95 s 97 WImport price index (1995=100) ,. . 76 75 U Exports U ImportsTerms of trade (1995=100) .. .. 149 121

BALANCE of PAYIENTS1977 1987 1997 1998 Current account balance to GDP ratio (%)

(US$ millions)Exports of goods and services .. .. 2,522 1,874 20Imports of goods and services . .. 3,005 2,915Resource balance -483 -1,041 1

Net income -636 -467Net current transfers .. .. 1,254 1,289 9 s 9s 97

Current account balance .. .. 135 -219

Financing items (net) .. .. 162 56Changes in net reserves -297 163 -3

memo:Reserves induding gold (US$ millions) '1,227 1,094Conversion rate (DEC, IocaWVUS$) 129.3 135.0

EXTERNAL DEBT and RESOURCE FLOWS1977 1987 1997 1S98

(US$ millions) Composition of total debt, 197 (USS millions)Total debt outstanding and disbursed 723 4,585 3,856

IBRD 0 0 0 0 G:A1SIDA 59 473 934 1,075 ~~~--- B: 934

Total debt service 22 269 98IBRD 0 0 0 0 F:8371fIDA .. 6 16 18

Composition of net resource flows c: 2s0Official grants 287 242 C:2..Official creditors 80 94Private creditors 13 174Foreign direct investment 0 1 .. D -: 458Portfolio equity 0 O E: 1,190

World Bank program A - IBRD E - BilateralCommitments 16 66 149 60 B - IDA 0 - Other multilateral F - PrivateDisbursements 21 41 89 121 C - IMF G - Short-termPrincipal repayments .. 2 10 11Net fows 21 40 79 111Interest payments . 4 7 7Net transfers 21 35 72 104

Development Economics 9122/99

67

ANNEX 1 1

.,

Sepl:ember 6th, 2000Mr. J. Wolfeensohn,President,The World Bank,Washxington, D. CU.S.A.

Dear Mr. Woifensohn,

Subject: Yemen - Basic Education Expansion ProjectLetter of Basic Education Policies

A. Introduction

1. The Republic of Yemen, at a per .apita GNP of about US$350, is among the low-income countrics. In receznt years, the Government has successfilly confrontedsome major economic challenges through sound mracro-economic management; ithas turned its economy around and is now poised to continue on a path of rapideconomic growth. Yemen's successful implementatior, of a; economic andadministrative reform program, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, hasrevered some of the severe econoniic setbacks the country suffercd in response toseveral events such as the Gulf war aid its own secessionist conflict of 1994 ardfor the first time the country's economic indicators have shown a highly positivepicture. In April 1997, a new Government was elect.d which has assuredcontinuing public support for carefully imiplemented mnanagement andadministrative reforms.

2. Through the reforms, the Government has given high priority to education sectorexpenditures, considering education to be fulndamental to Yemeni econoinic andsocial developEment. As the demand for quality education increases, Yemen facesconsiderable challenges in the equity and quality of the education system, inaddition to onrgoing concerns about access as well as sound anid efficientmranagement of the system. Enrollmnents are low, about 60% at the basic educationlevel and 27% at the secondary leve:L. An especially severe probl.erm is inequities inaccess to education, among Governorates and between rural and urban areasFurther, gander discrepancies in ediucational opportunities are among the highestin the World. The 1998-99 educa;ion survey shows that 3,335,214 students arcenrolled in general education (graiie 1-12) but only 29.4% of them are girls. Thepercentage of girls enrollment drops further in rural areas to about 28% at thebasic level and 14% at the seconclary level, and in some deprived Governoratesand rural areas these percentages are ever smalleZ.

.*....... ....... .-..... ...... ...................W,,,J.ji ....... ................... ....._s,

3 The MOE, Yemen's largest civil employer, is now in the process of restructuringand streamlining of its system of management with the objective of simplifying itscentralized bureaucratic structure, eliminating overlap, duplication, overstaffing,especially at the central MOF, and shifting responsibilities to the Govemorates.This new structural proposal is now at the Cabinet stage as the first step towardsgiving it a legally recognized status. The restructuring plan is for an initial fouryear period for implementation. Already an Education Survey and school mappingof eighi govermorates have been carried out. School mapping of the remainingTwelve Glovemnorates is at a planning stage, and a permanent and colherent systemof informationi gathering is in process to holp with procedures. information flow,job description, and provide basic management tools.

B. Goals/Objectivesfor Basic education

4. Yemen's constitution (amended in 1994) stipulates thlat all citizens have the rightto education arid that primary education is compulsory. MOE is responsible forproviding and overseeing basic education (nine years) and secondary education(three years).

Long-term goal

5. The Govcrmrnent gives higl priority to expansion in basic education and allocatesa large share of public spending to the education sector. The Govemment has nowtargeted the expansion of basic education especially in rural areas and particularlyfor girls as its top and most urgent task; it also recognlizes that it should give ahigher weight to quality education at this level as quality has suffered incomparison with quantitative expansioa. This new perspective is a challengingtask for MOE, which calls for addressing the needs for more qualified andefficient management, bctter school buildings, appropriate teaching and leamingfacilities, better trained teachers, and more appropriate and updated curricula. Thelong-tenn strategy of MOE is to attain unlversal basic education of appropriatequality in the country and to provide equal access to basic education to boys andgirls in both urban and rural areas.

Objectives for the nextfive years

6. MOE realizes that its long-term strategy requires time to be implemented. and forthis reason, it foresees moving towards its target in phases. The MOE, therefore,shall over the next five years, as a first phase, work at improving enrollment ingrades 1-6 of basic education of appropriate quality, particulaxly in rural areas andfor girls, through appropriate and efficient planming and management,decentralizing responsibilities to the Govemorates and secking a more activeparticipation of the local commumities. It shall also work at improving theinstitutional capacity of MOE throughi providing an adequate educationalmanagement infonnation svstem, a more efficierxt and accurate school mapping

................ ,,.y jl............. ..:sL

and statistical information to also cover the Directorates of Education in theGovemorates. These actions aim at improving the efficiency and sustainability ofthe basic education system.

Implementation

7. MOE's first phase for the expansion of basic education will comnmence in four£;; aic.su ta.i,u o roa 4tlcev-t &V- 3

SCU±4L v tLiU

municipal), Al-Mahweet, Amran and Dhala. Four districts in each of thcscGovernorates will be reached as a first stage of this phase. Government aims atincreasing enrollments in grades I - 6 in these districts by about 30% and atachieving a 60% share of girls in these increases. MOE plans for this phase to takefour to five years, and the evaluated outcome of the Dhase shalI serve in dec.isins.cfor expanding similar actions to other Goveemorates.

8. Policy reforms as described in this Letter will be implemented over the next fiveyears. For each year, the annual work plan for BEEP will specify the measurcsGovernment will take to ensure continued implementation of the policy refornprogram. linplcmcntation will be monitored throu&h lic Lpagred BE-EP monitoringiiidicators.

Government Policies for Basic Education

9. The MOE policy for expanding basic education builds on infom-ation from the1997i1998 and 1998/1999 E-ducation Surveys, school mapping, and experiencesgaincd by MOE aS wclt as otzhe 1aUiLQUdl, innmauonal and bilatcral organizatiolns,such as the Social Fund for Development, Public Works Project, UNICEF,Gr2...., etc., in regard to conmunity participation.

1 O.School Construclion. Over ,he last three decades, Yemen h-as built thousands ofqchoklR with envernminnt fiinti;, rommunity donation, IDA.A Credit3 ond bilktcralnon-refumdable aid from a utu'nber of brotherly and friendly countries. In mostcases, there have been no stumdards for school buildings concerning their design,materials, adaptation to climatic conditions or location. MOE now intends toestablish proper standards for school buildings and prepare a legal decree bywhi;h-a'il--,gem~ w 1wtll b=td schdooWls ihe lurure will abide. MOE shallprepare school designs following international standards and local requirements aswell as healthy leamring conditions. The emphasis in the first phase will be onschools at Lhe basic levcl for grades 1 - 6. Cwtrenitly school construction in Yemeni.s crriet-uir hl'_-tbno ajor bodies. narnely ACE, the Social Furd forDevelopment and Public Works projects, and coordination arnong them isimproving. MOE's Sector of Projects and Equipment, irt close consultation withtlhe Directorates of education at the Governorates and the local cormmunities, hasestablished school construction norms, stanidard designs for 3- and6 -ctassroom

~~~~~~~~~~~-A......... , :sY U9..... ..... ........X...A

..................... :i { 1, j l

.......... ......... .......

schools, and guidelines for the selection and location of schools The -ttantisrwddesigns are cost-effective and take into account girls' needs. The policies forschool construction are based on school mapping data and include envirornentalaspects. Community participation in site selection and construction of schools isan importanr principle of thc new policies.

11. The 1998/l19. -rurv.y revealed that only-30%' of the acl%ois c iii uoudstructural condition and 55% of the schools are in need of repair and of which46% are in the urban areas. 15% of all schools are in dangerous and unsafecondition for use. 77% of all schools are without boundary wails and of thoseschools with boundary walls only 3% are girls schools. MOE realize.s the need forcarrying out major repair work to schools to render them in a good working andusable contdition as well as adding boundary walls, toilets and administration andstaff rooms. MOE shall allocate a higher budget for the repair of schools as of thefinancial year 200 l/20C2 on a gradual bases of 15-20% yearly increases over thepcrind.2001 ta%OOS.

12. Curriculum reform and teacher training. New curricula for grades 1-6 havebeen developed under thc IDA-funded Basic Education Project, an-d new curriculafor grades 7-12 in rnathematics and science have also bqen developed under theEducation Sector Investment Project. 'rho cumicula for grades 1-6 will beintroduced in the school year 2000/2001. Teachers need to bc familiarized witlthe new curricula. MOE's Sector of Curricula and Education Inspection hasworked closely with the ERDC for training of teachers and revising the trainingprograms of the teacher training institutes to reflect the changes in curricula.Training of almoct-4 00,000 teachowv-hae 3toarcd i1.1 Au 5ust 2000 to pliC; fvr dieuse of the new curriculum and textbooks. MOE shall also utilize its newlyacqtuired capacity for distance education in developing distance iri-scrvice teachertraining programs; it has also developed a modular teacher tra;iiing prograrn forin-service teacher training. Theqet actions are scheduled to strt by She beginningof 2001. PIarali.l to thc tecaclh-trhtuiirLa, s3ptvi ^hm-ternrworkhops and trainingseminars that will be organiized for school inspectors and headmastors.

13 .Teachaer deployment. The Govenmnent is aware of teachers' reluctanlce to move toassigiunents in rural arc;as. The Teachors Law. passed by Parliament in 1 99Rprovides additional incentives for teachers assigned to schools in rural areas; andthe ongoing Civil Service Reform Program, supported by IDA, providesadditional instruments for rationalizing MOF. Rtqffinsr A, An inirini sts! towaxadrationalizing MOE staffing, the Ministry has substantially reduced, hiring of newtcachrz; -it airms te, lirit its CCutuLua:L LQ Lv"hirWk ;ho replace costly fbreirgTteachers aand to disciplines in which there is a shortage. To realize efficiency gainswithin MOE, staff are being reassigned to teaching positions in rural areas.Govemment realizes that teacher redeployment will take time and is committed to_7.Adially e-xp;ind the coverage of the reform, sL-ating with implcmcating a.detaied teacher redeployment-planr for Sara- a Goven-orater(arsed) Irr-:001

:::::* : : ::.: : f;J - -Lm

* i # jfjI-l,

14. Equipment The teaching and leaming facilities are essential components in theeducation process that feature amongst the priorities of MOE to ensure qualityteaching and learning. Beside 1he need for adequate buildings, MOE shall also setup standard requirements for the provision of furniture, text books, and otherteaching aids. The objective of this action is to fulfill MOE's policy in providingall schools with the facilities needed to ensure quality teaching.

I S.Mainkcnapce. Based or. -the ongoinlg study on operatioias a' t.1rntcu c 1tih:

school level, MOE is commirzed to developing a mechanism for routine schoolmaintenance developed and operational in the pilot districts by 2002. Themechanism will involve the local communities in thc maintenance and repair oftheir schools. The Ministry of Rinanme has agreed that schools rerain the schoolfees which will be used for imiiproving conditions of the schools. The parents'comnilttees shall be involved in authorizing spending from the fLund. Concerningallocation of MOE budget resc,urces for maintenance, MOE shall adopt a greaterequity in allocation of funids anti develop the mechanism and basis on which suchallocations shall be made, considering the size of schools, their student populationand location.

D. Community Participation

A V.MOE has already created a Cnommunity Participation Unit at the central MOE aswelI as branch units in the Governorates in December 1999. The bylaws for theCPU arc bclag pidpCued. ILN fLULcioIis ixicludc promoting the involvement ofcommunities in site selection For schools, construction and management ofschools.

E. Supporting Arrangemnents - Capacity Building

I 7.Many of the problems of MOE's policy implementation, quality assurance in theeducatioii system and wastage of resources, including poor and underusedfacilities, misdistribution of teachers and other personnel and the under-qualifications of many MOF. staff has been the result of poor planning andmanagement, at almost all level.s at the Central MOE and the Directorates of

irdimmtinn of xGc rames l'h MOE will direct attention, provide r.cou-0e°from its own budget and from IDA Credits to a careful planned program oftraining and retraining of its personnel to improve their capacity to planandmanage the education system more effectively and efficiently. During the firstphase of the reform proaram and the BEEP project, irnpleme.ntatiion will focus onthe Central MOE personnel and the Directorates of Education in the four targCtGovernorates and Districts selected for BEEP implementation. to be followcd bycapacity building programn for the other Govemorates and Districts in the future.

5

ILJ.WIS> -

... . ' UJ 4 U ..•..........4......... .,,,:X,1S .j ;

............................

F. 1Requestfor IDA Suipport

18-Ta be arblet!raJevc diC dbuavc au iIIIp?emerrL itd Ciu± =}t± , i

Ministry of Education is requestinrg IDA's support through the Basic EducationExpansion Project which will not expand education facilities and school buildingsonly, but will seek to overcome the weaknesses in the system for planning,mnancgement cand monitorixg and tho lack of capcLcity dIuc to qualification and

training of rmost personnel in the key posts at Central, Governorate and Districtlevels which will lead to better and improved planning and management, betterutilization of resources, improved supervision and quality of the systerm.

Dr. Acbaaiar-im

6 m e Minifer

6

IERD 31070

42 44 46 4b' 50' 52' .. 04

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN SAUDI ARABIA

BASIC EDUCATION EXPANSION PROJECT _--- A ^ Sh- oh QPROJECT GOVERNORATES

o TOWNS AND VILLAGES PRIMARY ROADS _ \ . / y I8

(3 GOVERNORATE CAPITALS SECONDARY ROADS / ' , \.

N NATIONAL CAPITAL _ WADIS 0 ,,

ISa ± AIRPORTS GOVERNORATE BOUNDARIES

PORTS _ INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES

00/ Tho,oo~~ / ~ HTh..ot

,_, _ lo Zabr n ob ~~~~/ , ( 0,/',", .. {\-

)AL-

v~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ S Al ] 0

f

,,old, ---- DJIEOUTI Pijr.~~~~~~~~~~~ ~/H A VRkAM( Moo opI

A-JOWFA L Tbw~~~~

H AM' R H

Wh.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Wo

Al~~~~~~~~~~~~lMq.i ~ A h

Al 01 8$H.d.io l do.ph

TA)Z 1 , 0%U, E

'1 \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~±-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~Socotra

ETHIOPI ASN d0coRT0M1SOTOoeE 5 DR 55 7 toatAw$5 AT --W-.- '- 2,

DJIBOUTI r~- /IP-l-- -~

OJIBOUTI ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~, I---- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~----> 04'SEPTEMIRE 2DD.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~EPEBE 20