Page 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AB1711 Project Name Mexico Education Quality Region LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN Sector Primary education (50%);Secondary education (50%) Project ID P088728 Borrower(s) United Mexican States Implementing Agency Secretariat of Public Education Environment Category [ ] A [ ] B [ x] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared June 23, 2005 Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization September 12, 2005 Estimated Date of Board Approval December 27, 2005 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement The proposed program would support and extend the pilot Programa Escuelas de Calidad (Quality Schools Program, PEC). The program fits the overall objectives of the Country Partnership Strategy for Mexico. The CPS proposes comprehensive assistance to the Government’s efforts to reduce inequality, increase competitiveness, strengthen institutionality, and promote environmental sustainability. More specifically, the program fits the objective of operational support for targeted programs whose focus is to incorporate the poor without access to social services both on the supply and demand sides, through ongoing financing of education. PEC provides an excellent candidate for a quality of education lending program. PEC is part of the Government's education program, as outlined in the National Education Program (PNE) 2001-2006, specifically designed to support disadvantaged preschool, primary and secondary schools. PEC empowers school communities (parents, teachers, principals) and uses social participation and evaluation in an effort to increase transparency and make schools accountable to parents and the community. PEC promotes accountability by allowing the school community to take decisions through direct funding to schools, with matching funds from the states, municipalities and the community. PEC schools are able to design their own improvement plans – school-based management – and receive the resources, which they manage, to carry out their plans. This is very innovative in the Mexican context. In fact, PEC is one of the first federal programs undertaking a transformation of the school by making the school the center of action and allowing decisions to influence the system from the bottom up. 2. Proposed objective(s) The objective of the program is to promote a new model of school management that is conducive to improve the quality of basic education in public schools. The program offers incentives to schools that are willing to adopt a participatory management model in which parents, teachers, and directors jointly set goals, plan, and evaluate schooling outcomes. The model fosters school autonomy and accountability and also helps mobilize additional financial resources from municipalities and civil society to help the schools reach their goals. Page 2 Specific Program Objectives: · Orient school management towards pedagogic practices that are responsive to the needs of the students, as identified by the school community; · Create in each participating school a dynamic process of school management transformation, through the provision of appropriate tools to carryout strategic planning and evaluation; · Put in place strategies that foster social participation in school activities with the aim of promoting community collaboration in the school life, co-financing of school projects, transparency and accountability; · Foster institutional collaboration by federal, state and local authorities to provide technical and financial assistan ce to schools with the objective of strengthening the school’s capacity for autonomous management. 3. Preliminary description The program objectives would be achieved through the following components: Component 1: School Grants. The objective of this component is to provide federal funds that, combined with state funds, are transferred to the schools in the form of grants to finance the implementation of school projects, according to the conditions established in the Program Operational Guidelines. Component 2: Program Oversight. This component finances federal oversight aimed to ensure compliance by the states with national guidelines for the implementation of the Quality Schools Programs. It also provides for operational and academic assistance to the states for program implementation, and for the development of national program guidelines. These objectives would be achieved through: (a) Program Monitoring and Supervision; (b) Support for Program Implementation; and (c) Program Dissemination. Component 3: Policy Development and Evaluation . This component aims to contribute to the development of policy regarding quality improvements to basic education through evaluation and policy studies. This would be achieved through the following subcomponents: (a) Evaluation and (b) Policy Studies. 4. Safeguard policies that might apply The program includes small civil works (construction of sanitary facilities, minor repairs, and maintenance) which will be carried out by community development, and are not expected to have any environmental impact. Indigenous education is a social development issue. PEC also supports inclusive education. Therefore, a social assessment is being carried out, and an Indigenous Peoples Development Plan will be prepared. 5. Tentative financing Source: ($m.) BORROWER 135.2 INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 205 Total 340.2 6. Contact points Contact: Harry Anthony Patrinos Title: Sr Education Econ. Tel: (202) 473-5510 Fax: (202) 522-1201 Email: Hpatrinos@worldbank.org Page 3 Contact: Claudia Macías Title: Operations Officer Tel: (52-55) 5480-4249 Fax: (52-55) 5480-4271 Email: cmacias@worldbank.org