Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Nepal: School Sector Reform Program (P113441) Nepal: School Sector Reform Program (P113441) SOUTH ASIA | Nepal | Education Global Practice | IBRD/IDA | Specific Investment Loan | FY 2010 | Seq No: 11 | ARCHIVED on 23-Mar-2016 | ISR21807 | Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Education, Department of Education/Ministry of Education Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date:22-Sep-2009 Effectiveness Date:23-Dec-2009 Planned Mid Term Review Date:12-Mar-2012 Actual Mid-Term Review Date:12-Mar-2012 Original Closing Date:15-Dec-2014 Revised Closing Date:15-Jul-2016 Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The Program Development Objective is to increase access to and improve quality of school education, particularly basic education (Grades 1-8), especially for children from marginalized groups. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No PHRPDODEL Components Name Basic Education:(Cost $196.20 M) Secondary Education:(Cost $48.10 M) Institutional Capacity Strengthening:(Cost $5.80 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO  Satisfactory  Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP)  Moderately Satisfactory  Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating  Substantial  Substantial 3/23/2016 Page 1 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Nepal: School Sector Reform Program (P113441) Implementation Status and Key Decisions 1. The Nepal School Sector Reform Program (SSRP, 2009-16) is implemented by the Ministry of Education (MOE) through a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp), with financial contributions from the GON and a group of Development Partners (DPs), including the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group and GPE. The DPs are signatories to a Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) with the Government and subscribe to the annual work program and budget (AWPB). The Bank’s IDA contribution is US$230 million (original IDA Credit and Grant of US$130 million approved in 2009, and AF Credit and Grant of US$100 million approved in 2013). In 2010, SSRP also received the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) Grant of US$120 million (FTI is now known as GPE) and more recently AF Grants of US$59.3 million from GPE and US$4.0 million from the REACH. 2. Program Development Objective (PDO): The SSRP is on track to meet its PDO. End-of-project (EOP) targets have already been met or exceeded for seven of the nine PDO level indicators: Net Enrolment Rate (NER) for basic education (Grades 1-8) has reached 89 percent (EOP target: 85 percent); the completion rates for primary (grades 1-5) and basic education have increased to 80 percent (EOP target: 79 percent) and 67 percent (EOP target: 66 percent), respectively; gender parity in NER has been achieved for all primary, basic and secondary (grades 9-12) education; and the national assessment of student achievement (NASA) for Grades 3, 5 and 8 has been completed (EOP target: completion). The remaining two indicators are also on track: NER for primary education stands at 97 percent (EOP target: 99 percent); and an equity strategy has been developed and is in the process of being implemented (EOP target: completion and implementation). As part of the equity strategy, GON with support from DPs is in the process of finalizing the Equity Index that will be used to identify dis-advantaged districts for targeted support. Results Section provides an update on the progress in selected project outcome indicators. These improvements in the areas of access, gender parity, schooling efficiency, and quality indicate that the program is making good progress towards achieving the PDO. 3. Implementation progress: Achievements include (i) provision of professional development training to more than 90% of teachers in community schools, (ii) initiation of a National Early Grade Reading Program (NGERP), (iii) distribution of per-child fund (PCF) salary grants to support schools with un-served students, (iv) distribution of textbooks, and (vi) disbursement of scholarships to eligible students. Similarly, progress has been made on a number of Governance and Accountability Action Plan (GAAP) actions, such as the participation of private printers in textbook printing (for grades 1-5) throughout the country, and establishment of a database for maintaining teacher and student records in 67 districts. In the area of financial management, for example, a Financial Management Improvement Action Plan (FMIAP) has been jointly developed by GoN and the DPs, and is being monitored regularly by a joint thematic working group. In the area of monitoring and evaluation, the Government’s EMIS continues to regularly collect school level data – and more recently student level data, which are being used for planning purposes, including for the allocation of per child financing (PCF) to schools. DOE’s budgeting process uses a bottom-up planning and preparation phase whereby district education offices make budget proposals through their district level annual work plans and budgets, which in turn are informed by school improvement plans submitted by schools. Despite the progress, overall financial management at the central and district levels as well as in schools is still weak, and several audit reports have raised concerns about financial irregularities. While social and financial audits are mandatory for all schools, the quality of these audits is not adequately scrutinized by District Education Offices (DEOs). School level financial record keeping and the audit system need further strengthening (these are consistent with findings from the recently completed Public Expenditure Tracking Survey study). The timely delivery of textbooks to all students is another challenge that has yet to be effectively addressed. Another area that requires further attention is the validity of administrative records data included in the EMIS. 4. Earthquakes and Fuel crisis: The April/May 2015 earthquakes have resulted in significant damages to the school sector with over 9,000 schools affected and 31,000 classrooms destroyed, directly affecting over 1 million children. The captured damages and losses in terms of impact on physical infrastructure and institutional capacity are estimated at US$313 million and the identified preliminary needs at around US$400 million for the next three years. As identified by the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), there was a need for 11,790 Temporary Learning Centers (TLCs), of which around 8,000 have already been established through the support of the Government and development partners/NGOs. With regard to reconstruction and recovery, district implementation units (DIUs) have been established in the 14 affected districts to plan and monitor the construction activities. JICA, ADB and the Government have put in initial funding in this effort. The fuel crisis during the second half of 2015 led to interruption of school academic calendar in the entire country. In particular, the associated political unrest in the Terai region affected some 11,000 schools resulting in disruptions of education activities for some 1.5 million children putting them at risk. While the school sector activities are more or less normal, the full impact of the natural calamity as well as political crisis on schooling outcomes are yet to be recorded. 5. Bank Approval of GPE and REACH TFs: On January 13, 2016, the World Bank approved the Additional Financing (AF) grants to the ongoing Nepal School Sector Reform Program (SSRP) in the amount of US$ 59.3 million from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and US$ 4 million from the Results in Education for All Children (REACH) from the Kingdom on Norway. The Government of Nepal (GoN) and the 3/23/2016 Page 2 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Nepal: School Sector Reform Program (P113441) World Bank signed the grant agreement on the above multi-donor Trust Fund (TF) Grants on January 22, 2016, and was effective on February 22, 2016. The grants will continue to finance both recurrent and development expenditures in support of the ongoing SSRP activities and help consolidate and sustain gains in access and quality, and ensure the inclusiveness of such gains. Part of the grant (US$17.8 million from GPE and US$4.0 million from REACH) would be conditional on achieving the targets for 5 pre-identified disbursement linked indicators (DLIs) related to improving equity, quality, efficiency, and strengthening of the monitoring system and financial management in the first two years of the SSRP successor program (School Sector Development Program-SSDP). Key Decisions for Public Disclosure MOE will complete the development of fully appraised SSDP Program by June 2016. MOE/DOE will complete necessary activities associated with orderely closure of SSRP program by July 15, 2016. Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance  --  Substantial  Substantial Macroeconomic  --  Substantial  Substantial Sector Strategies and Policies  --  Moderate  Moderate Technical Design of Project or Program  --  Moderate  Moderate Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability  --  Substantial  Substantial Fiduciary  --  Substantial  Substantial Environment and Social  --  Low  Low Stakeholders  --  Low  Low Other  --  --  -- Overall  --  Substantial  Substantial Results Project Development Objective Indicators PHINDPDOTBL  Net enrolment rate for primary education (grades 1-5) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target 3/23/2016 Page 3 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Nepal: School Sector Reform Program (P113441) Value 92.00 96.20 97.00 99.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 22-Dec-2014 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 PHINDPDOTBL  Net enrolment rate for basic education (grade 1-8) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 73.00 87.60 89.00 85.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 22-Dec-2014 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 PHINDPDOTBL  Completion Rate for Primary Education (G5) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 58.00 77.60 81.00 79.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 22-Dec-2014 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 PHINDPDOTBL  Completion Rate for Basic Education (G8) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 41.00 66.70 70.00 66.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 22-Dec-2014 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 PHINDPDOTBL  Gender parity index in enrolment for primary education (grades 1-5) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 91.00 99.00 100.00 100.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 22-Dec-2014 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 3/23/2016 Page 4 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Nepal: School Sector Reform Program (P113441) PHINDPDOTBL  Gender parity index in enrolment for basic education (grades 1-8) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 95.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 22-Dec-2014 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 PHINDPDOTBL  Gender parity index in enrolment for secondary education (grades 9-12) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 91.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 22-Dec-2014 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 PHINDPDOTBL  Student Learning Assessment in Grades 3, 5 and 8 (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value N Y Y Y Date 22-Sep-2009 31-Jul-2015 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 PHINDPDOTBL  Development of equity strategy and its implementation for Basic education (Text, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Equity strategy has A composite equity Implementation been approved. Free index is in now in the of plan of action and Compulsory final stage of in the 2nd education has been preparation, which will group of 5 Value Strategy does not exist implemented in 14 be used to identify districts with districts as a strategy districts with highest rate the highest to bring out of school of out-of-school children, share of out of children into the school for targeted intervention. school children. system. Date 15-Jul-2013 31-Jul-2015 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 Overall Comments 3/23/2016 Page 5 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Nepal: School Sector Reform Program (P113441) Intermediate Results Indicators PHINDIRITBL  Gross Enrolment Rate (G 1-5) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 147.00 134.40 135.00 135.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 26-Jun-2015 06-Mar-2016 15-Dec-2014 PHINDIRITBL  Gross Enrolment Rate (G 1-8) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 123.00 117.10 120.00 132.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 26-Jun-2015 06-Mar-2016 15-Dec-2014 PHINDIRITBL  Net Enrolment Rate for Secondary Grades(9-12) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 21.00 34.70 38.00 38.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 26-Jun-2015 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 PHINDIRITBL  Teachers with required Training at Basic Level (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 91.00 91.10 92.00 95.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 26-Jun-2015 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 3/23/2016 Page 6 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Nepal: School Sector Reform Program (P113441) PHINDIRITBL  Number of school levels under community management (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 8500.00 12421.00 12421.00 16000.00 Date 22-Sep-2009 26-Jun-2015 06-Mar-2016 15-Jul-2016 Overall Comments Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed Disbursed P113441 IDA-46520 Closed USD 71.50 71.50 0.00 69.85 0.05 98% P113441 IDA-52500 Effective USD 55.00 55.00 0.00 25.33 25.85 46% P113441 IDA-H5180 Closed USD 58.50 58.50 0.00 58.66 0.01 100% P113441 IDA-H8460 Effective USD 45.00 45.00 0.00 45.52 0.00 101% P113441 TF-98235 Closed USD 120.00 120.00 0.00 117.76 2.24 98% P113441 TF-A0779 Effective USD 47.80 47.80 0.00 0.00 47.80 0% P113441 TF-A0843 Effective USD 11.50 11.50 0.00 0.00 11.50 0% P113441 TF-A0915 Effective USD 4.00 4.00 0.00 0.00 4.00 0% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P113441 IDA-46520 Closed 22-Sep-2009 27-Nov-2009 23-Dec-2009 15-Dec-2014 15-Dec-2014 P113441 IDA-52500 Effective 15-May-2013 08-Jul-2013 03-Sep-2013 15-Jul-2016 15-Jul-2016 P113441 IDA-H5180 Closed 22-Sep-2009 27-Nov-2009 23-Dec-2009 15-Dec-2014 15-Dec-2014 P113441 IDA-H8460 Effective 15-May-2013 08-Jul-2013 03-Sep-2013 15-Jul-2016 15-Jul-2016 P113441 TF-98235 Closed 07-Dec-2010 07-Dec-2010 21-Mar-2011 15-Dec-2014 15-Dec-2014 P113441 TF-A0779 Effective 13-Jan-2016 22-Jan-2016 22-Feb-2016 15-Jul-2018 15-Jul-2018 P113441 TF-A0843 Effective 13-Jan-2016 22-Jan-2016 22-Feb-2016 15-Jul-2016 15-Jul-2016 3/23/2016 Page 7 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Nepal: School Sector Reform Program (P113441) P113441 TF-A0915 Effective 13-Jan-2016 22-Jan-2016 22-Feb-2016 15-Jul-2018 15-Jul-2018 Cumulative Disbursements Restructuring History There has been no restructuring to date. Related Project(s) P125610-Nepal: School Sector Reform Program Additional Financing ,P152377-School Sector Reform Program Additional Financing 3/23/2016 Page 8 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy