Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: 41 114 - IN PROJECT APPRAISAL DOCUMENT ON A PROPOSED CREDIT IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 364.4 MILLION (US$600 MILLION EQUIVALENT) TO THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA FOR A SECOND ELEMENTARY EDUCATION PROJECT (SSA 11) April 15,2008 Human Development Sector Unit India Country Management Unit South Asia Region This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized
Transcript
Document o f The World Bank
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Report No: 41 114 - IN
PROJECT APPRAISAL DOCUMENT
ON A
PROPOSED CREDIT
IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 364.4 MILLION (US$600 MILLION EQUIVALENT)
TO THE
REPUBLIC OF INDIA
FOR A
SECOND ELEMENTARY EDUCATION PROJECT (SSA 11)
April 15,2008
Human Development Sector Unit India Country Management Unit South Asia Region
This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance o f their official duties. I t s contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.
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CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS
(Exchange Rate Effective March 3 1, 2008)
Currency Unit = Indian Rupee (INR) INR39.25 = US$1
US$ 1.64664 = SDR 1 F I S C A L YEAR
April 1 - M a r c h 3 1
AIE AIES ARCS A S A S A R ASER AWP&B BRC CAG CAS CPAR CRC css Crore C W S N DEA DEEC DEEP DFID DIET D I S E DPs DPC DPO DPEP D S E L EC ECCE ED1 EE EEB EFA EGS E M I S FMR GDP GER GLA Go1
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYM
Alternative and Innovative Education Alternative Innovative Education Scheme Audit Reports Compliance Systems Alternate School Age Specific Attendance Rate Annual Status o f Education Report Annual W o r k Plan and Budget B lock Resource Center Comptroller and Auditor General Country Strategy Country Procurement Assessment Report Cluster Resource Center Centrally Sponsored Scheme 10 M i l l i o n Children with Special Needs Department o f Economic Affairs District Elementary Education Committee Distr ict Elementary Education Plan Department for International Development (UK) District Inst i tu te for Education and Training District Information System for Education Development Partners District Project Coordinator District Project Off ice District Primary Education Program Department o f School Education and Literacy European Commission Early Childhood Care and Education Education Development Index Elementary Education Elementary Education Bureau Education for All Education Guarantee Scheme Education Management Information System Financial Monitor ing Report Gross Domestic Product Gross Enrolment Ratio Grant in Aid Government o f India
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ICR IDA IED IFB IGNOU INR IPAI IRR JRM KGBV M&E MDGs MDM MHRD M o F M S MTA N A S NCB NCERT NCF N C T E NER NFE NGO NUEPA NPEGEL NPV N S S NSSO OBB O&M oosc PAB PDO P M I S PRI PTA PTR QMT RI sc SCERT SFG SIC S I D A S I E M A T S IL SIS S M C SPAR
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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Implementation Completion Report International Development Association Inclusive Education Development Invitation for Bid Indira Gandhi National Open University Indian National Rupee Institute o f Public Auditors o f India Internal Rate o f Return Joint Review Mission Kasturba Gandhi Bal ika Vidyalaya Monitor ing and Evaluation Mi l lennium Development Goals Mid-Day M e a l Scheme Ministry o f Human Resource Development Ministry o f Finance Mahi la Samakhya (Education for Women’s Equality Program) Mothers-Teachers Association National Assessment Survey National Competitive Bidding National Council for Educational Research and Training National Curriculum Framework National Council for Teacher Education Ne t Enrolment Ratio Non-Formal Education Non-Governmental Organisation National University for Educational Planning and Administration National Program for Girls’ Education at the Elementary Level Ne t Present Value National Sample Survey National Sample Survey Organization Operation Black Board Operations and Maintenance Out o f School Children Project Approval Board Project Development Objective Project Management Information System Panchayati Raj Institutions Parents-Teachers Association Pupil Teacher Ratio Quality Monitor ing Tools Regional Institutions Scheduled Caste State Council o f Education Research and Training Special Focus Group Sector Investment Credit Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency State Institute o f Educational Management and Training Sector Investment Loan State Implementation Society School Management Committee State Procurement Assessment Report
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This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance o f their off icial duties. I t s contents may not be otherwise disclosed without Wor ld Bank authorization.
SPO SSA ST SWAP TDP T C TE TLE TLM TPE TSG UEE UG UT VEC WB WEC WDR
State Project Off ice Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Scheduled Tribe Sectonvide Approach Tribal Development Plan Technical Cooperation Teacher Education Scheme Teaching Learning Equipment Teaching Learning Material Third Party Evaluation Technical Support Group Universal Elementary Education Un ion Government Un ion Territories Vil lage Education Committee The Wor ld Bank Ward Education Committee Wor ld Development Report
Vice President: Praful C. Pate1
Fayez S. Omar John A. Roome (Acting)
Amit DarNeni ta Kaul
Country Director: Isabel M. Guerrero Senior Country Manager
Sector Director
Task Team Leader: Sector Manager: Michel le Riboud
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INDIA Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
CONTENTS
Page
STRATEGIC CONTEXT AND RATIONALE ................................................................. 1 I . A . B . C .
I1 . A . B . C . D . E .
I11 . A . B . C . D . E . F .
I V . A . B . C . D . E . F . G .
Country and sector issues .................................................................................................... 1 Rationale for Bank involvement ......................................................................................... 2
Higher level objectives to which the project contributes .................................................... 2
PROJECT DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................. 3 Lending instrument ............................................................................................................. 3 Project development objective and key indicators .............................................................. 3 Project components ............................................................................................................. 3
Alternatives considered and reasons for rejection .............................................................. 9
For Loans/Credits/Others: Total Bank financing (US$m.): 600.00
Total: 1 10700.00 I 0.00 I 10700.00
Borrower: Department o f Economic Affairs, Ministry o f Finance North Block, New Delhi India - 110001 Tel: 91-1 1-23094140 Fax: 91-11-2309251U23092477
Responsible Agency: Government o f India, Department o f School Education and Literacy (DSEL), Ministry o f Human Resources Development (MHRD) Shastri Bhavan Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road New Delhi India - 1 10001 Tel: 91-1 1-23070584
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ExDected closing date: December 30.2010
[ ]Yes [XINO
[ ]Yes [XINO [ ]Yes [ IN0 [ ]Yes [XINO
[XIYes [ ] N o
Does the project depart f rom the CAS in content or other significant respects? Re$ PAD I. C Does the project require any exceptions f rom Bank policies? Ref: P A D I K G
I s approval for any pol icy exception sought f rom the Board? Does the project include any crit ical r i sks rated “substantial” or “high”? Re$ P A D III.E
Have these been approved by Bank management?
Does the project meet the Regional criteria for readiness for implementation? Ref: PAD W G
Project development objective Re$ P A D II.B, Technical Annex 3 The project’s development objective i s to significantly increase the number of 6-14 year o ld children, especially f rom special focus groups, enroled, regularly attending and completing elementary school and demonstrating basic learning levels. Project description Ref: PAD II. C, Technical Annex 4
SSA I1 i s the second phase o f the Development Partners’ (DPs) support t o the Government’s ongoing and evolving SSA program. SSA i s a national Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) o f Go1 running from 2001 to 2010. The project will finance State and District Annual W o r k Programs which support the above Project Development Objective. The key thrust and categories o f activities financed under SSA I1 include:
Improving quality: The quality enhancement fkamework has a clear focus o n capacity building, with the fol lowing main pillars: ensuring basic provisioning to create enabling learning conditions for al l children; capacity building and academic support to state and sub-state structures; and monitoring learning outcomes and research and evaluation o f quality initiatives.
Universalizing access and promoting equity: A combination o f demand and supply side interventions are being financed to enable the hard-to-reach children to attend school. These include the establishment, construction and extension o f primary and upper primary schools in districts where access i s s t i l l an issue, and provision o f teachers. Demand-side interventions include provision o f free textbooks and financial subventions to private aided schools to encourage them to subsidize enrolment o f students. Which safeguard policies are triggered, if any? Ref: P A D I K F , Technical Annex 10
Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01). The activities proposed under the project do not pose significant environmental r isks. Environmental mitigation measures proposed under the project would help in enhancing project benefits and in avoiding/minimizing adverse impacts o n environment.
Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10). The SSA framework calls for special attention to the needs o f tribal children. Mit igat ion measures proposed under the project will lead to enhanced access to quality elementarv education for these children.
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Significant, non-standard conditions, if any, for: Re$ PAD III.F Board presentation: Nil Loadcredi t effectiveness: Nil Covenants applicable to project implementation:
The Government o f India shall: cause Ministry o f Human Resource Development (MHRD), through the Elementary Education Bureau (EEB), to oversee and be responsible for the day-to-day implementation o f the Program; maintain the Project Approval Board (PAB) throughout the Project implementation period; ensure that State Implementing Society (SISs) and other Project Executing Agencies remain operational throughout the Project implementation period; cause MHRD, through EEB to ensure that the PAB meets diligently, whenever necessary, to inter alia, approve and sanction Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&Bs) and the National Components and the State components, ensure adherence to the financial norms envisaged in the Program, maintain consistency with the overall objectives o f the Program and the Project, ensure cost effectiveness o f a l l proposed interventions at various levels and co-ordinate the activities o f various Project Executing Agencies; cause MHRD through EEB, to ensure timely submission o f AWP&Bs, State and National Components for appraisal and subsequent approval by PAB; cause MHRD, through EEB, to ensure SISs timely pass funds to various Project Executing Agencies including Districts, B lock Resource Centers and Cluster Resource Centers; cause MHRD to maintain staffing for financial management for the Project as prescribed in the Manual o n Financial Management and Procurement. cause the audits o f various Project Executing Agencies to be conducted in a timely manner in accordance with the terms o f reference set out in the Manual o n Financial Management and Procurement; ensure that the project i s carried out in accordance with the provisions o f the Anti-Corruption guidelines (defined as the “Guidelines o n Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption on Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants,” dated October 15,2006).
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I. STRATEGIC CONTEXT AND RATIONALE
A. Country and sector issues
1. India, a country o f over a b i l l i on people with a per capita GDP o f about $720, has made strong progress in reducing poverty and enhancing access to education. Poverty rates have fallen f rom 46 percent l iv ing below the MDG $l/day measure in 1987 to 34 percent in 2004/5. In 2002 India, through its 86th constitutional amendment, made elementary education a fundamental right o f every chi ld in the 6 to 14 age group, thus reflecting i t s deep commitment to education. This was consistent with the initiative already taken in 2002 by the Federal Government to launch a nation-wide centrally sponsored scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), with the a im to provide al l children in the 6 to 14 age group with education o f satisfactory quality in schools/EGS centers; bridge gender and social category gaps and promote universal retention by 2010. In 2004, the Bank, along with the Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Community (EC) pooled approximately US$ 1 billion, and committed their support to the SSA for a four year period, through an Elementary Education Project. Due to accelerated disbursement and implementation, the credit closed nine months in advance. The Development Partners (DPs) have been requested now for a second phase o f external support to the program, which i s s t i l l ongoing and will continue till goals are achieved. The second phase o f external support will be for three years (FY 2007/08-2009/10), including retroactive financing.
2. The Elementary Education Project, within SSA, had ambitious objectives - to increase enrolments, to reduce out-of-school children by at least nine mi l l ion between 2004-7, narrow existing gender and social gaps, and enhance the quality o f education o f a l l elementary school students. Data show that significant progress has been made in access and equity, and basic provisioning o f quality education:
From a baseline o f 25 mi l l ion out o f school children in 2003, the numbers have reduced to about 13.4 mi l l ion in 2005 (according to an independent household survey), thus exceeding the project target. There i s also a steady movement towards universal enrolment with about 175 mi l l ion children currently enroled at the elementary level in a l l types o f schools, including Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) Centers and Alternative and Innovative Education (AIE) Centers, which i s a significant increase from the 160 mi l l ion enroled in 2002. This increase in enrolment i s particularly evident in previously under -served rural areas. During this period, Net Enrolment Rates (NER) at the elementary level have risen by 10 percent to about 85 percent; The transition rates from primary to upper primary have improved from 75 percent in 2002 to 83 percent in 2006; and With regard to equity, there has been a significant reduction in gender gaps, and for children belonging to marginalized groups such as Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST), minorities, children from economically lowest strata, and educationally and economically lagging States. This increase in attendance has been more remarkable during the period 1999-2000 to 2004-2005 compared to previous periods. Analysis o f the National Sample Survey (NSS) education rounds shows that the gender gap in the Age Specific Attendance Rate (ASAR) among 6-13 years age group has narrowed considerably (from 18 percentile points in the mid-1980s to 5 percentile points in 2004-05), and so have the rural-urban gaps (from 24 percentile points to 6 percentile points in 2004-05). The ASAR gap between Scheduled Tribe (ST), Scheduled Caste (SC) and the general community has also been narrowing. The most remarkable reduction in ASAR gaps has been between the richest and the poorest economic quintiles (based on monthly per capita expenditure quintiles) - from 42 percentile points in the mid-1980s to around 15 percentile points in 2004-05, with the progress during the SSA years associated w i th a noticeable acceleration in this trend.
While overall there has been notable Drogress since 2002, India i s s t i l l some distance from the goals i t has set for i t s e l f wi th in the SSA Framework (2002) o f universal primary school enrolment and
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retention and the elimination o f a l l gender and social disparities by 2007; universal retention and elimination o f a l l disparities in elementary education by 2010; and ensuring education o f satisfactory quality for a l l children. Go1 estimates that most o f those children out-of-school, who constitute the ‘hardest to reach’ category, l ive in just a handful o f states, namely: Bihar, UP, West Bengal, and Orissa. There has, expectedly, been considerable variation in achievement o f access and equity goals across States and Districts. Dropout rates remain high, and student and teacher attendance rates remain l o w in some states. The quality o f education i s s t i l l not satisfactory- as reflected in the l o w mean achievement scores revealed by the baseline assessment surveys, for grades 3, 5 and 7, conducted by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and from other sources. These reports show considerable variation in learning achievements across schools and across social categories. Hence, the quality challenge i s significant.
4. The f i rst phase o f the SSA has witnessed the improvement o f teacher-pupil ratios though inter district variations remain, the start o f several innovative strategies to enhance learning levels especially in early primary grades and work in the States to align curriculum & textbooks with India’s N e w National Curriculum framework 2005. Teacher & student attendance i s being measured, teacher training i s becoming more demand-driven and need-based, and teacher accountability mechanisms being strengthened. Accountability o f schools to locally elected bodies and Village Education Committees (VECs)/Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) i s being enhanced, and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are being strengthened. The challenge i s to implement these strategies effectively to impact on learning levels and improve school performance. Such institutional changes take time to bear fruit but a purposeful direction has been taken in SSA. The thrust o f SSA implementation in the 11” Five Year Plan (2007-12), which i s o n “quality improvement within an overall framework o f equity”, i s to address these challenges as a matter o f priority.
B. Rationale for Bank involvement
5. The Government o f India (GoI) has requested the Bank (as we l l as DFID and the EC) for further assistance in addressing this ambitious agenda. SSA I1 i s envisaged as the second phase o f external support to the Government’s continuing SSA program. The rationale for Bank support i s compelling. First, the Bank and other DPs have supported the elementary education sub-sector in India over the past decade through the GoI’s Distr ict Primary Education Program (DPEP), and SSA I. The Bank’s 2004 Country Strategy (CAS) highlights the importance o f supporting SSA -both in terms o f meeting GoI’s development and poverty reduction goals, as well as moving towards the achievement o f the Mi l lennium Development Goals (MDGs) on a global scale, particularly Universal Primary Education and Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. Second, continuing support for SSA could facilitate the broadening and deepening o f the quality and equity agenda, the success o f which i s critical to achieving the goals o f the program. Third, supporting the achievement o f high quality elementary education i s a critical foundation for higher levels o f education and s l u l l s which are likely to have a significant impact on economic development. Finally, whi le the DPs’ financial contribution wi l l only be a small slice o f the Government’s own resources, past experience indicates i t s value in bringing in comparative global experience, and a constructive critique in implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
C. Higher level objectives to which the project contributes
6. The project assists the government in its efforts to attain i t s goals o f universal elementary education and support education development that contributes to participative economic growth and poverty reduction. The project i s well aligned w i th the Wor ld Bank Group India Country Strategy (Report No. 29374) which focuses on helping improve the outcome orientation o f the elementary education system, by strengthening government capacity for continuous review, monitoring and evaluation, enhancing emphasis on areas such as student assessment, monitoring and evaluation, and fiduciary safeguards; and fostering cross-State and cross-District learning.
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11. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
A. Lending instrument
7. As w i th SSA I, the proposed instrument for the Bank i s a Sector Investment Loan (SIL) for the period 2007/08-2009/10.’ DFID and the EC wil l provide support in the form o f financial aid grants.2 The DPs wil l pool finds w i th Go1 to support the program through a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp). Whi le in SSA I, the center:state share o f financing was 75:25, this has now been modif ied to 65:35 till 2008-09 and 60:40 for the last year o f D P support to SSA IL3 DPs wil l meet a slice o f the program expenditures above agreed thresholds and also rely on Government’s o m rules and procedures in implementing the program. The experience with the Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) in SSA I has been positive and the harmonization among DPs has enabled reduction in transaction costs both to the Government as wel l as the DPs.
B. Project development objective and key indicators
8. The project’s development objective (PDO) i s to significantly increase the number o f 6-14 year o ld children, especially from special focus groups, enroled, regularly attending and completing4 elementary education and demonstrating basic learning levels.
9.
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This PDO wil l be measured by the fol lowing K e y Performance Indicators (KPIs): Reduction in the number o f out o f school children from 13.4 mi l l ion to 4.9 mil l ion; Enrolment shares o f girls, SCs, and STs, in primary and upper primary maintained or increased relative to their share in the population at the national and state levels; Attendance rates o f students at primary and upper primary level increases from 70% and 75% respectively to 85% and 90%; Retention rate at primary level increases from 71% to 75%; Transition rate from primary to upper primary increases from 83% to 89%; Learning levels adequately and regularly monitored; Improvement in learning levels at Grade 3.
C. Project components
10. Financing decisions for Districts and States are made based on the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) process, the workings o f which are outlined later in this section and detailed in Annex 4.
’ SSA I1 i s the second phase o f the DPs support t o the Government’s ongoing and evolv ing SSA program. I t i s important t o note that SSA i s a ten year Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) o f Go1 with clearly defined goals upto 2010 - CSS’s are conditional grants t o State ministries for specified projects, wh ich often include a sharing o f the financing between the Centre and the States. Under the Constitution o f India, education is a concurrent subject, w i th a sharing o f responsibilities (including legislation) between the Center (Ministry o f Human Resource Development) and States (Departments o f Education). ’ In addition, technical assistance wi l l be provided t o build capacity in the areas o f learning assessment and impact evaluations o f interventions through a Technical Cooperation (TC) Fund. This fund wil l be fully financed by DFID. Progress on implementation o f the fund w i l l be reviewed by the development partners through the Joint Review Mission.
The Nor th Eastern states are currently funded using a 9 O : l O center:state share and this wil l remain unchanged. Completion w i l l be measured through a proxy indicator i.e. retention in terminal grade o f elementary education
Whi le the SSA target i s universal elementary school enrolment and retention - achieving 100 percent since transition data t o next stage o f education is not yet available.
enrolment and retention i s unrealistic. The aim is to come as close t o achieving the targets as realistically as feasible.
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11. Because the scope o f interventions and resource requirements vary across States, Districts, and sub-Districts, and also from year to year, project activities wil l respond to changing circumstances in order to best meet the development objectives. The project, therefore, i s unl ike a traditional investment credit w i th predefined components and associated ex-ante allocation o f finance (Annex 4). Instead, the project w i l l finance States’ and Districts’ annual work programs (in addition to a National component on monitoring, research and evaluation, training, capacity building, and financial management).
12. There are two key thrusts o f activities financed under SSA I1 - (i) improving quality with equity; and (ii) universalizing access and promoting equity. These are described below.
(I) Improving quality with equity
13. The thrust o n quality in the second phase o f the program i s reflected in the quality enhancement framework, which has three main pillars:
Ensuring basic provisioning to create enabling learning conditions, through adequate provision o f schools and classrooms, teacher appointments and training, improved pedagogy, decentralized academic support, provision o f textbooks, development o f teaching and learning materials, state- specific remedial teaching to ensure basic academic sk i l ls and other quality improvement innovations; Capacity building and academic support to central, state and sub-state structures through institutions, sharing o f good practices and support to the planning and appraisal process as well as learning measurement and evaluation processes; and Monitoring outcomes, including through the District Information System for Education (DISE), Project Management Information System (PMIS), Quality Monitoring Tools (QMT), NCERT’s National Assessment Survey (NAS), and third party research and evaluation studies.
14. This strategy for quality improvement includes most ingredients for systemic improvement and states wil l be implementing these interventions under the guidance o f the Ministry o f Human Resources Development (MHRD).
(i) Ensuring enabling learning conditions
15. Teachers: The focus i s to improve teacher availability and teacher performance. This i s being addressed through the fol lowing sets o f activities that are being financed under the program:
provision o f teachers in stateddistricts where teacher -pupil ratio i s s t i l l high and for new schools. Teacher recruitment i s becoming increasingly decentralized within states to the district level (and in some states to the block level) with more local control on their availability and presence, and this i s also expected to contribute to enhanced teacher performance. state-specific interventions to strengthen community monitoring o f teacher effort and periodic independent and reliable surveys, to monitor levels o f teacher absence; and continuing needs-based teacher-training programs to prepare teachers to teach an increasingly diverse student population, as we l l as in multi-grade settings. Identification o f training needs w i l l be strengthened by the use o f performance standards and evaluation studies.
16. Classroom Quality: SSA w i l l finance interventions that enhance the quality o f instruction in the classroom. Particular focus wil l be given to strengthening basic s lu l ls , especially in the early grades, as a necessary intervention for achieving more equitable learning outcomes and a foundation to achieving curricular intentions o f imparting higher order thinking skills. Interventions include:
development and use o f textbooks and supplementary materials to improve classroom processes with chi ld centered pedagogy including remediation; a basic reading and mathematics learning focus for Grades 1-3; state/district level remedial programs; continuous and comprehensive classroom assessment practices;
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development o f innovative and interactive teaching and learning materials; and free textbooks for girls and SC and ST students, at primary and upper primary levels.
17. Quality Improvement Innovations: Various states have begun to pi lot specific quality enhancing interventions (e.g. academic guidance to poorly performing children, initiatives/recognition for well- performing schools, activity-based learning toolkits and approaches). The program will incorporate increasing f lexibi l i ty in the AWP&B process, to al low space for states to innovate quality improvement initiatives. MHRD wil l take the lead in disseminating knowledge o f what works to improve quality on the basis o f findings o f periodic evaluation o f interventions and research studies being conducted by MHRD (e.g time-on-task and classroom practices and processes).
( i i ) Strengthening Academic Support through Capacity Bui lding
18. Sub-District Academic Support: Block and Cluster Resource Centers (BRCs and CRCs) provide valuable ‘just in-time’ on-site academic support to schools and teachers. Their effectiveness i s being improved through the Quality Monitoring Tools (QMT) developed in SSA, as we l l as performance standards being developed. Interventions include:
enhancing capacity and resources available to existing BRCs/CRCs through training and the use o f information technology; establishing BRCs/CRCs where such facilities do not exist, especially in urban areas.
19. NationaUState and Distr ict Level Academic and Management Support: National, state and district level institutions wil l continue to provide technical support and guidance. These include apex national institutions, such as the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) the National University for Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) which provide support in decentralized planning, management information systems, appraisals pedagogy, student assessment, teacher training, and monitoring and evaluation. At the state level, the State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) and the State Institute o f Educational Management and Training (SIEMATs), are institutions tasked with improving the quality o f school education and management through curriculum and textbook renewal, financial management and planning capacity training o f District teams for quality enhancement interventions; and development o f learning materials for students, materials for student assessment and teacher guides. At the District level, the District Institute for Education and Training (DIETS) provide for capacity bui lding o f BRCs and CRCs.
(iii) Monitoring outcomes
20. Data Monitoring: The availability and use o f timely data and information is important for policymakers to make informed decisions. SSA i s supporting the strengthening o f Educational M I S through DISE to provide reports on key outcome indicators on enrolment, retention and learning levels. In addition, progress wil l also be tracked on other quality indicators such as pupil teacher ratio, availability o f textbooks and teaching learning materials, changes in classroom practices, student and teacher attendance, time -on -task, community monitoring, in-service teacher training and on-site teacher support.
21. Learning Assessments: Improving learning outcomes has a significant role in the SSA quality strategy. T h e strategy for SSA envisages monitoring o f learning outcomes at various levels, viz., National, State, sub-state and classrooms. The program wil l finance capacity building in this area through a dedicated Technical Cooperation (TC) Fund housed in the NCERT. The T C fund w i l l focus on capacity bui lding efforts in improving learning assessment systems including instruments, analysis, reporting and dissemination.
22. Research and Evaluation of Quality Initiatives: Given the increasing f lexibi l i ty in the project to support a variety o f approaches to quality improvement, program evaluation wi l l be a significant
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requirement. Through the TC Fund, support wil l be provided to NCERT to play a lead role in strengthening capacities with respect to evaluating quality initiatives. Activities to be financed include short and medium t e r m international technical expertise, and skills development o f staff responsible for research and impact evaluation o f quality initiatives including through short term technical training courses, collaborative researc Wevaluation and participation in international/ national workshops and seminars on evaluation o f quality initiatives.
23. These are discussed in more detail below in the section on monitoring and evaluation.
(I4 Universalizing access and promoting equity
24. Whi le the program has to date significantly altered the landscape o f physical infrastructure in education by expanding the number o f schools and related facilities in the un-served and underserved catchment areas and has reduced the number o f children out o f school significantly, the project st i l l has the challenge o f providing adequate upper primary access bringing in the hardest to reach category into school and retaining them there. SSA I saw a rapid expansion o f primary school facilities across the country, especially in remote and socially disadvantaged areas. Access to upper primary level o f education i s st i l l not complete; SSA estimates the gap o f about 0.1 mi l l ion schools and 0.7 mi l l ion classrooms to be met in the 11" plan period to universalize access and br ing about acceptable student classroom ratios.
25. A combination o f demand and supply side interventions are being financed to enable access to the upper primary level and the hard to reach.
26. Supply-side interventions: These include the establishment, construction and extension o f primary and upper primary schools in districts where access i s st i l l an issue, and provision o f teachers, and grants to schools and teachers to ensure basic conditions for teaching learning. T o address urban issues, al l cities w i th a population o f over a mi l l ion prepare a separate annual plan for the urban poor and specific provisions are made for urban surveys to better capture the target population. Provision o f grants to Districts wil l continue to support children w i th disability (for example, to fund installation o f special facilities in buildings, medical assessment, and special training for teachers) as wel l as for home based care/education for the more severely disabled.
27. Demand-side interventions: These include provision o f free textbooks, providing free hostel facilities especially for girls. A complementary scheme (outside o f SSA) provides mid-day meals for students. Financial subventions are also provided to private aided schools through free textbooks and mid-day meal programs, as they subscribe to Government regulations for free education. Greater use o f Innovation Funds i s being encouraged for interventions to boost the performance o f first generation learners, especially SC, ST children and older girls.
The A WP&B Process
28. The District Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) process i s at the heart o f SSA implementation. Practically al l SSA expenditures and activities are driven by the AWP&Bs prepared by about 600 districts o f the country. I t i s within the process o f AWP&B development, endorsement, appraisal, approval and monitoring that the SSA Framework for Implementation becomes operationalised throughout the country.
29. The AWP&B Preparation process i s guided by MHRD. Each year at the beginning o f the planning process based on the overall experience and objectives, focal areas for planning are identified by MHRD and communicated to the States. For example, for 2007-08, some o f these include reaching out to the still un-reached in targeted special focus districts; maximizing expansion o f upper primary schools infrastructure, reducing dropouts, implementing focused programs for improving learning levels in Math and Language for grades 1, 2 and 3, implementing regular and reliable pupil assessment systems and remedial teaching; rationalizing teacher deployment and
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enhancing student and teacher attendance; and introducing measures for empowering Vi l lage Education Committees (VEC) and their links wi th PRIs.
30. The process has been strengthened in a number o f ways to ensure a performance-based outcome focus. In particular, the process n o w requires states to commit to specific annual targets o n outcomes and to undertake associated pol icy commitments in key areas. For example, in the AWP&Bs for 2007-08 states commit to targets, including reducing dropout rates and gender gaps, enhancing achievement levels o f children, and increasing enrolment o f children from educationally backward minority communities. In addition, states are also required to take measures such as developing policies for upgradation o f alternative schooling facilities to regular schools, and appraising and redesigning the teacher accountability system and mechanisms.
3 1. In order to al low states to meet quality improvement targets, there i s now an enhanced priori ty to support state-wide quality improvement measures.
32. The AWP&Bs continue to be appraised at the National level. Fol lowing receipt o f the AWP&Bs, MHRD commissions an appraisal o f each o f the StatesAJT workplans. The appraisal process reviews progress against targets and commitments, identifies problem areas; examines the quality o f data used for planning; interventions suggested for various components; and convergence in implementation with programs being implemented by other departments/ministries.
33. The Project Appraisal Board (PAB) is the authorized body o f the National Mission o f the SSA to approve State/Union Territory (UT) AWP&B After the appraisal team has completed its work, MHRD convenes a PAB meeting to review the AWP&Bs on the basis o f the appraisal report. The P A B makes decisions regarding the approval and funding o f the AWP&B in the light o f performance against agreed outcome and output targets and resource availability. Evaluation criteria include: progress made by states in implementing strategies for out o f school children; and progress made in reaching agreed upon commitments on key outcomes. The PAB then discusses the proposed strategies to improve outcomes and sets targets for the states to meet for the forthcoming year, as well as undertakings related to system reforms. Financing also takes into regard o n the state’s performance in uti l iz ing funds and meeting outcome targets.
34. The minutes o f the P A B for al l States reflecting agreements on project targets, outcomes, undertakings, commitments and funding are placed on the MHRD website for wider dissemination. Those proposals which are rejected by the P A B are also discussed and the details are provided in the minutes o f the meeting.
D. Lessons learned and reflected in the project design
35. SSA has evolved considerably over the past few years, building on the lessons o f its own experience.6 With more and more children now entering school, the focus o f the program in the next phase o f operation is clearly on quality with equity. The second phase o f the DP’s support to SSA has also benefited f rom the lessons learned from previous and ongoing Bank support to the education sector- at the national and state levels in India - as wel l as broader engagement in supporting education reforms within and outside the South Asia. Lessons include:
A Centrally Sponsored Scheme like SSA can provide a powerful vehicle to mobilize ownership and commitment of stakeholders at all levels to a common mission. As the government’s flagship program in elementary education, with political commitment at the highest level, SSA has served as a powerful vehicle to mobilize stakeholders at a l l levels (communities, districts, states, and national) around the objective o f ensuring that every chi ld f rom 6 to 14 years, i s included in the education system regardless o f social category, disability status or gender. The backbone has been the AWP&B process which has facilitated decentralized district strategies to
These are ref lected in the SSA I ICR.
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improving outcomes - within a context where national and state governments have provided the financing and technical support, set and monitored standards and targets, and facilitated the sharing o f experiences. Quality with equity requires sufficient focus on classroom processes and outcomes. Provision o f inputs - such as adequate physical facilities, free textbooks, and teacher training - are necessary for achieving quality education but need to be accompanied by greater attention t o classroom processes and interaction as we l l as outcomes. SSA has begun to address these issues in various ways, including monitoring o f classroom processes and learning, giving priori ty t o learning in early grades, remedial teaching, encouraging states to develop quality improvement innovations that emphasize improved pedagogy, needs based training and local academic support to teachers to address the diverse needs o f their classrooms. These processes need continued focus. Efforts to improve quality will onb produce results if there are effective teachers in the classrooms. Teachers are vital to the success o f SSA, and efforts to improve quality w i l l not succeed unless there are sufficient and capable teachers in a l l the classrooms supported by the program. Teacher provisioning was a significant challenge in many states until recently and was a key focus area in the early years o f SSA. With a few exceptions, most States now have the requisite number o f teachers, and the focus i s now on improving teacher quality. Since teacher management i s a state l eve l issue, SSA i s supporting this through i t s focus on strengthened monitoring o f teacher presence and effort (including by communities), improved and more flexible teacher training l inked to performance standards and needs, as well as dissemination o f good practices. Greater use of data in planning and monitoring will further improve its reliability and usefulness. Various data, assessment and evaluation systems have emerged, benefiting f rom concerted efforts in this area, ini t ial ly under the DPEPs, and subsequently under SSA. Several steps are being taken to improve quality o f data including rigorous third party validation, and triangulation o f data f rom various sources. Special focus i s being given to student assessment and evaluation programs for quality initiatives. A T C Fund to enhance capacity at both center and state levels for these purposes i s being put in place. The importance o f efforts to further improve monitoring and evaluation cannot be overstated w i th the increased focus in the budgeting process on outcomes and performance. Upper primary level access and equity concerns for the hardest to reach need to be bridged. While there have been significant gains in access to elementary education, and in enhancing the access o f disadvantaged groups - girls, SCs/STs, and minorities, the children s t i l l outside the education system wil l be the most dif f icult to bring into the system and to retain, as they typically belong to the extremely disadvantaged and marginalized groups. This i s now being addressed through the planning process described above with i t s emphasis on responding to differentiated needs, which focuses greater attention and resources on special focus districts and groups (girls, SC, ST, Muslims, children with special needs), urban areas, and upper primary education. Furthermore, SSA i s also emphasizing the issue o f retention o f children in school through strengthening o f community participation, monitoring student attendance, and improved school performance. Flexibility to support differentiated needs is central to addressing the challenges in diverse local contexts. A norms-based approach to planning and resource allocation has been wel l suited to the need to achieve equitable access in rural and underserved areas. However, the SSA experience has increased the recognition o f the need for a differentiated approach to respond more f lexibly to the special needs o f diverse States while also linking funding w i th performance. In the over 300 special focus districts (SFD) -which have lower than average Education Development Index (EDI) status, greater than average gender disparities, concentrations o f SC, ST and Muslim populations and high numbers o f out o f school children (OOSC) - the AWP&B process prioritizes access and equity. In addition, there i s f lexibi l i ty to support quality enhancement measures identified by States. The emphasis on needs-based planning wil l continue. Evidence suggests that strengthening the role of local bodies in school management can lead to improved outcomes but takes time. There i s increasing evidence, primarily based on cross country OECD data, that pushing setting standards and monitoring performance to higher levels
8
o f government while pushing operational responsibilities to lower levels, where schoolslteachers have autonomy to make day to day decisions w i th increased accountability for learning outcomes i s correlated with improved learning.’ Whi le there are s t i l l few rigorous evaluations for developing countries, the available evidence* suggests: o Greater autonomy with accountability at the school level changes the dynamics o f the school
due to either changes in parent involvement or teacher behavior, which in turn affects learning. I t also reduces repetition, failure and to a lesser extent, drop-out rates; Evidence on direct impact on learning outcomes is more mixed. In part this may be due to the time taken to strengthen local institutions. In addition, research in the United States suggests that it may take up to five to eight years for such reforms to have any impact, particularly on learning outcomes; and
o Dissemination o f information o n roles and responsibilities o f school committees may increase effectiveness in school performance.
Furthering decentralization requires considerable efforts at capacity building at all levels - and particularly at village and community levels - to support quality. SSA has institutionalized decentralization o f operations mandatorily through local community bodies e.g. VECsISMCs/ PTAs etc.. It i s recognized that lower tiers o f governments, communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) play an important role in implementation. The capacity o f these entit ies needs to be enhanced to ensure that they play the i r roles effectively. This i s being addressed through various initiatives - provision o f technical support to StatedDistricts with weaker institutional structures, training o f SMCsNECs members o n roles, responsibilities and mechanisms to ensure quality in schools, and fostering stronger l i n k s between education and PRI Departments. The SWAP, pioneered under SSA I, has facilitated partner harmonization, strengthened sectoral management capacity, and reduced transactions costs. SSA was the f i rst SWAP in India and provides a model for effective development assistance. The SSA Results Framework has provided a common performance assessment framework for the Government and DPs. Procedures have been harmonized between DPs through a Memorandum o f Understanding (MOU) with common formats, withdrawal claims, and Joint Review Missions (JRMs) to minimize transaction costs. GoI’s financial management and procurement procedures have been used and strengthened over time.
o
E. Alternatives considered and reasons for rejection
36. Directing SWAP resources only to educationally backward Districts. Analysis o f the AWP&B process and SSA expenditures for 2005106 and 2006107 show that Go1 i s already directing greater resources to States and Districts that are lagging behind in terms o f education indicators (SSA expenditures on U P in 2006107, for example, were over 19 percent o f the total spent) - especially in terms o f access and equity, and so a greater share o f D P resources will f low to these Districts. However, focusing the resources exclusively on these Districts may impede the achievement o f the quality objective, which i s a priority and i s val id for a l l states and districts across the country. The DP resources can potentially add greater value to this component through financial and technical support at the national level.
37. LinkingJinancing to States to improvement on NAS scores. As mentioned above, the AWP&B process between the center and States i s making stronger linkages between funding allocations and each State’s performance, on various measures such as improvements in pupil-teacher ratio, reduced dropout rates and improved learning levels, as measured by the States. For example, those states that fai l to meet targets on school construction are given lower allocation for this category in the next financial year.. While there i s strong interest in moving towards outcome oriented budgeting and particularly l inkmg financing to improved learning outcomes, the N A S system o f NCERT i s
’ World Development Report, 2004. “Making Services Work for Poor People”. “Making Schools Accountable - What works in the developing world (World Bank mimeo, 2007)
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undergoing changes in the l ight o f the new National Cumculum Framework (NCF). Further the N A S i s a sample based survey and does not provide district data which l i m i t s i t s use for district based performance monitoring. Hence, linking financing to the current assessment measures would be premature at this stage.
3 8 . Include private unaided schools. SSA covers Government and private-aided schools. However, a significant number o f students (about 15 percent) attend private unaided institutions. The SSA framework does not support interventions such as conditional cash transfers and voucher programs to al low students to attend institutions in the private unaided sector since SSA i s committed to expanding access for every chi ld through public provision. With almost 85 percent o f the children to be catered to, selecting students f i om this large number for private school participation i s not feasible. Also, some o f the schools in the private sector in the more rural and deprived areas are unrecognized with no quality benchmarks, which raises issues o f equity and quality.
111. IMPLEMENTATION A. Partnership arrangements
39. The Wor ld Bank, DFID and E C wil l pool their funds to support the program from 2007/8- 2009/10. Of the approximately $10.7 b i l l i on total project cost, States will contribute close to 36.9 percent, Go1 wil l contribute around 53.7 percent and DPs 9.4 percent (the DPs wil l provide their support in the form o f reimbursements o f a proportion o f eligible Go1 expenditures o n SSA). Within the external pool o f around one billion, IDA w i l l provide 60 percent, DFID 30 percent and E C 10 percent. Similar to agreements reached under SSA I, the DPs have agreed with Go1 on common technical and financial indicators as we l l as reporting formats, relying on Go1 monitoring and reporting systems. The M o U agreed among the DPs and D E N M o F to guide interactions in support o f SSA, wil l be renewed for SSA 11. DPs wil l j o i n Go1 in reviewing implementation twice annually.
40. The program wil l also include a Technical Cooperation (TC) Fund which wil l provide support to NCERT at the national level, and through it, the states, for strengthening o f capacities in the specific areas o f learning assessments and evaluation o f quality initiatives.
B. Institutional and implementation arrangements
41. Management and implementation arrangements provide for: (i) program direction and oversight; (ii) decentralized management and implementation; and (iii) technical support and capacity building.
42. National Level. The governing council o f the National Mission chaired by the Prime Minister, sets pol icy and exercises oversight, at the national level, with MHRD having overall responsibility for implementation and monitoring o f the SSA Framework.
43. State Level. A t the State level, a State Mission Authority whose governing council i s chaired by the Chief Minister operates as an autonomous State Implementation Society (SIS) which provides direction and oversight at the State level. The SIS, through the State Project Off ice (SPO), coordinates w i th District and sub-District level organizations; supports Districts in preparing annual plans; i s responsible for monitoring and evaluation; and serves as a channel for the f l ow o f funds to the lower levels. The SPO reports o n implementation progress, and submits and negotiates the consolidated AWP&Bs, to the national level.
44. Distr ict Level. At the District level, the oversight function i s camed out by Distr ict Elementary Education Committees, chaired by the District Collector. The District Project Off ice (DPO), which works in close collaboration wi th the SPO, prepares the district AWP&B, and monitors physical and financial implementation progress.
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45. Sub-district Level. Block Education Offices (BEOs) have administrative responsibility for the schools, working in close collaboration with BRCs and CRCs on academic support. These bodies also facilitate and oversee the Village Education Committees (VECs).
46. Community and School Level. There are variations in the form, structure, and functions o f community and school level organizations across states. VECsIParent Teacher Associations (PTAs)/School Management Committee (SMCs), with members typical ly selected from the community o f parents, are responsible for planning, social mobilization and oversight at the village level. VEC’s are often sub committees o f the Gram Panchayat (GP, the village level elected government). From a role which has pr imari ly focused on c iv i l works and social mobilization in enrolling children, the emphasis i s now on enabling them to carry out their responsibilities in monitoring aspects o f school quality and school development planning.
47. SSA i s committed to strengthening l i n k s between the project management structures, the VECs/SMCs and the statutory PRI bodies in order to enhance accountability. The SSA framework now underlines the centrality o f Panchayats in monitoring and supervision o f SSA through instructing that: (i) a standing committee o f the Gram Panchayat (GP), the PRI structure at village level, should be the nodal body for elementary education, (ii) the VECs and SMCs should be l inked with that committee, and (iii) al l tiers o f PRI should be given roles in the supervision o f SSA. The challenge wil l be to make these links effective in promoting greater accountability and effectiveness in delivery. However, it i s expected that these wil l be operationalized differently in different states and SSA i s expected to support this through provision o f information, training o f the elected members o f PRI regarding their functions, and specification o f means by which the standing committee o f GPs act in linkage w i th VECs/SMCs. T o build capacity and sustain results SSA is committed to ending parallel district implementation systems between SSA and State Government structures, and strengthening the capacity for formulating plans in districts with weaker capacity - primari ly in the lagging states.
Technical Support
48. Technical support for planning, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation and capacity bui lding i s provided at various levels. At the National level there i s a dedicated Technical Support Group providing assistance to DSE&L and the states in al l aspects o f SSA implementation. Apex national institutions, such as NCERT, NUEPA and IGNOU provide support to the DSE&L and to State institutions in pedagogy, student assessment, teacher training, educational planning, and monitoring and evaluation. The modalities for these apex institutions technical support includes national workshops, collaborative evaluation and assessments w i th states, pi lot ing o f initiatives, dissemination o f materials, design o f teacher training programs and monitoring tools. A Technical Cooperation (TC) Fund will provide support to NCERT at the national level for strengthening o f capacities in the specific areas o f learning assessments and evaluation o f quality initiatives. At the State level, State Councils o f Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) and State Institutes o f Educational Management and Training (SIEMATs), are apex institutions for improving the quality o f school education and management. Similarly At the state level they provide leadershp and guidance. At the District level, District Resource groups are constituted who, under the guidance o f District Institutes o f Education and Training (DIETS), provide training to the BRCs and CRCs as wel l as village and school level personnel on school management, and pedagogy related issues.
C. Monitoring and evaluation o f outcomedresults
Monitoring
49. The monitoring arrangements under SSA have evolved successfully and the program i s making increasingly effective use o f data-based and field-based monitoring mechanisms, reviewed periodically at National, State, District and sub-District levels. A t the beginning o f the external support for SSA, certain agreed input, process and outcome indicators were identified to monitor the progress o f the program both in terms o f implementation as wel l as in terms o f results/outcomes as
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outlined by the Program’s development objectives. These were al l captured in the agreed Results Framework. An up-dated and enhanced Results Framework has been developed for the second phase o f external support to SSA.
50. The use o f timely data and information to support and monitor progress has increasingly been embedded into SSA implementation at the National, State and District levels during the f i rs t phase o f external support. T h e involvement o f 42 independent Monitoring Institutes (MIS) across the country, NGOs, and other third party researchers and institutions i s helping to make the monitoring system more comprehensive, reliable and timely. The apex institutions NCERT and N U E P A have continued to develop the range o f sources available to support and monitor the program against the results framework, in conjunction with MHRD. A range o f quantitative and qualitative information f rom different sources (e.g. District Information System for Education (DISE), the EDI, Quality Monitor ing Tools (QMT), Household Surveys etc.), forms the basis o f discussions and decisions in the AWP&B process. DISE is SSA’s main source o f statistical data on schools or E M I S (Education Management Information System) and covers al l districts in the country.
5 1. The experience o f implementing the program monitoring during the last five years has helped the Ministry to improve the data collection methods and tools, analysis, reporting and dissemination o f information. However, the main concerns regarding data collection are the uneven capacity o f the Stateddistricts in terms o f t imely data collection and processing, quality o f the data collected, and differential capacity to analyze data for monitoring and for generating evidence for planning purposes. The uneven capacity affects the reliability o f the national level reporting on key indicators. These concerns are being addressed in the program through enhancing transparency in sharing data through publishing on the web site, promoting use o f data in planning and analysis and sustained capacity building by NUEPA o f states and districts.
52. Several steps are being taken to improve monitoring, notably the more rigorous validation o f DISE. These include: (i) efforts to identify data gaps and reporting problems in DISE by carrying out third party evaluation o f the quality o f data collected and the process and timeliness. Some states have already been implementing measures in that direction, such as th i rd party five percent sample checks o f data which w i l l be used to improve the DISE; (ii) DISE data reporting i s being made more dynamic and analytical; and school level data i s being made available to the public; and (iii) School Report Cards have been developed and provide information about more than one mi l l ion elementary education schools in India. MHRD i s also considering a range o f measures that could strengthen the accuracy with which national progress could be monitored under the Results Framework. The measures are designed to: (i) improve further the quality, analysis and usage o f DISE data and clarify the system’s future status; (ii) update state/district household surveys to provide disaggregated, reliable and timely indicators o n out o f school children; (iii) collect better information on teacher and student attendance, and (iv) conduct more and improved triangulation o f data from various sources (DISE, household surveys and third party surveys) more regularly.
The Technical Cooperation (TC) Fund for Building Capacity on Research, Evaluation and Monitoring of Quality Initiatives
53. A TC Fund will support the strengthening o f capacity to monitor learning outcomes and to evaluate the impact o f quality intervention^.^ There are broadly four types o f capacity bui lding exercises that the T C Fund would support (see Annex 13):
Technical assistance for NCERT to ensure delivery o f the planned National Assessment Survey (NAS) cycle using modern measurement techniques. As a result o f this technical support, a l l Mid- Term Assessment Surveys (MASS) wil l have been analyzed or re-analyzed using modem analysis techniques, quality Terminal Assessment Surveys (TASs) instruments for Grade 5 would be developed, trialed, administered and analyzed and reports wil l be made available. Terminal
The TC Funds wil l not flow into the consolidated fund of India but wi l l be managed by a DP (DFID) as per the NCERTIMHRD capacity building requirements.
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Assessment Surveys (TASs) instruments for Grade 3 and 7/8 would also be developed, trialed, and administered;" Training and capacity bui lding for NCERT (and, through NCERT, the States) in core skills related to test design and development, sampling procedures, test administration, data management and psychometric analysis, and effective reporting, interpretation and use. This would ensure sustainable processes are established and would be achieved through exposure to international best practice and contact with a variety o f institutions; Technical assistance for NCERT in actual design and execution o f several evaluationshmpact assessments o f quality initiatives; and Training and capacity building for NCERT (and, through NCERT, the States) in a l l aspects o f evaluation o f quality initiatives, such as, design, sequencing, survey methodology, sampling methods, analysis and interpretation, to enable sustainable processes to be established.
54. The T C fund wil l operate under the fol lowing principles: (i) DFID wou ld manage and finance the T C Fund; (ii) technical expertise would be sourced competitively; (iii) NCERT and MHRD wil l play the key role in the selection o f technical expertise; and (iv) bi-annual Joint Review Missions (JRMs) wil l review the progress towards the T C Fund's objectives.
Joint Review Missions
55. The DPs w i l l j o in Go1 to review program implementation semi-annually in January and July as per terms o f reference agreed between the Go1 and DPs pr ior to each JRM. The January mission wil l visit the field. The f ield visit wil l focus more on the lagging States and Districts. The July mission wil l would be held in N e w Delhi and primari ly carry out desk reviews - wi th participation o f states and other institutions associated with SSA. JRMs w i l l review status o f progress and issues related to program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, including financial management/procurement capacity o f states and districts and agree on actions to support the weaker states.
D. Sustainability
56. Several factors are important for program sustainability. First, it i s important that the Central and State Governments remain committed to meeting the objectives o f the program. The significant success in meeting the access and equity objectives, and the sharpened focus on quality are clear indicators o f the emphasis both the Central and State Governments are giving to elementary education.
57. Second, it i s crucial to build capacity to implement and manage the program. The institutional arrangements for SSA are generally working well, but there are capacity and sustainability issues in many States which need to be addressed. These are being taken forward in various ways, for example, ending parallel implementation systems (between SSA and State Government structures) at the District level. Some States have moved faster, having integrated their SSA structures with those o f the general education system. Institutional capacity has also improved greatly in recent years with the f i l l ing o f most vacancies. Furthermore, closer integration o f the program structure with the PRI institutions i s l ikely to promote greater local accountability and effectiveness in program implementation.
E. Critical risks and possible controversial aspects
lo The reports for Grades 3 and 718 wil l be completed in FY 1011 1
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F. Loadcredit conditions and covenants
The Government o f India shall:
IV.
cause Ministry o f Human Resource Development (MHRD), through the Elementary Education Bureau (EEB), to oversee and be responsible for the day-to-day implementation o f the Program; maintain the Project Approval Board (PAB) throughout the Project implementation period; ensure that State Implementing Society (SISs) and other Project Executing Agencies remain operational throughout the Project implementation period; cause MHRD, through EEB to ensure that the P A B meets diligently, whenever necessary, to inter alia, approve and sanction Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&Bs) and the National Components and the State components, ensure adherence to the financial norms envisaged in the Program, maintain consistency with the overall objectives o f the Program and the Project, ensure cost effectiveness o f a l l proposed interventions at various levels and co-ordinate the activities o f various Project Executing Agencies; cause MHRD through EEB, to ensure t imely submission o f AWP&Bs, State and National Components for appraisal and subsequent approval by PAB; cause MHRD, through EEB, to ensure SISs t imely pass funds to various Project Executing Agencies including Districts, Block Resource Centers and Cluster Resource Centers; cause MHRD to maintain staffing for financial management for the Project as prescribed in the Manual on Financial Management and Procurement. cause the audits o f various Project Executing Agencies to be conducted in a timely manner in accordance w i th the terms o f reference set out in the Manual on Financial Management and Procurement; ensure that the project i s carried out in accordance w i th the provisions o f the Anti-Corruption guidelines (defined as the “Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption on Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants,” dated October 15, 2006).
APPRAISAL SUMMARY A. Economic and financial analyses
58. Cost-Benefit Analysis. This analysis covers only the project period f fom 2007 to 2010. For the cost streams, the analysis employs: (i) a project cost o f US$10 bi l l ion (financed by Center and State contributions and external funds over 3 years); (ii) private, direct costs o f schooling incurred by households; and (iii) the opportunity costs o f earnings foregone by children going to school. For the benefits stream it used (i) increased l i fe-t ime earnings o f workers who have higher levels o f educational attainment; and (ii) increased productivity as a result o f SSA’s efforts to enhance access to completion o f elementary education cycle and quality-enhancing interventions. The number o f beneficiaries are calculated based on projected improvements in enrolment and completion rates. The cost benefit analysis done for the project found an internal rate o f return (IRR) o f 16 percent and a net present value o f the net economic benefit o f about U S D 4.47 billion, showing that this public investment would be highly profitable. This IRR is based on the assumption that SSA allocations w i l l continue to be needs based and that primary and upper primary school completion rates wil l rise over their historical level as a result o f SSA’s interventions. (See Annex 9, Tables 9.1 and 9.2 for internal rates o f return and net present values).
59. Fiscal Sustainability Analysis. Based o n the proposed cost-sharing arrangements, projections were made on the fiscal sustainability o f the program under three scenarios. In the f i rst scenario, it was assumed that states would continue to increase investments in SSA, but at a decreasing rate due to competing demands on their finances. The second scenario assumed that total state expenditures (and commensurate SSA expenditures) wil l continue to grow at a pace observed over the past five years. The third scenario assumed that, owing to fiscal constraints, investments in SSA wil l increase marginally. The analysis showed that, based on historical expenditure patterns by states on SSA, in aggregate and state-wise, the proposed cost sharing arrangement appears to be affordable for a l l states as wel l as the lagging states under Scenarios I and 11. The resource availability wil l continue to
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support an increased pace o f SSA implementation over the 11" plan period. Under Scenario 111, the pace o f implementation wou ld be adversely affected. However, this scenario would involve a reduction in state commitment to education and SSA, and based on the trends over the past few years and continuing state commitment to education, th i s i s unl ikely to happen.
B. Technical
60. Progress over the f i rs t five years o f SSA has been impressive with significant gains in access and equity. F rom a baseline o f 25 mi l l ion out o f school children in 2003, the numbers have reduced to about 13.4 mi l l ion in 2005, as measured by independent surveys." This increase in enrolment i s particularly evident in previously under -served rural areas. With regard to equity, the gender and social gaps have also been significantly reduced.
61. However, while more and more children are now coming into school, challenges remain in terms o f the retention and completion o f the full elementary education cycle, and the quality o f education. Recognizing this, increasing thrust i s being given under SSA to interventions aimed at enhancing equity, retention, and improving quality. Some o f the key interventions that the Government i s undertaking include giving priori ty to opening more upper primary schools, addressing social category gaps through incentives & special sub-programs; creating enabling facilities in schools for quality education such as acceptable teacher-pupil ratios; giving priori ty to learning in the early grades (1-3); remedial teaching as part o f basic provisioning o f education; and provision o f textbooks and teaching and learning materials. This i s in addition to initiatives many State Governments and the Central Government are undertaking on improving the quality o f teachers, and monitoring o f learning levels.
62. In addition, SSA I1 wil l include a T C Fund. The T C Fund will support and facilitate strengthening o f capacities at the National level o f NCERT and through it, at the state levels in the specific areas o f (1) Learning Assessments; and (ii) the Evaluation o f Quality initiatives. The T C Fund will enable the use o f relevant national and international expertise and best practices in support o f bui lding capacities for enhancing quality o f education.
C. Fiduciary
Procurement
63. Procurement for SSA-I1 wi l l be carried out in accordance w i th SSA Manual for Financial Management and Procurement (FMP) Manual, which was developed for SSA-I during 2004, and the provisions stipulated in the Legal Agreement. The procurement under SSA-I1 will be handled at National, States, Districts, BlocWCluster and Village/School levels. The main items to be procured are c iv i l works, teaching materials, textbooks, computers, consultant and non-consultant services.
64. During the implementation o f SSA-I, certain weaknesses in the procurement arrangements were noticed. Some o f these were lack o f awareness about the provisions o f F M P Manual, weaker monitoring o f decentralized procurement, inadequate M I S for the contracts issued, weaker internal procurement audit, and there was a need for better community oversight for school level. However, i t was noted that MHRD had promptly initiated the appropriate action to address these deficiencies some o f which were observed during init ial years o f SSA-I.
65. The major factors contributing to procurement risk are l imitat ion in monitoring the decentralized procurement; l imited capacity to handle the procurement; lesser awareness o f procurement procedures at school/village level, where most o f the expenditure i s incurred; l imited disclosure o f procurement related information; and country environment factors. Based on th is the procurement related risk
" Administrative household data for 2006 show that less than 10 mill ion children are out o f school.
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rating is identified as “Substantial”. Many o f the mit igation measures are already in place or suggested in F M P Manual but the compliance needs to be improved. For remaining risks, a mitigation plan has been agreed w i th MHRD.
66. MHRD has agreed to publish financial and procurement audit reports o f State implementing agencies on SSA website. In addition, the States w i l l be required to disclose the procurement plan, contract opportunities, bid documents and contract award information on their website, as per Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) requirements.
67. The procurement audit to be conducted through the statutory auditors o f SIS and internal auditors would be further strengthened and procurement audit checklist will be used by them (MHRD has already shared the checklist with the states). The concurrent financial review, which also covers procurement reviews, wil l continue through the Institute o f Public Auditors o f India (IPAI). MHRD has agreed to include four additional financial management and procurement specialists (2 each on procurement and financial management respectively - two from the Go1 team and another two from the D P team) in the f ield Joint Review Missions for SSA-11. All contracts issued under SSA-I1 wil l be subject to post review on a sample basis. The need for post review wil l be determined in consultation with MHRD.
68. The detailed procurement arrangements for SSA-I1 are described in Annex 8.
Financial Management
69. Overall Financial Management aspects o n SSA have received increased attention over the past 3 - 4 years. Many o f the issues identified as part o f the assessment conducted during the preparation for the earlier Program have shown improvement. However this i s subject to the following: (a) while there have been improvements in general, specific states12 have lagged behind. These may need focused attention in the shodmedium t e r m to br ing them upto the same leve l as the others; (b) certain aspects relating to the assurance mechanism, i.e. the Statutory Audit processes need improvement; and (b) impact o f interventions have been more visible at the state/district levels; however there are s t i l l some areas o f concern at the sub-district levels. The sub-district levels are faced with the tw in challenges o f being the most dif f icult to reach on one hand but s t i l l handling a significant portion o f SSA funds on the other. MHRD would need to make fbrther efforts to reach th i s l eve l (through the states) to improve FM.
70. DPs have been engaged with SSA I (P055459) since 2004; therefore preparation for SSA I1 i s seen in continuum and an analysis o f the major interventions o f Go1 during the earlier engagement was carried out. This was based on review o f Financial Monitoring Reports, Audit Reports, JRM Documentation, IPAI reports on Concurrent Reviews, Manual, and SSA Website. The review also took into account the first-hand experience gained during visits to eight states as part o f various JRMs undertaken by Fiduciary/Governance Specialists from the GoI/DPs and a Fiduciary Risk Analysis. The analysis concludes that overall, the Program continues to have adequate arrangements for Accounting and Financial Management. Further, results o f the background work have fed into continuing dialogue w i th MHRD on future implementation. Key aspects o f the Program FM arrangements are given in subsequent paragraphs.
71. The Program for each state i s prepared in the form o f an AWP&B. The same i s evaluated by a Project Approval Board (PAl3) prior/close to commencement o f a financial year and the AWP&B finalized; funds transfers and monitoring are based on approved AWP&Bs.
72. A Manual on Financial Management and Procurement (Manual) has been in use under the program since 2004. The same has been translated in many local languages and distributed across states; recently many states have come up w i th their versions o f V E C Manuals.
E.g. Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur
18
73. MHRD is already staffed with a Financial Advisor and a Chief Controller o f Accounts who have the overall responsibility for financial management%ook keeping respectively. They are adequately supported by qualified, trained staff. MHRD has designated a Director in the Elementary Education Bureau as the person responsible for SSA Financial Management and Procurement. H e i s supported by a team consisting o f Go1 staff and consultants f rom a Technical Support Group.
74. Funds from Partners w i l l be received in accounts (Special Account) maintained w i th the Reserve Bank o f India (RBI); the account wil l be denominated in currency o f the respective credidgrants. The rupee equivalent o f the receipts wil l be transferred to the Consolidated Fund o f India. Adequate funds are provided to the relevant budget head o f MHRD for further release to states. States release funds (adding their contribution) further to the implementing entities.
75. Disbursement w i l l be made once per year around July/August, for eligible expenditures incurred in the prior fiscal year as reported in the FMRs. The program expenditures reported in the FMRs will be subject to confirmatiodcertification by the annual audit reports; Go1 would submit to the Partners a Consolidated Report on Audit which certify total program expenditures as reported in the individual audit reports o f al l implementing agencies. Any variation between the amounts o f program expenditures reported by FMRs and those reported in the Consolidated Report on Audit wil l lead to adjustments o f subsequent disbursements, to be recovered from or reimbursed to Go1 through the next disbursement.
76. Audits o f States are conducted by f i rms o f Chartered Accountants. The Audit wil l cover a l l SISs/ District Offices and sub-district units on a sample basis. Audits wil l be carried out in accordance w i th TORS which are documented in the Manual and which meet requirement o f the Partners. Go1 will provide the Partners w i th a Consolidated Report on Audit o f the Program. This report wil l consolidate the Program Expenditure Information incurred under the statelnational components.
77. In context o f the overall Program implementation arrangements, Financial Management risk i s rated as Substantial.
D. Social
78. The Social Assessment appraised the SSA Results Framework and SSA implementation processes at State and District levels, examining the mechanisms and criteria used to ensure social and gender equity. The framework focuses attention on “special focus groups” (SFGs), notably girls, SCs and STs, disabled children and deprived urban children and special focus districts (SFD) and other socially/educationally disadvantaged groups. During the first six years o f SSA implementation activities for these groups have been mainstreamed in State and District planning, appraisal and implementation, training and monitoring. SSA takes into account the context o f the program including socio-cultural factors that hinder marginalized groups from acquiring quality education.
79. Despite the progress that has been made in the f i rst phase o f SSA, the challenge remains o f ‘reaching the hardest to reach.’ The number o f girls and SC and ST and Muslim children out o f school as per an independent survey in 2005 i s 7.2 percent, 8 percent, 9.7 percent and 9.8 percent respectively o f their total population in the 6 to 14 age group, compared to 3 percent o f children in general category. The dropout rate i s highest among STs. The social group and gender disparities in education widen at the upper primary grades. Accordingly, DSE&L has prepared checklists for planning and appraising the States and Districts AWP&Bs to ensure that specific actions are taken for these special focus groups. The checklists have been incorporated in the Planning & Appraisal Manual for use during implementation. Similarly, gender issues continue to be addressed in a l l aspects o f the program and in other related schemes with which the SSA converges.
80. Monitoring the social disparities in enrolment, attendance, dropout, transition and learning outcomes i s extremely important. The development and institutionalization o f DISE has been very
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useful for evidence based planning. Based on the learning from the earlier phase o f external support, SSA wil l continue to disaggregate data on key parameters such as social categories, gender, locations, urban, rural at the District and National level. There wil l be emphasis on greater analysis and use o f these data at a l l levels and lead to more focused attention on the disadvantaged, marginalized groups.
81. In addition, SSA w i l l continue to strengthen i t s convergence with other related Government programs such as the Integrated Chi ld Development Scheme (ICDS), midday meal, women’s and girls empowerment (Mahila Samakhya), Drinking Water Mission, etc. This has proved to contribute greatly towards equity and improved learning experiences for a l l children.
82. One o f the over-arching goals o f SSA i s to bridge a l l gender and social gaps by 2010. Accordingly, the SSA framework calls for special attention to be paid to tribal children, among “special focus groups”. Some o f the specific interventions for tribal children in SSA include provision o f school facilities in tribal areas, deploying and providing specific support for teachers in these areas, and preparing special instructional materials for tribal children.
Tribal Development Challenges and Strategy
83. An independent study All India Survey o f out o f school children in the 6-13 years age group commissioned by Go1 in 2005 estimated ST chi ld population as 17.37 million, o f this 1.66 mi l l ion were out o f school, 9.54 percent o f age cohort against national average o f 6.94 percent. Thus, the continued focus o f SSA wil l be to bring in these remaining 1.66 mi l l ion children in school and ensure that they complete 8 years o f education. The decreasing trend in children being out o f school, indicates that it wil l not be dif f icult to narrow these gaps. The st i l l persisting h igh drop out rates gap between overall and ST children (13 percent points) remain an issue o f concern. Reduction o f this gap remains a key focus area in SSA.
84. Physical access to schooling, especially at the upper primary stage, i s s t i l l an issue in some parts o f the country in sparsely populated and remote tribal areas. But targeted coverage o f a l l eligible habitations for the upper primary school facilities w i l l continue to be a priority. In some remote sparsely populated areas, it may be dif f icult to set up schools due to small number o f children. In these areas residential schoolshostels are being provided.
85. Seasonal migration i s common in several tribal areas. Facilities l i ke seasonal hostels are being provided in al l such blocks with h g h level o f migration to help retain children in villages when parents migrate.
86. While the overall SSA strategy w i l l continue to be in the same direction, 74 districts w i th high tribal concentration have been identified for focused and targeted intervention and 52 districts identified by Ministry o f Tribal Affairs are being targeted for focused attention for girl’s education, closing o f infrastructure gaps, and convergence w i th other schemes o f the Ministry o f Tribal Affairs.
87. The process o f preparation o f SSA I1 included consultations with various stakeholders, including NGOs working w i th dalits and tribal groups and social activists. The SSA program wil l strengthen community ownership o f educational activities through effective decentralization. This involves Panchayati Raj Institutions, Village Education Committee (VECs), and other tribal councils, NGOs and women’s groups. The program wil l continue to involve tribal people in decision-making at several levels. At the district level, representatives o f tribal people wil l continue to participate in the annual planning and local-level decision making, in oversight o f the SSA activities, and providing feedback on the program to f ield leve l staff. Both the SSA and local government systems call for and facilitate such involvement. At the block and village levels, locally elected ST representatives and teachers are members o f VECs (which include the ST members o f the local village panchayat) and other user groups such as School Management Committee, PTAs, etc. In predominantly tribal areas, ST men and women wil l continue to be involved in community mobilization efforts which include enrolment drives, village meetings etc. Traditional tribal organization and local leaders are often involved in
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these activities. Local approaches to community mobilization will continue to be used, such as tribal fairs and festivals to promote education, and traditional media and art forms for communication. Finally, there wil l be an emphasis on recruiting local teachers. Teachers wil l also be consulted in the preparation o f district plans.
88. A total 2180 kasturba Gandhi Bal ika Vidyalaya (KGBV) (Residential Schools for older girls) have been sanctioned in the country out o f which 457 K G B V s are located in Scheduled Tribe concentrated blocks. Total enrolment in al l KGBV i s 80853, o f which 23298 are Scheduled Tribe girls which i s 29 percent o f the total enrolment as o f March 30, 2007. Many o f the incentive schemes wil l continue to have a sharper focus on children from these communities. The participation o f tribals in the affairs o f the school wil l continue to be especially encouraged to ensure ownership o f the Abhiyan by a l l social groups, especially the most disadvantaged. The interventions for children belonging to ST communities are based o n the intensive micro planning addressing the needs o f every child.
89. For girls, under the National Program for Girls’ Education at the Elementary Level (NPEGEL) program, special focus w i l l continue to be given to education o f girls f rom ST communities. The scheme i s targeted to educationally backward blocks where the level o f rural female literacy i s less than the national average and the gender gap i s above the national average, as also in blocks that have at least 5 percent ST population and where the ST female literacy rate i s below 10 percent. Kasturba Gandhi Bal ika Vidyalaya (KGBV) schools wil l continue to be provided for girls in educationally backward blocks, where a maximum o f 75 percent girls enroled are to be from ST, SC, OBC Minor i ty Communities.
Disclosure
90. The Tribal Development Plan has been disclosed on the Ministry o f Human Resource Development website (www.ssa.nic.in). In addition, SSA project offices in al l states are disclosing the availability o f the Tribal Development Plan and soliciting comments f rom the community.
Grievance Redressal
9 1. Systemic provisions are in place for redressal o f grievances. States have their own specific institutional mechanisms established at a l l administrative levels. A statutory body, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been established w i th a mandate interalia, “to investigate and monitor al l matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution or under any other l aw for the time being in force or under any order o f the Government and to evaluate the working o f such safeguards”. I t also inquires into ‘specific complaints with respect to the deprivation o f rights and safeguards o f the Scheduled Tribes.’ The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has six regional offices covering al l the States and Un ion Territories. The Collector or the District Magistrate heads the Distr ict Level Implementation Society for SSA in most states and i s responsible for addressing local grievances. At the level o f the community, whi le there are variations across states, the village and ward based local ly elected bodies are responsible for addressing grievances.
E. Environment
92. Environmental issues are related mainly to c iv i l works, including construction o f toilets and water facilities in schools. The Environmental Assessment (EA) for the second phase o f D P support to SSA (SSA 11) was undertaken and completed in September 2007, including findings from National Third Party Evaluation conducted in several major states. The EA has been disclosed on the Ministry o f Human Resource Development website (www.ssa.nic.in). In addition, SSA project offices in al l states are disclosing the availability o f the EA.
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93. Prior to the beginning o f the f i rst phase o f DP support to SSA (SSA I), a partial EA was carried out. The EA report identified probable environmental issues in the program and described manuals, guidelines and directives to address environmental issues. During implementation o f SSA I, some more manuals were developed by Go1 and State leve l implementing agencies. A feature o f SSA has been the involvement o f communities and school level institutions such as VECs in the identification, planning, design, implementation, operation and maintenance o f schools and other program activities.
94. National level monitoring consists o f Third Party Evaluations (TPE), periodic reviews by project implementing authorities and special monitoring visits by TSG and other members. National level monitoring is supplemented through the jo int review missions (JRMs). These missions have been effective in identifying shortcomings and highlighting good practices. DISE coverage has expanded across a l l schools and i t provides critical information needed for planning.
95. The JRM reports indicate that overall construction quality has been satisfactory. However, there are issues related to school level infrastructure planning. Instances o f haphazard expansion are reported in some states. Ramps, wh ich are provided for barrier free access to the disabled, were found to have inadequate width or slope in some instances. DSEL i s directing State level implementing agencies to take corrective steps in improving the ramps and to strictly adhere t o specifications in future construction. There are also issues reported w i th maintenance o f water and sanitation facilities. I t has been agreed that, by 2010, a l l schools wil l be provided w i th water facilities and separate toilets for girls. States are making efforts to create a conducive physical environment to teaching learning. In addition to innovations developed during DPEP and other projects, new innovations B a L A (Building as Learning Aid) developed during SSA I and implemented in some states are being scaled UP.
96. A further innovation under SSA I1 w i l l be the inclusion o f environmental audits which wil l be conducted by special teams constituted out o f the existing lo t o f engineers within the State implementing agencies. All States and UTs wil l be covered in a cycle o f three years. The audits are expected to provide the State technical teams an opportunity to learn through self-evaluation
97. School infrastructure Operation and Maintenance (O&M) i s currently financed through annual Repair and Maintenance Grants (RMG) and other State funds. All States wil l develop sustainable school infrastructure O&M.
F. Safeguard policies
Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.0 1) [XI [I Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) [I [I Pest Management (OP 4.09) 11 [I Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11) [I [I Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) [I [I Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) [X I [I Forests (OP/BP 4.36) [I [I Safety o f Dams (OP/BP 4.37) [I [I Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60)' [I [I Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) [I [I
98. Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01). The nature o f activities proposed under the project does not pose significant environmental risks. Environmental mitigation measures proposed under the
* By supporting the proposed project, the Bank does not intend to prejudice the final determination of the parties' claims on the disputed areas
22
project would help in enhancing project benefits and in avoiding/minimizing any adverse impacts on environment.
99. Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10). The SSA framework calls for special attention to the needs o f tribal children. Mit igation measures proposed under the project wil l lead to enhanced access to quality elementary education for these children.
Involuntary Resettlement and Land Acquisition
100. OP4.12 o n Involuntary Resettlement does not apply since the project wil l not involve any involuntary land acquisition.
101. Participatory and transparent processes would be fol lowed to obtain land for construction o f educational structures both in rural and urban areas. Normal government procedures would be fol lowed for documentation o f transfer o f governmentlpanchayat-owned and donated land. In some states the records are available at the Tehsil Office, while in others they are maintained by the village Patwari (Accountant). The documentation would be accessible to Joint Review Missions on f ield visits to ascertain that no displacement (loss o f residence or livelihood) has taken place in obtaining the land. All sites for construction wil l fal l in the above categories. The SSA Framework does not provide for the purchase o f land. SSA would not fund construction on any land for which clear title i s not already available.
102. T o ensure voluntary donation and no significant physical displacement or adverse impact on incomes, al l land transfers wou ld meet the fol lowing criteria: (i) the land would be free o f squatters, encroachers, other claims and encumbrances; (ii) to protect the poor, land would not be accepted from any donor who i s below the poverty line, whose holding would then be reduced below the minimum size stipulated to be economically viable locally (generally 2.5 acres); (iii) any land w i th disputed title and/or legal or illegal settlements would be excluded; (iv) the voluntary nature o f the donation would be verified by the local administration; and (v) land transfers would be completed with land title vested in the panchayat or other government body through a registered deed or MOU, or through any procedure prescribed by the l aw o f the state. In keeping w i th program principles, a l l sites would be selected by or be acceptable to the concerned community. Any minor impacts o f land obtained through voluntary donations would be addressed by the panchayats with due consideration to vulnerable groups.
G. Policy Exceptions and Readiness
103. N o pol icy exceptions are sought. The SSA program i s already in its seventh year o f implementation (2001-2010) and was supported by the DPs from 2004-2007 through SSA I. The DPs have now been invited to provide a second phase o f support for the remaining period o f the program; Le., through to 2010. The fiduciary arrangements that have been in place for the f i rst phase o f external support wil l continue; State Implementation Societies are fully operational and wi l l continue; the Central and State Governments have demonstrated their commitment through budget allocations and States’ willingness to meet the agreed matching contribution to project costs - the evidence o f allocations for 2007/08 suggests that GoI’s forecast o f total SSA expenditures between 2007/08 to 2009/10 o f Rs. 42,000 crores (USD 10,500 M) i s accurate; disclosure requirements are being met; monitoring and evaluation arrangements have been agreed upon and indicators specified; baseline data has been collected; and SWAP arrangements and the M o U agreed upon between Go1 and DPs wil l continue.
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Annex 1: Country and Sector or Program Background
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
I. Introduction
1. India, a country o f over a b i l l i on people w i th a per capita GDP o f about $720, has made strong progress in reducing poverty and enhancing access to education. Poverty rates have fallen f rom 46 percent living below the MDG $l/day measure in 1987 to 34 percent in 2004/5. Improvements in the education sector have been one o f the main pillars o f India’s growth and development strategy. Despite this progress, there remain enormous inequalities in socio-economic and human development in terms o f region, rural-urban population, gender and social groups which makes India a highly heterogeneous society with diverse issues. This annex analyzes the development o f the education sector, especially elementary education, taking into account the pol icy framework and financing patterns. Specific emphasis i s given to developments ever since the onset o f SSA in 2001.
11. Elementary Education Policy
2. Elementary education i s a subject in the Concurrent l i s t o f the Constitution with primary responsibility for service delivery resting w i th State Governments. The outlays and expenditures on education, as a share in State Domestic Product (SDP) vary f rom State to State. This has historically resulted in imbalances in education spending, leading inter alia to imbalances in resultant outputs and subsequent outcomes.
3. Though the Universalization o f Elementary Education (UEE) has been a National goal since independence, it i s only since the early 90’s that the development o f basic education received focused attention. The National Policy o f Education (1986 & then modif ied in 1992) facilitated the move towards this objective, along with the Global declaration on basic education for a l l adopted in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990. As a result o f these national and international pol icy developments, in spite o f the fiscal crisis that erupted in early 1990s,I3 both Central and State Governments had by the early 1990s affirmed their intention to raise the education expenditure to the level o f 6 percent o f GDP. There was also an increased recognition o f the need to increase fiscal transfers from the Central Government to State Governments to equalize the differential revenue-generating capacity between (i) the Centre and the States; and (ii) between various States; and the varying backlog o f educational needs among States. Hence, various CSSs in education such as the Operation Black Board, Teacher Education Program, N o n Formal Education (all in 1987), Mahi la Samakhya (1989), Shiksha Karm i (1987), Bihar Education Project (1991), L o k Jumbish Project (1992), U P Basic Education Project (1993) and the District Primary Education Projects (DPEP) (1994) targeting primary education were initiated.
4. The new mil lennium heralded newer perspectives on elementary education provision at the national and international levels. The Wor ld Education Forum o f 2000 in Dakar and the adoption o f the MDGs in the same year brought in renewed interest in universalizing elementary education in India. Recognizing the significance o f acheving UEE, the State Education Ministers’ Conference in 1998 recommended that it should be pursued in a mission mode. Fol lowing this event, the Government o f India (GoI) launched SSA as i ts flagship program in 2001-02 and has been working with State Governments on the program for achieving UEE. The amending o f the Constitution (86* Constitutional Amendment 2002) to make elementary education a fundamental r ight o f every citizen is also the result o f such commitment towards elementary education, across the pol i t ical spectrum in India.
I3 The fiscal crisis o f early 1990s led t o a series o f economic reforms, important among wh ich were steps init iated to reduce thc fiscal dcficit and contain growth in public expenditurc, especially in social scctors
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5. Both DPEP and SSA were based on the concept o f evidence based micro-planning at Distr ict level with community participation using certain guidelines and norms. SSA i s being implemented during the last six years resulting in significant changes in the way elementary education i s provided and managed in the country. This period also has seen greater f lexibi l i ty in terms o f norms to promote evidence based and need-based allocations and planning within specific state and district contexts. However, given the objective to achieve the EFA goals by 2010, i t i s important to continue and intensify current efforts, especially with regards to improving enrolment, retention, completion and quality outcomes.
111. Financing Elementary Education
6. Historically, financing elementary education was in the domain o f State Governments, with Central Government providing only the pol icy directions. However, as a result o f the developments that were initiated in the sector since the introduction o f the National Education Policy in 1986, the Un ion Government has financed an increasing share o f elementary education expenditures through the CSSs. Thus, there are two major sources for financing elementary education in India: (a) State Governments - through (i) their own budgets, (ii) statutory transfers o f the Central Governments and (iii) transfers f rom the Centre for State plans; and (b) Central Government - through the specific purpose grants earmarked under specific Central Schemes (CS) and CSSs. These schemes may be either fully financed by the Centre or may involve a matching grant from the State in ratios specified in the scheme. Since 2004-05, a two percent levy on a l l income/ service tax/ capital gains tax, known as the education cess, has been levied by the Un ion budget to raise revenue to finance elementary education programs (SSA and Mid Day Mea l programs); from 2007/8 an extra one percent education cess has been levied for secondary & higher education.
7. Education Expenditure as a Percentage of National GDP and State GDP: Public expenditures on education (elementary, secondary and tertiary) have remained fair ly constant at around 3.5-4 percent o f GDP since 2000. This compares favorably with the low-income countries’ average o f 3 percent, although i t falls short o f India’s own often stated target o f 6 percent. Given India’s high economic growth rate, education expenditures have increased significantly, over 20 percent in real terms (Figure 1.1).
Figure 1.1: Expenditure on Education (All Levels)
Expenditure on Education: National Scenario 4.50 T T 70000
2000-01 2001 -02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06
8 . Education expenditure in State GDP: While n o systematic pattern i s discernable, the overall expenditure on education as a share o f State GDP has been increasing in a few States, especially in some o f the poor States, while the share has been on the decline in some o f the economically and educationally better o f f States. In poor States l ike Bihar, the proportion has increased to about eight percent, while in a high income states l i ke Punjab, education expenditures have declined to about three percent o f State GDP. Given the wide variation in GDP across States, per capita state education
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expenditures also vary significantly - e.g. in spite o f significantly higher shares o f GDP being allocated to education in Bihar as compared to Punjab, more resources per capita are spent on education in real terms in the latter than the former.
Figure 1.2: Overall Education Expenditures as a YO o f State GDP 1990/91-2004/5
Education expenditure as % o f state GDP 1990-91 - 2004-05 I 9.0 1
9. Allocations for Elementa y Education Expenditures in the Central and State Government Budgets: While the allocations for elementary education in Un ion budgets have risen substantially in recent years, State elementary education expenditures have increased more slowly in real terms (Figure 1.3). One o f the main reasons for this i s the emergence o f large scale CSSs in elementary education since the mid-1 990s.
Figure 1.3: Elementary Education Expenditures Elementary Education Allocstionr in Union Budge@ since 2000
12000 -
8000 -
6000
2000.01 2001.02 1002.03 2003.04 2004-05 2005-06
Elementary Education Expenditures in State budgets since 2000
45000 7
40000
35000 I II 30000 J : 25000
10. Elementary Education Expenditures under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of DPEP and SSA: CSSs in the education sector were developed as a result o f the New Education Policy (1986) and the national priori ty o f achieving universal primary and now elementary education. Central Schemes such as Operation Blackboard (OBB), Non-Formal Education (NFE) and Teacher Education (TE) were the main means o f transfening Central allocations for elementary education to States during the late 1980s and early 1990s. While there were CSSs in elementary education prior to that, the effectiveness in terms o f increasing the allocations for the sector as a whole was marginal as many States substituted the CSS allocations for their own allocations. However, things started changing with DPEP (where the Central share o f 85 percent was entirely funded by DPs) and SSA (where DPs share was much smaller as compared to Central Government investments), wherein the scope for substitutability was eliminated and central funds were designed to provide "additionality" to investments and also included a condition o f "matching contributions" from States.
11. One o f the reasons for introducing CSSs as specific purpose grants was to rect i fy the horizontal disparities in educational inputs, outputs and outcomes across States and Districts. The allocations for both these large CSSs were based on certain norms and on District level AWP&Bs, thus enabling
26
States and Districts to access additional central funds. Whi le the Center contributed 85 percent o f the allocations for DPEP, under SSA, during the 10” Plan period, the share between Center and State was 75:25. Dur ing the last few years, the outlays approved for SSA have increased. The delays in preparation o f SSA budgets have reduced and plans have been approved on time. The AWP&B approvals for SSA in 2005-06 were Rs.13,422 crores (1 crore = 10 million), o f which Rs.10,000 crores were spent. In 2006-07, the allocations have r i sen even further to around Rs.20,OOO crores and expenditure was over Rs. 14,700 crores. I t should be pointed out that even though SSA i s the flagship National program o n elementary education, it accounts for only 10 percent o f a l l spending in the sub- sector. The expenditures ‘eligible’ for SSA funding cover c iv i l works, interventions for OOSC, salaries, teacher training, textbooks, maintenance and other educational interventions. The bulk o f education funding by states outside o f SSA are teacher salaries (over 80 percent), plus in some cases textbooks, furni ture and other educational interventions. The Centre-state share o f these expenditures w i l l change over the next three years f rom 65: 35 till 2008-09 to 60:40 for the last year o f D P support to SSA 11. Subsequently, the center -state share wil l shift to a 50:50 sharing pattern in a tapering ratio for the remaining period o f SSA. The funding pattern for the Northeastern states wil l remain at 90: 10.
12. Per Child expenditure: The per chi ld public (Centre and State together) (re)current expenditure on elementary education (in constant 1993-94 prices) has been increasing over the last decade and a half. Furthermore, as SSA brings in additional investments per child, the total per chi ld expenditure has increased tremendously (Figure 1.4). What i s also encouraging to note, i s that SSA has played a major contribution in increasing the per child-plan expenditures (Figure 1.5)
Figure 1.4: Per-capita Real Total Expenditures on Education
P e r chi ld r e a l (in constant 1993-94 prices) expenditure on education I 7 ,
Figure 1.5: SSA Contribution to per-Child Plan Expenditures (All India)
Contributions of SSA for Plan expenditures p e r c h i l d All India
m 400 1 ‘l 350
300
250
200
1 5 0
100
50
ZOOS-06 2004-05 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
I 1 El State plan (minus SSA contribution) per child I SSA plan per child 1
27
13. Household Education Expenditure: Unfortunately, due to paucity o f data related to household expenditure on education by children attending public and private institutions or by children attending different stages o f education, i t i s not possible to estimate the out o f pocket expenditures incurred by households on elementary education. However, N S S consumer expenditure rounds include questions on the annual expenditure incurred by the households o n the children attending any education level. Since the expenditures cannot be disaggregated by the children’s education specific characteristics, the mean expenditures provided by such analysis are for any student between 6-24 years attending any educational institutions. Taking this as a proxy indicator, the estimations show that the households in the lowest expenditure quintiles spend less in terms o f their share in total household expenditures than households that are wealthier.(Figure 1.6). This i s not an indicator o f lower demand for education, as the enrolment and attendance data in the next section show - poorer children are the majority o f those newly going to school.
Figure 1.6: Household Expenditures on Education (children aged 6-24)
HouseholdExp on Education o f children between 6-24 years : Mean exp & share in total
Q1 4 2 4 3 4 4 Q5
3500
3000 9
0
1 IiNMNI Household Ekp on education as a % ofhousehold consumption expenditure - All India -Rural 1 @A% #Household Ekp on education as a % ofhousehold consumption expenditure - All India - Urban -Q-- Household Expenditure on Education- per chi ld (6-24 years enrolled) Rs. All India - Rural - -Household Expenditure o n Education- per chl ld (6-24 years enrolled) Rs. All India - Urban
14. In the last two years MHRD has developed an Educational Development Index which i s being used to analyze progress in education across districts and states and to also inform planning and budgeting (this i s discussed in detail in annex 4 o n planning and appraisal process). Analysis o f expenditures in 2005106 and 2006107 indicates that per chdd expenditure i s increasing fastest in districts with the lowest ED1 status - thus confirming that SSA allocations and expenditures are now priori t izing special focus districts and groups. One o f the major outcomes o f the education sector spending is, o f course, the expansion o f access and hence increasing participation in the education process, particularly for girls, SC, ST, Muslims and CWSN.
IV.
Access and Equity
Trends in Elementary Education: Access, Equity and Quality
15. Since 1950, the number o f primary schools in India increased almost four-fold, from about 210,000 to around 950,000 schools and the number ofupper primary schools has increased by a factor o f 27. This increase has been very rapid during the last five years, under SSA (Figure 1.7). The number o f access-less habitations came down f rom 160,528 in 2002 (All India Education Survey, AIES) to around 20,000 in 2006 in the case o f primary stage and from 170,000 in 2002 to around 70,000 in 2006 in the case o f the upper primary stage.
28
Figure 1.7: Number o f Primary and Upper Primary Schools (1950-2005) Number of primary and upper primary s c h o o l s in the country:
Progress since 1 9 5 0 s
I O Primary ra Upper Primary !
16. Out-of-School Children and Enrolment. It i s estimated that the total number o f children in the age group o f 6-13 years in India amounts to 194 mil l ion. The number o f children in the age group o f 6-14 years who were out-of-school has come down from over 45 mi l l ion in 2001 (Census 2001) to less than 10 mi l l ion (estimates f rom Household Survey o f SSA, 2006-07) in 2006. Using a slightly different definition, the National Sample Survey (NSS) data shows that the number o f children “not attending” school has declined substantially. These data shows that the pace o f reduction between 1999/00-2004/5 (capturing the early SSA years), was substantially greater than in the past.
17. Correspondingly, the number o f children attending has gone up. In al l the attendance related indicators -ASAR (Age Specific Attendance Rate), Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) and Net Enrolment Rate (NER) - there has been considerable progress f rom the mid-1980s to 2004105 (Figure 1.8).
Figure 1.8: Trends in ASAR, GER and NER
Propress in ASAR, GAR and NAR I
100% - 90% - 80% -
6-10 years age group / primary
42nd r d 52nd r d 6 1 st r d 19S6/87 1995/96 2004/05
1 1 - 13 years age group / Upper Primary
42ndrd: 52ndrd 61st r d 1986/87 I 1995/96 I2004/05
6- 13 years age group / Elementary I
18. Equity. The increase in the number o f children attending in the specific age group has been more significant among girls, rural children, children belonging to marginalized groups such as Scheduled 2astes (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST), minorities, children from economically lowest strata, and :ducationally and economically lagging States. This increase in attendance has been more remarkable during the period 1999-2000 to 2004-2005 compared to previous periods. As a result o f this, the equity gaps have been narrowing. The gender gaps in ASAR among 6-13 years age group have narrowed tremendously (from 18 percentile points in the mid-1980s to 5 percentile points in 2004-05), and so i s the rural-urban gaps (from 24 percentile points to 6 percentile points in 2004-05). The ASAR gap between ST, SC and the general community has also been narrowing. However, the most remarkable reduction in ASAR gaps has been between the richest and the poorest economic quintiles (based on monthly per capita expenditure quintiles) - from 42 percentile points in mid-1980s to
29
around 15 percentile points in 2004-05, w i th the early years o f SSA associated w i th a noticeable acceleration in this trend (Figure 1.9).
Figure 1.9: Trends in ASAR by Expenditure Quintiles (1995/96-2004/5) T r e n d s in ASAR by MPCE quint i les
19. Public-Private Enrolment. While the Government remains the dominant provider o f education, and has seen a significant increase in enrolment over the past decade, there has also been a significant increase in enrolment in the private sector - especially in private unaided schools. Thus the share o f students attending Government schools has been reduced slightly over the last ten years. The growth o f the private unaided sector has mostly been in urban and semi-urban areas and among the more affluent groups, while the Government has continued to cater to students in rural areas, SCs, STs, Muslims, CWSN and those from the lowest economic quintiles (Figure 1.10).
Figure 1.10: Comparative Growth o f Enrolments in the Public and Private Sector
I Share of additional enrolments captured by Gowrnment by categories
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% I Overall B o y s Girls Rural Urban SC ST Other Q I Q5
10 1986-87 to 1995196 I 1 9 9 5 1 9 6 to 2004105
Quality
I20
I I W I
SO
60
40
20
0
-
Overall. Number ofchildren attending by type ofschool
20. In the light o f the remarkable progress that has been made in increasing school access, enrolment and retention, the emphasis in SSA i s increasingly shifting to improving the quality o f education and, in particular, ensuring that educational attainments o f sufficient levels are achieved by a l l learners.
2 1. Quality in provision: The Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) has improved tremendously in most States and a majority o f districts have reached the target o f 40: 1. N ine percent o f teachers are contract teachers and 42 percent o f these teachers have received pre service training. 50 percent o f the contract teachers are college graduates and above.( 2004) Many teachers are trained while in service through direct and distance mode, but about 300,000 are yet to receive this essential input. Moreover, whi le the mean average PTR achieved in some states and districts may be 40, this often masks inefficient
30
deployments at district and sub-district levels with schools in the urban areas typically having PTRs less than 40 while schools in rural areas can have PTRs as high as 70.
~ ~ y ~ ~ l b m n l * ~ ~ l Z . l 4 y l p I d b ~ 6 ~ ~ pWp
Vh - Wh -
22. A large numbers o f teachers, usually in small rural schools are teaching more than one grade simultaneously. These are the ‘multigrade’ teachers working, mainly, with the country’s poorest children. In India, 78 percent o f rural primary schools, the vast majority, have three or fewer teachers to attend to al l five grade levels, and 58 percent have fewer than 100 students (DISE 2006). These schools are multigrade by circumstance. To ensure that students in multigrade setting are not adversely affected, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF, 2005) has been developing appropriate pedagogy and patterns o f training.
Trendc in pnmsly mmpletion rates among I 2 4 yern oldbj MPCEquintiler 100% - 90%. ::
23. Recent estimates o f teacher attendance and absence rates f rom studies conducted by independent agencies sponsored by MHRD shows that, while the situation has improved over the past few years, teacher absenteeism rates are st i l l around 20 percent. The quality issues go beyond merely looking at teacher and student attendance to their actual engagement in terms o f time-on-task. Monitor ing o f time-on-task and teacherlstudent attendance wil l continue to be an important activity in SSA.
I 5Zndmlnd 19951%
24. School completion i s just as important as access and enrolment. It i s often the case that some children who enroll in grade one drop out before completing the primary cycle. According to the Selected Education Statistics (MHRD), the drop-out rates have declined from 39 percent in 2002 to 28 percent in 2004, a significant decline as compared to a 2.3 percent drop in the previous decade. However, drop out rates are s t i l l h igh among SCs and STs. According to the DISE data, the dropout rate o f SCs was 36.7 percent at the primary and 59.4 percent at the upper primary level in 2004. The dropout rate for STs are even higher. On the other hand, the reduction in girls’ dropout rates at the primary level have been sharper than that o f boys - by as much as 15 percent points between 2001 and 2004.
55th mund ’ 61n round ’ 52ndroind 55th round. 6 l d r o r d 1999 00 200405 199596 199900 2004102
hQngl l l chLkU 1 Among tho% e n r o l i d
26. Of those who complete primary, around 93 percent now go on to attend upper primary schooling. This i s in contrast to 84 percent two decades ago. In the 12-14 age group, children who were attending the upper primary sector has now r isen from 40 percent to 74 percent in the last two decades. (Figure 1.12).
Among all c h i l h n ,
31
Figure 1.12: Transition Rates at Primary Level
100%
90% 8 0 %
70%
60%
5 0 %
4 0 % 3 0 %
20% 10% 0 Y o
T r a n s i t i o n rates: 12-14 y e a r s o l d a t t e n d i n g u p p e r p r i m a r y a n d above a m o n g those comple ted p r i m a r y a n d a m o n g those e v e r enrouRq70A 93 2 0 % .. .
0 Of those who ever enrolled, attending upper primary & above
I Of those who completed. attending upper primary & above
Learning Outcomes
27. The NCERT baseline surveys on learning achievements for grades 3 and 5 in 2000 and grades 718 in 2004, and the independent Annual Status o f Education Reports (ASER) in 2005 and 2006 (conducted by the NGO Pratham). A few State specific studies were also undertaken by the Wor ld Bank in 2005-2006. The test content, test administration and study samples are different in each o f these surveys malung it dif f icult to compare results across these studies. However, a common and undisputed finding that emerges from a l l o f these studies is that learning levels are low.
28. The NCERT baseline achievement surveys for classes 3, 5, 7 and 8 are a l l India surveys- covering 30 states, 110 districts and approximately 14000 schools. Ten percent o f the Districts in each State were covered. 50 Government and Government aided schools were selected f rom each District, proportionately f rom rural and urban areas. Achievement tests were curriculum based and included common competencieslconcepts in mathematics and language. The test format was mult iple choice types o f questions.
29. The baseline surveys show l o w achievement scores. In class 3, the mean performance in language was 63 percent wi th standard deviation o f 22. In mathematics it was 58 percent with a standard deviation o f 25. The corresponding numbers in class V were 59 percent (standard deviation 18) and 47 percent (standard deviation 21). There i s substantial variation across States. In general, urban areas performed better than rural areas. In math, boys performed better than girls. In language, in urban areas girls performed better than boys while in rural areas, boys performed better than girls. However, the magnitude o f difference in achievement by gender i s small. The finding that achievement scores are l o w i s corroborated by more recent studies referred to above and described in more detail below.
30. The second group o f studies, ASER, i s based on an a l l India survey covering a large number o f Districts across 28 States and UTs. A random sample o f 20 villages was drawn from each Distr ict and a sample o f 20 households selected in each village. All children in the 7-14 age group in the sample households were tested on basic competencies l i ke reading words and simple text, subtraction and division.
31. ASER 2005 findings reveal that 52 percent o f a l l children in age group 7-14 could not read a simple text and 41 percent in the same age group could not do subtraction or division. Whi le there are wide variations across States, children attending private schools performed better in general than those in Government schools. ASER was repeated in 2006 and the overall performance figures at the National level improved slightly over 2005. In classes 1 and 2, there was 4-5 percentage point gain in the percentage o f children who recognized numbers and a similar gain in the percentage o f children
32
who recognized alphabets. There was no discernible change in the percentage o f children in classes 3- 5 who read while in maths, there was a 4 percentage point gain in the percentage o f children who could do subtraction or more complicated sums.
32. The Wor ld Bank undertook a study o f learning achievements o f grade 4 and 5 students in public, private aided and private unaided schools in Orissa and Rajasthan in 2006. In each State, a total o f 200 schools were surveyed and approximately 6000 students were tested in curriculum based exams in language and mathematics. In both States, average test scores o f Government schools were lower than those o f the other two types in a l l tests and both grades. In Orissa, average test scores in Government schools were only between 30-45 percent, almost ha l f the average scores o f private unaided schools. In Rajasthan, these were distributed around 50 percent. The performance o f private unaided schools in the State was only a l i t t l e better than Government schools. Average learning gains between grades 4 and 5 were between 9-12 percentage points implying l o w intensity o f learning taking place for students per unit o f t ime spent in school. In both States, school specific effects had the strongest correlation w i th variations in test scores. Analysis in both States showed that there was a large variation in test scores across schools. For example, there were good quality Government schools which outperformed private schools - implying that teaching and learning practices in schools matter more than the school type.
33. Another study conducted by the Wor ld Bank in UP, M P and Karnataka in 2006, also showed similar results. In each State four Districts were chosen, matched across States in terms o f the literacy rate. In UP and MP, 200 Government schools were surveyed and approximately 9000 children in grades 2, 3, and 4 were tested. In Karnataka, the sample size was 210 Government schools and about 6300 children in grades 4 and 5 were tested. Tests were competency and curriculum based. The language test was a test o f reading and writ ing slul ls. The math test was a test o f number recognition, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Learning levels are l o w in the sample Districts o f UP and M P and much higher in Karnataka Districts on al l competencies tested. At the end o f class 4, only 22 percent o f chldren in UP and 33 percent in M P can read a sentence correctly while in the Karnataka sample, 73 percent o f children could read correctly. 18 and 20 percent o f children at the end o f class 4 in UP and M P could do subtraction correctly. In Karnataka the comparative number was 63 percent. I t should be pointed out that the results o n M P are at variance w i th the results o f the ASER 2006 report (released in January 2007), and this needs to be looked into in more detail.
34. T o summarize, while these studies differ in their methods, test administration as we l l as testing tools and therefore comparison across studies cannot be made, al l o f the studies reveal poor education quality at elementary level as measured by student test scores and through reading tests. I t needs to be recognized however, that these are expected challenges in an education systems undergoing significant expansion, and enrolling many f i rst time and first generation learners, and SSA i s taking important measures to address these challenges.
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Annex 2: Major Related Projects Financed by the Bank and/or other Agencies
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
Latest Supervision ( ISR) and Completion Ratings
Implementation Development Project N a m e Progress Objective
HS H S Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Projects I
Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Projects I1 HS H S
2.1. The f i rst Bank-financed basic education project was approved in 1993 for the state o f Uttar Pradesh. I t was fol lowed by two multi-state District Primary Education Projects and another five state-specific projects. UNICEF, DFID and the Netherlands have also financed basic education projects. These efforts have resulted in a partnership in the international community in support o f the Government o f India’s efforts to expand access, improve retention and educational quality, and enhance management capacity at the state, district and sub-district levels.
Agency Project N a m e UNICEF Bihar Education Project (BEP) EC DFID
DPEP in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh DPEP I1 in Andhra Pradesh
The Netherlands 11/13/1996 - 6/30/2003 $425.2 m The Netherlands
$152.0 m 3/301998 - 3/31/2006
UNICEF 2/26/1999 - 09/30/2005 $168.5 m DFID
9/30/1999 - 12/31/2005 $85.7 m DFID, SIDA 4//25/2000 - 03/31/2006 $182.4 m
9/30/2001 - 03/31/2008 $74.4 m DFID, SIDA
$500m 06/25/2004 - 1213 112007
[ighly Satisfactory, S - Sat1 Unsatisfactbry, U- Unsitisfactory.
First District Primary Education Project (DPEP) S
DPEP I1 I I I 1 1 I M S
DPEP I11 (Bihar & Jharkhand) I s I MS
Education Component. I Rajasthan DPEP I
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Primary Education
Primary Education
Women’s Empowerment
Primary Education Elementary Education
35
DFID West Bengal DPEP
DFID, S I D A (originally financed by SIDA, n o w financed by DFID) DFID ( or ig inal ly Mah i la Samakhya financed by the Netherlands) The Netherlands DPEP in Gujarat
Orissa DPEP L o k Jumbish and Shiksha Karm i in Rajasthan
DFID and E C SSA-I
Annex 3: Results Framework and Monitor ing
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
I. Introduction
1. Drawing on lessons learned from the experience o f monitoring Centrally Sponsored Programs such as the DPEP, the monitoring framework under SSA has developed data-based and field-based monitoring mechanisms that are reviewed periodically at National, State, District and sub-District levels. Indicators to monitor implementation and outcomes were agreed at the start o f the f i rst phase o f external support for SSA, in accordance w i th the Program’s development objectives.
2. The use o f timely data and information to support and monitor progress has increasingly been embedded into SSA implementation at the National, State and District levels. The involvement o f 42 independent Monitoring Inst i tutes (MIS), NGOs, and other independent researchers and institutions i s helping to make the monitoring system more comprehensive, reliable and timely. The apex institutions NCERT and N U E P A have continued to develop a range o f sources to support and monitor the program against the results framework, in conjunction with MHRD. However, concerns remain regarding the uneven capacity among States in terms o f data timeliness and quality, and the analysis o f data to generate evidence to support planning and monitor progress.
11. Sources o f Data for Monitoring Outcomes and Outputs
3. The data for some outcome and monitoring indicators (such as children out-of-school) come from timely, annual administrative/household censuses and less regular surveys. For many other indicators (for example, transition rates and some process indicators) the data source i s school-based. Periodic studies are conducted for many quality related indicators, (e.g. teacher attendance, teachers’ time on task, etc).
4. Administrative censuses of the 6-14 year oldpopulation: States periodically arrange for schools to collaborate w i th the community through VECs or SMCs to l i s t a l l children in the school’s catchment area on the village or urban ward education register. They proceed to record whether or not the children are in school, Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) or an alternative s y ~ t e m ’ ~ . Often these exercises result in children being enroled for the first time. In-between these full censuses, schools update the l i s ts each year.
5. DISE: DISE i s SSA’s main source o f statistical data on schools. F rom a modest beginning in the mid 1990s in a few Districts where DPEP was being implemented, it has grown to cover a l l 600 Districts by 2005-06. This extension and the improvements in data quality represent impressive and important achievements. An increasing tendency to use DISE to monitor various outcome and output indicators i s reported, fol lowing significant inputs from the National level. Furthermore, DISE data i s being used to develop an Education Development Index (EDI) (based on indicators o f access, infrastructure, equity and outcomes). The ED1 i s beginning to be used by Go1 to identify lagging Districts and States and feeds into resource allocation decisions made during the AWP&B (see Annex 4 for details). One concern has been the l imited use o f DISE by stakeholders in States, Districts, Blocks, Clusters, schools and communities for planning and monitoring. Another concern i s the comprehensiveness and consistency o f the school coverage - especially uneven data f rom private schools - and the completeness and quality o f data submitted in some States. Several steps are being taken to improve the quality o f the DISE data. Data improvement initiatives include: (i) identification o f data gaps and reporting problems by carrying out third party evaluation o f the quality o f data collected and the process and timeliness. Some states have already been implementing measures in
l4 This source i s often referred to as the ‘Household Survey’. It should not be confused, however, with sources that collect data from a random sample of households, eg the National Sample Survey.
36
that direction, such as the five percent sample checks o f data. This sample check i s being implemented by states contracting independent agencies, based on standardized formats developed by NUEPA. The 4 reports o f sample checks placed on the MHRD website (Uttrakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Mizoram) indicate issues o f missing schools, uncompleted and inaccurate data, including on key items featured in the RF and ED1 such as teachers, classrooms and enrolment, and the identification o f social groups, notably ST. The recommendations o f the sample check reports wil l be used to improve the DISE, especially the data collection formats and the break up and aggregation o f information required; (ii) DISE data reporting i s being made more dynamic and analytical. F rom reporting data for single year (as was the case till 2004-05), the ‘Flash Statistics’ o f DISE for the latest year reported time-series progress o f indicators state-wise, facilitating analysis o f progress over a period o f time. The data regarding private schools are now reported disaggregated by ‘private aided’ and ‘private unaided’ school categories; and (iii) school level data i s being made available to the public. School Report Cards have been developed and data pertaining to them i s available on the web and provides information about more than one mi l l ion elementary education schools in India.
6. Independent household surveys: MHRD commissioned a household survey in 2004-05 to provide an independent check on the size and nature o f the out-of-school chi ld population in the country. The results showed that the estimates o f number o f children out-of-school in the age group o f 6-13 years matched reasonably wel l w i th the data emerging f rom SSA’s regular household census and i t s updates. MHRD plans to repeat this exercise in 2008-09 to provide robust and independent estimates on out o f school children.
7. Data triangulation i s also carried out through uti l iz ing surveysfanalyses carried out by other agencies, though these do not officially form part o f SSA’s monitoring plans. In particular, the 2007- 08 round o f the NSS conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) wi l l collect valuable information on participation and expenditure in education. The NGO Pratham offers parallel monitoring on out-of-school children and students’ literacy and numeracy, using simple tests: i t s Annual School Education Report started in 2005 and wh ich wi l l run annually until 2010.
8. Tools for Managing Quality (QMTs) and information from Independent Monitor ing Institutions, BRCs and CRCs: The MIS, BRCs, CRCs and VECs are the main agencies that undertake f ield based monitoring. MIS are engaged to report independently o n quality based indicators on periodic f ield visits. Using quantitative process indicators to monitor improvements in education quality i s often difficult. States, BRCs and CRCs now use NCERT’s newly developed QMTs to report on some process indicators. The QMTs, their role and use wi l l continue to evolve. NCERT may review States’ early experiences in implementing these tools and the research underpinnings for links between the inputs and processes monitored and effective learning achievement.
9. Project Monitor ing Information Systems (PMIS): Various units including the Alternative Schooling Un i t and the Inclusive Education Department (IED) Unit supply information on outputs under PMIS.
111. Results Framework Indicators
10. During the preparation for the second period o f external support for SSA, Department o f School Education and Literacy (DSEL) developed and added to the proposed key indicators, baselines, targets and sources agreed in the first phase to reflect the planned program. K e y indicators include (a) children out-of-school and enrolment, (b) share o f enrolment disaggregated by gender, SC, ST, Children With Special Needs (CWSN) and Muslims, (c) retention and transition rates, and (d) several input and process indicators to reflect quality; student and teacher attendance, and learning outcomes. The goal areas are the same as those for Phase I. Given the rapid progress made on enrolling children, the emphasis i s increasingly moving towards quality and retention which sets a fresh challenge for the Monitoring and Evaluation system developed to date.
37
11. All children in school (Goal 1): The number o f 6-14 year o ld children not enroled in school, Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) Centre, Alternative School (AS) or back-to-school camp (‘OOSC’ for Out Of School Children) has been the prime indicator under SSA to date. The administrative census data f rom schools and communities and yearly updates are used and there is regular reporting at a l l levels from the program administration side. This provides the basis for targeted actions from States down to individual schools and communities, including planning for alternative schooling schemes. Enrolment in schools wil l be tracked through DISE whi le enrolment in EGSs and ASS wil l be tracked using administrative data.
12. Bridging gender and social gaps (Goal 2): I t i s planned to monitor the share o f enrolment for girls, Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) against the share o f the population for these groups. As the results framework uses the share o f the each group enroled as a proportion o f total enrolments, the indicators are compared to the population estimates o f proportions w i th in each group; this brings in some imprecision particularly as the targets are approached. N U E P A has requested data on Muslims on DISE for the f i rst time in 2006-07 and i t i s too early to assess how we l l States have been able to collect the additional information. Also, the targets for the coming years envisage reducing State variations in gender and social gaps. Data for CWSN wil l be collected using the IED data base which i s based on special identification drives and the progress in enrolling the number o f CWSN identified w i l l be monitored.
13. All children retained in elementary education (Goal 3): I t i s planned to augment the transition rate from primary to upper primary used in the first phase with retention rates at primary and upper primary. Reporting on these indicators wil l be disaggregated for girls, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST). The new indicators are calculated by averaging the retention rates for each grade to the next grade in the fol lowing year, using DISE data for consecutive years. They are sensitive to imperfections in the raw data and inconsistencies in school coverage from one year to the next. A technique has been developed to filter out schools not identified as being reported in both years. Data on primary completion from household surveys suggest higher levels o f retention than i s reported on the DISE-based indicators.
14. Education o f satisfactory quality (Goal 4): The planned indicators monitor processes and outcomes. Learning Outcomes w i l l be monitored in key subjects in Class 111, V, and VII/VIII every three years in the National Assessment Survey - these wil l include disaggregated data for girls, Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST). In addition, attendance wil l be monitored through Annual QMT Reports disaggregated by States and periodic independent surveys.
IV. Research and Evaluation
The Technical Cooperation (TC) Fund for Building Capacity on Research, Evaluation and Monitoring of Quality Initiatives
15. A T C Fund w i l l support the strengthening o f capacity to monitor learning outcomes and to evaluate the impact o f quality interventions.” There are broadly four types o f capacity building exercises that the T C Fund would support (see Annex 13):
Technical assistance for NCERT to ensure delivery o f the planned National Assessment Survey (NAS) cycle using modern measurement techniques. As a result o f this technical support, a l l Mid- Term Assessment Surveys (MASS) wil l have been analyzed or re-analyzed using modem analysis techniques, quality Terminal Assessment Surveys (TASs) instruments for Grade 5 would be developed, trialed, administered and analyzed and reports w i l l be made available. Terminal Assessment Surveys (TASs) instruments for Grade 3 and 7/8 would also be developed, trialed, and administered;16
The TC Funds wil l not flow into the consolidated fund of India but wi l l be managed by a DP (DFID) as per the NCERTIMHRD capacity building requirements. l6 The reports for Grades 3 and 718 wil l be completed in FY 1011 1.
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Training and capacity bui lding for NCERT (and, through NCERT, the States) in core sk i l ls related to test design and development, sampling procedures, test administration, data management and psychometric analysis, and effective reporting, interpretation and use. This would ensure sustainable processes are established and would be achieved through exposure to international best practice and contact w i th a variety o f institutions; Technical assistance for NCERT (and, through NCERT, the States) in actual design and execution o f several evaluationshmpact assessments o f quality initiatives; and Training and capacity building for N C E R T (and, through NCERT, the States) in a l l aspects o f evaluation o f quality initiatives, such as, design, sequencing, survey methodology, sampling methods, analysis and interpretation, to enable sustainable processes to be established.
16. The T C fund will operate under the fol lowing principles: (1) a single DP (DFID) wou ld manage and finance the T C Fund; (ii) technical expertise would be sourced competitively; (iii) NCERT and MHRD will play the key role in the selection o f technical expertise; and (iv) bi-annual Joint Review Missions (JRMs) wil l review the progress towards the T C Fund’s objectives, particularly the improvement in quality and timeliness o f the instrument.
V. Joint Review Missions
17. The DPs wil l j o in Go1 to review program implementation semi-annually in January and July as per terms o f reference agreed between the Go1 and DPs pr ior to each JRM. The January mission wil l visit the f ield in 10 States. The f ield visit wil l focus more on the lagging States and Districts. The July mission wil l primari ly carry out desk reviews - wi th participation o f states and other institutions associated w i th SSA. JRMs wil l review status o f progress and issues related to program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, including financial management/procurement capacity o f states and districts and agree on actions to support the weaker states. The participation in the JRMs by the DPs and Go1 wil l be on the basis o f a 50:50 representation. During the January mission, over and above the regular members (10 each from the DPs and GoI), there wil l be four additional members (two each from the DPs and GoI) specialized in financial management and procurement (FM&P) issues. These four FM&P specialists wil l visit 4 o f the 10 States covered by the J R M and wil l focus exclusively on FM&P issues during the field-based reviews.
18. Go1 wil l provide the leadership and coordination o f each JRM. The organization o f meetings and deliberations in the Delhi leg o f each JRM wil l be the responsibility o f Go1 and the DPs on a rotational basis.
19. In January, the JRM would:
0
0
0
0
visit selected Districts in 10 States to review progress in overall implementation including, access and equity, quality, financial management, procurement and safeguard issues; follow-up issues highlighted in evaluations and studies; identify any studies to be undertaken in the fol lowing six months; examine issues related to State and District implementation capacity and agree on actions taken to support weaker States and Districts; review draft Annual Work Plans for the T C Fund and progress made o n T C Fund implementation; and estimate the financial contribution o f external partners.
20. The July mission wil l would be held in N e w Delhi and carry out a comprehensive review o f information received on:
district p lan approvals and Go1 budget allocations for the States/UTs; annual progress on agreed indicators in terms o f compiled DISE data and other sources, in particular the studies, evaluations and assessments o f learning achievement included in the Results Framework; FMRs, audited accounts and Go1 budget allocations for SSA against expenditures; 0
39
status o f implementation o f safeguard policies; six monthly reports f i o m monitoring agencies which are expected to provide more qualitative information progress made on TC fund implementation; and results o f evaluations o f quality improvement related interventions.
40
Project development objective
The project’s development objective (PDO) is to significantly increase the number o f 6- 14 year o ld children, especially f rom special focus groups, enroled, regularly attending and completing elementary education and demonstrating basic learning levels.
Intermediate results
Goal 1: All children in school
Goal 2: Bridging gender and social gaps
Goal 3: All children retained in Elementary Education
Reduction in the number o f out o f school children f rom 13.4 m i l l i on t o 4.9 mi l l ion; Enrolment shares o f girls, SCs, and STs, in pr imary and upper pr imary maintained or increased relative to their share in the population at the national and state levels; Attendance rates o f students at pr imary and upper pr imary level increases f rom 70% and 75% respectively to 85% and 90%; Retention rate at pr imary level increases f rom 7 1 % to 75%; Transition rate f rom pr imary t o upper pr imary increases f rom 83% t o 89%; Learning levels adequately and regularly monitored; Improvement in learning levels at Grade 3.
Results Indicators
Out o f school children Enrolment - disaggregated for girls, SC, ST, Musl ims at national and state levels Ratio o f Primary t o Upper Primary Schools Number o f children with special needs enroled in schools and alternative systems Enrolment shares o f girls, SCs, and STs, in pr imary and upper pr imary maintained or increased relative to their share in the population at the national and state levels Transition rate f rom pr imary t o upper pr imary Retention at pr imary levels Retention at elementary levels
Pupil-Teacher ratio at pr imary and upper pr imary levels Avai labi l i ty o f textbooks Avai labi l i ty o f teaching learning materials Percentage o f teachers receiving in-service training against annual targets Percentage o f BRCsKRCs operational and fully functional Change in classroom practices as measured by time spent o n task Student attendance rates Teacher attendance rates Percentage o f VECs/SDMCs/local bodies reporting role in school supervision Learning levels o f Class 111, V and VI INI I I
Use of project information
Indicators wi l l monitor the progress under SSA and in fo rm program implementation and refinement. The performance on these indicators will be regularly reviewed through JRMs.
Use o f results monitoring
Al l indicators are focal areas for the States and districts, and in fo rm the AWP&B preparation and appraisal process.
Indicators wi l l continue to be used to ident i fy ‘Special Focus Districts’ for more targeted action in areas with persistent concentration o f OOSC and gender and social gaps and infrastructure gaps.
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Annex 4: Detailed Project Description
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
I. Background
1. SSA, a federally sponsored National program, aims at achieving universal enrolment and completion o f elementary education (Grades 1-8) for a l l children in the 6 to 14 year age group. SSA spans a full decade from 2001 to 2010. The program combines centrally sethnitiated time-bound targets and norms for costing, with bottom-up planning and decentralized implementation. SSA has been financed jo in t ly by the Central Government and the States in a cost-sharing ratio o f 85: 15 during the last year o f the 9th Plan (2001), 75:25 during the loth Plan (2002-07) and currently for the XI* plan period i s in a tapering ratio beginning with 65:35 for the f i rs t two years, down to 50:50 in the last year. T h i s project i s a sequel t o the f i rs t IDA credit, which supported SSA f rom 2004 to 2007 in collaboration with other Development Partners (DFID and EC).
2. The f irst phase o f DP support to SSA had ambitious objectives - to reduce out-of-school children by at least 9 m i l l i on in the 6-14 year age group, between the years 2004-07, narrow existing gender and social gaps, and enhance the quality o f education o f a l l elementary school students. Data shows significant gains during the project period in access and equity, with increase in enrolment particularly evident in previously under -served rural areas. With regard to equity, the gender and social gaps have also been reduced, in l ine with targets. However, while more and more children are n o w coming into school, the quality o f education i s s t i l l not satisfactory- as reflected in the l o w mean achievement scores revealed by the baseline assessment surveys, for grades 3, 5 and 7, conducted by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and f rom other sources. These reports show considerable variation in learning achievements across schools and across social categories. Hence, the quality challenge i s significant.
3. Recognizing this, an increasing thrust i s being given in the next phase o f SSA implementation (which runs concurrently with the XIth plan), o n quality improvement, within an overall framework o f equity. The focus o f the DP's support in this project would thus be o n interventions aimed at enhancing quality for a l l and ensuring equitable access.
4. The Wor ld Bank, DFID and E C wil l appraise the project jointly, and wil l be pool ing their funds to support the program from 2007/8-2009/10. Of the approximately $10.7 b i l l ion total project cost, States wil l contribute 35 percent, Go1 and DPs wil l contribute 65 percent for the f i rs t two years. In the third year states will contribute 40 percent and Go1 and DPs 60 percent. Within the DP pool o f around $1 billion, IDA will provide 60 percent, DFID 30 percent and EC, 10 percent.
11. SSA - Second Phase: Main Program Features
5. implementation in the second phase are as follows:
Some o f the important SSA features, which are getting further augmented over the period o f
(a) Strong political commitment: The program covers the entire country and has National leadership with the Prime Minister as the Chairman o f the National Elementary Education Mission. I t thus has the highest level polit ical support which i s further augmented through passage o f the 86' Constitutional Amendment (2002) which gives every ch i ld between the ages o f 6 and 14 the right to elementary education (Grades 1-8). The high level o f polit ical wil l i s reflected in consistent budgetary increases, especially with revenue generated through a 2 percent education cess imposed on income, service tax and capital gains tax;
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(b) Incentiveheform based funding and enhanced focus on quality: The program’s approach to financing i s becoming increasingly performance and reform based. The funding mechanism i t s e l f provides incentives, ensures equity and rewards implementation progress: Cost-sharing between the Central Government and the States provides a built-in incentive for States to make maximum use o f centrally provided grants; norms are being made more flexible and the AWP&B approval process i s working to ensure that the Districts with the greatest needs will receive the largest amount o f resources; Districts will only get additional resources after having uti l ized 50 percent o f the f i rs t tranche and after States have provided the matching funds; States’ are increasingly being asked to make commitments for quality initiatives: e.g. (i) meet outcome based annual targets committed in the AWP&B; (ii) carry out specific studies/ repeat surveys, especially on teacher and student attendance, for regular monitoring; (iii) undertake reform in areas o f teacher rationalization, teacher accountability; (iv) integrate SSA management with mainstream education administration at the district level with the elimination o f parallel structures; and (v) make schools more accountable to local communities.
(c) Capacity Building: Technical support and capacity building i s built into the SSA program and i s supported at the national, state and sub state levels by institutional arrangements described in Annex 6. These institutions are taking the lead in strengthening capacities in the states and districts in the following areas: planning, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation. In addition to direct training, the interactive and iterative annual work plan and budget process i tsel f helps to build capacities.
(d) Decentralized planning: The program rests on District plans which in turn are developed f rom a process o f habitation specific planning. This i s on the basis o f data collected f rom a household census o f the educational status o f children f rom 0 to 14 years o f age, in combination with school mapping. This process will be further augmented to reach out to the hardest t o reach communities. As described in the next section.
(e) Strengthening community ownership: For effective decentralization, community ownership requires to be strengthened, for which the Program Framework has recently been amended to emphasize the centrality o f the panchayats in monitoring and supervision o f SSA by requiring States to clearly delineate specific supervisory roles for elementary education at a l l t iers o f the PRI system. In SSAII, dissemination o f information o n roles and responsibilities o f school committees may increase their effectiveness in school management. SSA I1 will also continue capacity building o f a l l S M C s N E C members in their roles and responsibilities, in the mechanisms to ensure quality in schools, and sharing o f learning outcomes with the community.
(0 Monitoring and Evaluation: In addition to the steps being taken to improve the quality o f learning assessments, research and impact evaluation, a range o f quantitative and qualitative information f rom different sources (e.g. DISE, Household Surveys etc.), forms the basis o f program monitoring. Data quality i s being improved through capacity building activities and more rigorous validation o f D I S E data through independent 5 percent checks and triangulation o f data f rom various sources. Other monitoring mechanisms include: (i) detailed quarterly financial monitoring; (ii) quarterly project monitoring reports; (iii) in depth analysis o f E M I S data; (iv) independent f ie ld monitoring by regional monitoring institutions; (v) concurrent financial review by an independent agency; (vi) independent surveys and studies o n key components; and (vi) quality monitoring tools to monitor classroom interactions, student attendance, pupil achievement levels, BRCiCRC performance. In addition there are quarterly review meetings o f States o n different themes, regional review meetings, ha l f yearly
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meetings o f Secretaries o f Education, State visits by Go1 officials and two independent Joint Review Missions every year, in which the Development Partners’ participate.
111. Project Description
6. The project’s development objective (PDO) i s to significantly increase the number o f 6-14 year o l d children, especially f rom special focus groups, enroled, regularly attending and completing elementary education and demonstrating basic learning levels.
7. This PDO will be measured by the fol lowing K e y Performance Indicators (KPIs):
0
0
0
0
Reduction in the number o f out o f school children f rom 13.4 m i l l i on to 4.9 mill ion; Enrolment shares o f girls, SCs, and STs, in primary and upper primary maintained or increased relative to their share in the population ; Attendance rate o f students at primary and upper primary level increases from 70% and 75% respectively to 85% and 90%; Retention rate at primary level increases f rom 71% to 75%; Transition rate f rom primary to upper primary increases f rom 83% to 89%; Learning levels adequately and regularly monitored; Improvement in learning levels at Grade 3.
8. Project Approach: The project will, as in SSA I, adopt a SWAP mode to finance the SSA expenditures o f MHRD, States and Districts, which are based o n their annual work plans and designed to reach universal elementary education o f satisfactory quality. The financing will be in accordance with the disbursement mechanism agreed with the Development Partners. A s in SSA I, the Central Government allocates a budget which i s released to the SIS to fund the District plans and the State component. In accordance with the revised SSA Framework, annual work plans f rom the States and Districts will continue to be appraised and approved by the Project Approval Board, convened by MHRD. Because the scope o f interventions and resource requirements vary across States, Districts, and sub Districts, and also f rom year to year, project activities wil l respond to changing circumstances, in order to best meet the development objectives. The project, therefore, i s unlike a traditional investment credit with predefined components and associated ex-ante allocation o f finance.
9. Project Activities: Financing decisions for Districts and States are made based on the Annual W o r k Plan and Budget (AWP&B) process which i s explained in Section I V below.
10. Because the scope o f interventions and resource requirements vary across States, Districts, and sub- Districts, and also f rom year to year, project activities will respond to changing circumstances in order to best meet the development objectives. The project, therefore, i s unlike a traditional investment credit with predefined components and associated ex-ante allocation o f finance. Instead, the project will finance States’ and Districts’ annual work programs (in addition to a National component o n monitoring and evaluation, training, capacity building, and financial management).
11. The key thrust and categories o f activities financed under SSA I1 include (i) Improving quality with equity; and (ii) universalizing access and promoting equity. These are described below.
A. Improving Quality with Equity
12. The thrust o n quality in the second phase o f the program i s reflected in the quality enhancement framework, which has three main pillars:
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Ensuring basic provisioning to create enabling learning conditions, through adequate provision o f schools and classrooms, teacher appointments and training, improved pedagogy, decentralized academic support, provision o f textbooks, development o f teaching and learning materials, state- specific remedial teaching to ensure basic academic skills and other quality improvement innovations; Capacity building and academic support to central, state and sub-state structures through institutions, sharing o f good practices and support to the planning and appraisal process as we l l as learning measurement and evaluation processes; and Monitoring outcomes, including through the District Information System for Education (DISE), Project Management Information System (PMIS), Quality Monitor ing Tools (QMT), NCERT’s NAS, and third party research and evaluation studies.
0
13. This strategy for quality improvement includes most ingredients for systemic improvement and states will be implementing these interventions under the guidance of the Ministry o f Human Resources Development (MHRD).
(i) Ensuring Enabling Learning Conditions
14. Teachers (a) Teacher appointmentdrecruitments: Effective teachers are at the heart o f any educational system and
a l l efforts to improve the quality of education will only produce results if there are sufficient and capable teachers in the classrooms. Consequently, the project will fund recruitment o f teachers where the PTRs are higher than 40: 1 and in newly opened schools. The dialogue with States will also place emphasis on negotiating redeployment and redistribution o f existing teachers, to ensure optimal school - wise PTRs. There i s considerable State-wise variation in procedures for teacher recruitment, training, remuneration, support and career development, including tenure. Teacher recruitment i s becoming increasingly decentralized within States and this i s also expected to contribute to increased teacher accountability. The project will continue to assess and share good practices in this context.
(b) Teacher-training: The project wil l support more needs based and outcome-oriented teacher-training. An important strategy to achieve this will be through identifying needs against the performance standards being developed by States, under an innovative program. A needs-based focus to teacher- training will prepare teachers better to teach an increasingly diverse student population, as wel l as to teach in multi-grade settings, which are a common phenomenon across several States. Guidelines will be provided for in-service training and training o f untrained teachers. A study has been commissioned by the project management to evaluate the impact o f teacher training under SSA I o n classroom practices and children’s learning. The findings o f the study will i n fo rm further planning o f in- service training under the project.
(c) Teacher Management: The project will support independent and reliable surveys to be conducted periodically by al l States to monitor levels o f teacher absence, which according to a recent national study continue to be high in some States. The management o f the teachng cadre being a State-level subject, teacher absence will also be addressed, in part, through the AWP&B process which i s beginning to target State mechanisms to strengthen community monitoring o f teacher effort. The findings o f periodic studies o f time-on-task and classroom processes already underway, will be used to inform the dialogue with States in developing strategies to improve the quantity and quality o f teaching-learning.
15. Hence, the following sets o f activities will be financed through SSA: 0 recruitment and payment o f teachers where the pupil-teacher ratios are high;
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state-specific interventions to strengthen community monitoring o f teacher effort and periodic surveys to be conducted by a l l states to monitor levels o f teacher absence; and needs-based and outcome-oriented teacher-training programs.
Classroom Quality Priority to Learning in the Early Grades: Given the concerns regarding the current l o w levels o f learning with a significant percentage o f children not even attaining the basic sk i l ls o f reading and writing, the project will finance: (i) improved continuous and comprehensive classroom assessment practices (ii) StateDistrict level remedial programs in schools as integral to teaching learning. Several States have made remediation an integral aspect o f regular teaching and some States are also partnering with NGOs for such initiatives and (iii) development and pi lot ing o f a reading and mathematics program for Grades 1-3. N C E R T wil l p lay a key coordinating role in this initiative and SSA wil l leverage participation o f NGOs in developing and introducing a variety o f reading materials.
Textbooks and Teaching and Learning Materials: The project will continue to fund free textbooks for girls and students o f SC and ST backgrounds, at primary and upper primary levels. Textbooks are being revised in several States in line with the NCF 2005, with i t s emphasis on interactive learning. The project will encourage development o f different kinds o f teaching learning materials across different States. Timely provision o f free textbooks to a majority o f children will also continue to be ensured, as also the provision o f teachers’ grants.
Quality Improvement Innovations: The project will encourage and fund quality improvement innovations and scaling up o f some initiatives that have already being piloted in 19 States. The impact o f such innovations will be evaluated and lessons learned incorporated in improving design as wel l as disseminated across states.
Hence, activities such as those specified below will be financed through SSA: development and use o f textbooks and supplementary materials to improve classroom processes with chi ld centered pedagogy including remediation; a basic reading and mathematics learning focus for Grades 1-3; state/district level remedial programs; continuous and comprehensive classroom assessment practices; development o f innovative and interactive teaching and learning materials and free textbooks for girls and students o f SC and ST backgrounds, at primary and upper primary levels.
Strengthening Academic Support through Capacity Building
Sub-District Academic Support: Block and Cluster Resource Centers (BRCs and CRCs) provide valuable ‘just in-time’ on-site academic support to schools and teachers. Their effectiveness i s being improved through the Quality Monitor ing Tools (QMT) developed in SSA, as wel l as performance standards being developed. Interventions include enhancing capacity and resources available to existing BRCs/CRCs through training and the use o f information technology; and establishing BRCs/CRCs where such facilities do not exist, especially in urban areas.
19. NationaVState and District Level Academic and Management Support: National, state and district level institutions will continue to provide technical support and guidance. These include apex national institutions, such as NCERT, NUEPA and I G N O U which provide support in decentralized planning, management information systems, appraisals pedagogy, student assessment, teacher training, and monitoring and evaluation. At the state level, the State Councils for Educational Research and Training
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(SCERTs) and the State Institute o f Educational Management and Training (SIEMATs), are institutions tasked with improving the quality o f school education and management through curriculum and textbook renewal, financial management and planning capacity training o f District teams for quality enhancement interventions; and development o f learning materials for students, materials for student assessment and teacher guides. At the District level, the District Institute for Education and Training (DIETS) provide for capacity building o f BRCs and CRCs.
(iii) Monitoring Outcomes
20. These have been discussed in more detail in Annex 111 above.
Data Monitoring
21. Data Monitoring: The availability and use o f t imely data and information i s important t o make informed decisions. SSA i s supporting the strengthening o f Educational M I S through D I S E to provide reports on key outcome indicators o n enrolment, retention and learning levels. In addition, progress will also be tracked o n other quality indicators such as pupil teacher ratio, availability o f textbooks and teaching learning materials, changes in classroom practices, student and teacher attendance, t ime -on - task, community monitoring, in-service teacher training and on-site teacher support.
The Technical Cooperation (TC) Fund for Building Capacity on Research, Evaluation and Monitoring of Quality Initiatives
22. Learning Assessments. Improving learning outcomes has a significant role in the SSA quality strategy. The strategy for SSA envisages monitoring o f learning outcomes at various levels, viz., National, State, sub-state and classrooms. The program will finance capacity building in this area through a dedicated Technical Cooperation (TC) Fund housed in the NCERT. The T C fund wil l focus on capacity building efforts in improving learning assessment systems including instruments, analysis, reporting and dissemination.
23. Research and Evaluation of Quality Initiatives. Given the increasing flexibil i ty in the project t o support a variety o f approaches to quality improvement, program evaluation wil l be a significant requirement. Through the TC Fund, support wil l be provided to NCERT to p lay a lead role in strengthening capacities with respect to evaluating quality initiatives. Activities to be financed include short and medium term international technical expertise, and sk i l l s development o f staff responsible for research and impact evaluation o f quality initiatives including through short t e r m technical training courses, collaborative researchlevahation and participation in international/ national workshops and seminars on evaluation o f quality initiatives.
24. The resources for the TC fund will not f low into the consolidated funds o f India, but will be managed and financed by DFID.
B. Universalizing Access and Promoting Equity
25. Whi le the program has to date significantly altered the landscape o f physical infrastructure in education by expanding the number o f schools and related facilities in the un-served and underserved catchment areas and has reduced the number o f children out o f school to below 10 mill ion, the project s t i l l has the challenge o f providing adequate upper primary access bringing in the hardest to reach category into school and retaining them there. A combination o f demand and supply side interventions are being financed to enable access to upper primary level the hard to reach to attend school - these will need to take account o f both physical and social barriers to access.
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26. Supply-side interventions: These include the establishment, construction and extension of primary and upper primary schools in districts where access i s s t i l l an issue, provision o f teachers, and grants to schools and teachers to ensure basic conditions for teaching learning. To address urban issues, a l l cities with a population o f over a mi l l ion prepare a separate annual p lan for the urban poor and specific provisions are made for urban surveys to better capture the target population. Provision o f grants to Districts wi l l continue to support children with disability (for example, to fund installation o f special facilities in buildings, medical assessment, and special training for teachers) as we l l as for home based care/education for the more severely disabled.
27. Demand-side interventions: These include provision o f free textbooks, providing fiee hostel facilities especially for girls. A complementary scheme (outside o f SSA) provides midday meals for students. Financial subventions are also provided to private aided schools through free textbooks and mid day meal programs, as they subscribe to Government regulations for free education. Greater use o f Innovation Funds i s being encouraged for interventions to boost the performance o f f i rs t generation learners, especially SC, ST children and older girls.
IV. Planning and Appraisal Process in SSA
28. The District Annual W o r k Plan and Budget (AWP&B) process i s at the heart o f SSA implementation. Practically a l l SSA expenditures and activities are driven by the AWP&Bs prepared by about 600 districts o f the country, endorsed by the StatesRJTs and appraised and approved and then monitored by MHRD each year. I t i s within the process o f AWP&B development, endorsement, appraisal, approval and monitoring that the SSA Framework for Implementation becomes operationalised throughout the country.
A WPdB Preparation
29. The process i s guided by MHRD. Each year at the beginning o f the planning process, focal areas for planning are identified by MHRD and communicated to the States. Fo r example, for 2007-08, these include reaching out to the s t i l l un-reached; focused programs for improving learning levels in M a t h and Language for grades 1, 2 and 3; implementation o f regular and reliable pupil assessment systems and remedial teaching; rationalization o f teacher deployment and enhancing student and teacher attendance; saturation o f requirement o f Primary schools and additional classrooms and up-gradation o f a l l Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) centers; closing o f infrastructure gaps at upper pr imary level; improved functioning o f a l l schools to maximize enrolment and steps for empowering Vi l lage Education Committees (VEC) and their l inks with PRIs.
30. The AWP&B’s are prepared in l ine with these guidelines. For each district, data are aggregated at the village, Block, Cluster, District and State levels for preparation o f long-term perspective plans and an AWP&B for each District. The AWP&Bs cover information o n (i) school facilities and the 0-6 and 6-14 year population with projections up to 2010; (ii) teacher requirements and training; (iii) civ i l works for school building and other facilities; (iv) strategy for marginalized groups; (v) community participation; (vi) convergence with other schemes; (vii) strategy for quality improvement; and (viii) total cost. The plans are costed according to SSA financial norms to generate the Budget. The AWP&B’s also provide information o n progress o f various SSA activities during the previous year, as w e l l as performance towards meeting committed-to targets (see below).
31. The appraisal process has been strengthened in a number o f ways to ensure a performance-based outcome focus. In particular, the process n o w requires states to commit to specific annual targets o n outcomes and to undertake associated pol icy commitments in key areas. For example, in the AWP&Bs for 2007-08 state commit to targets including reducing dropout rates and gender gaps, enhancing
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achievement level o f children, and increasing enrolment o f children f rom minor i ty communities. In addition, states are also required to take measures such as: (i) completing an independent study o n teacher absenteeism; (ii) appraising and redesigning the teacher accountability system and mechanism, including provision o f incentives to improve student achievement levels; and (iii) needed amendments to regulations to ensure that the role o f VECsPTAs are enhanced to monitor teacher attendance and include parents and communities in various aspects o f schooling with a particular focus o n student learning.
32. In addition, there i s n o w greater f lexibil i ty t o support state-support quality enhancement measures once minimum requirements o f infrastructure and teachers are met. Examples o f these quality related initiatives f rom AWP&Bs for 2007/08 include: 0 Act iv i ty Based Learning (ABL) in Tami l Nadu - a quality improvement program focusing o n
improved classroom organization and practices; 0 Learn 2 Read (L2R) in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa - a teaching reading program for early grades;
Learning Guarantee Program in Karnataka - basic literacy and numeracy sk i l l s in early grades; CLAP in Andhra Pradesh - learning assessment program and teacher training for primary education.
33. States and districts have started to use the Educational Development Index (EDI) to support the planning process. The D ISE data in particular has been used to develop an ED1 that includes a number o f key parameters related to access and equity, infrastructure, teachers and outcomes. These parameters include the number o f schools per 1000 population, average student classroom ratio, percentage of schools with girls’ toilet, pupil-teacher ratio, percentage o f teachers without professional qualifications, and certain outcome indicators such as GER, GPI, dropout rate, retention rate and so on. The ED1 is used to generate rankings o f districts and states against the four components o f the index. I t i s helping States and districts to move towards need-based planning and in focusing investments in the districts where the access and equity gaps are predominant - a l o w ED1 score for a state or a district i s reflected in higher prioritization in the next AWP&B.
A WP&B Appraisal and Evaluation
34. The AWP&Bs will continue to be appraised at the National level. Fol lowing receipt o f the AWP&Bs, MHRD commissions an appraisal mission to each o f the States. The appraisal process reviews progress against targets and commitments, identifies problem areas; examines the quality o f data used for planning; interventions suggested for various components; and convergence in implementation with other programs (e.g. Mid-Day Meals, drinking water, and sanitation schemes).
35. After the appraisal team has completed i t s work MHRD convenes a Project Appraisal Board (PAB) meeting to review the AWP&Bs on the basis o f the appraisal report. The PAB, which i s chaired by the Secretary (MHRD), includes senior officials responsible for various aspects o f SSA f rom the center and states. There i s now wider participation in the appraisal process with a larger number o f external resource persons involved, including representatives o f the regional (within India) and State institutions involved in monitoring the program; representatives o f the Department Women and Child and o f the drinking water Mission.
36. The PAB makes decisions regarding the approval and funding o f the AWP&B in the light o f performance against agreed outcome and output targets and resource availability. Evaluation criteria include: (i) progress made by state in implementing strategies for out o f school children; (ii) progress made in terms o f meeting input targets; (iii) progress made in reaching agreed upon commitments o n quality and learning outcomes. The PAB then discusses the proposed strategies to improve outcomes and sets targets for the state to meet for the forthcoming year, as wel l as undertakings related to system
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reforms. Financing i s approved based o n the state’s performance in uti l izing funds and meeting outcome targets.
37. The minutes o f the PAB for a l l States reflecting agreements o n project targets, outcomes, undertakings, commitments and funding are placed on the MHRD website for wider dissemination. Those proposals which are rejected by the PAB are also discussed and the details are provided in the minutes o f the meeting.
38. The AWP&Bs are monitored quarterly, half-yearly and annually at appraisal by MHRD. There i s also independent monitoring carried out by IPAI and by several regional and State level monitoring institutions, the findings o f which form the basis o f discussion with the States on assessment o f performance and allocation o f funds at appraisal. Quarterly reviews essentially focus on activities and fund util ization whi le half-yearly reviews that take place at senior level concentrate o n systemic issues. These reviews also serve as fora for infusion o f knowledge and good practice inputs within program implementation structures. In addition, the six-monthly JRM conducts an overall assessment o f project activities and reviews the PAB minutes. This periodic monitoring supports the implementing agencies in removing bottlenecks and facilitates capacity building at different levels.
39. However, areas o f improvement s t i l l remain. Whi le the planning and appraisal process i s clearly workmg wel l and i s increasingly becoming performance based and outcome focused, there i s a need to further strengthen the evaluation criteria for assessment o f impact o f quality improving measures.
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Annex 5: Project Costs
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
Management Others Total
1. The cost o f the program i s driven by the interventions needed to achieve universal elementary education o f satisfactory quality. As needs vary across villages, clusters, blocks, districts and states, both the long-term perspective plans and the annual work plans, as we l l as corresponding costs, wil l also vary. The needs will also change f rom year to year, depending o n whether resources have been made available to fully fund the annual work plans, and also o n the implementation capacity to execute the program. Unfunded mandates and unused funds will be canied over to the fo l lowing year. Whi le the districts and subdistricts can decide on interventions, they have to cost the interventions according to the norms set by MHRD for the entire country.
6.00 642 9.30 996
100.00 10700
2. Decision about allocation o f external funds i s guided by the fol lowing principles: (i) central Government will maintain financial commitment in real terms to the level o f 2002/03 in elementary education; (ii) external funds will be additional to, not substitute for, domestic funds; and (iii) estimation o f needs i s based o n the approved annual work plans by states and districts.
3. Table 5.1 presents the approximate distribution o f the cost across various categories o f intervention, based on the approved outlays o f 2007/8. Distribution o f the costs over the project per iod wil l depend heavily on implementation capacity.
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Annex 6: Implementation Arrangements
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
1. Management and implementation arrangements for SSA provide for: (i) program direction and oversight; (ii) decentralized community-based management and implementation; and (iii) technical support and capacity building. This annex describes the decentralised management structure for SSA (Figure 6.1) and illustrates the relationship and linkages among the above three functions, at a l l levels o f implementation. T h i s annex also describes the modes o f capacity building that are being used to support and strengthen SSA implementation.
I. Program Direction and Oversight
2. These hnct ions are performed by members o f elected bodies, representatives o f various departments o f Government, and stakeholders:
At the National level: The National Elementary Education Mission i s governed by a General Council, headed by the Prime Minister with the Human Resource Development Minister as i t s V ice Chairman. This mission i s served by an Executive Committee headed by the Minister o f Human Resources Development, and Secretary, DSE&L i s i t s Vice-chairman. The committee has representation f rom other departments (e.g. Finance, Panchayti Raj, Women and Ch i l d Development) and from the educational profession. T h e Joint Secretary for Elementary Education in the D S E L i s the Director General o f the mission and has overall responsibility for implementation and monitoring o f the SSA Framework. At the State level: A State Mission Authority operates as an autonomous society, the State Implementation Society (SIS) for universalization o f elementary education. The General Council o f this Mission i s headed by the Chief Minister and the Executive Committee by the Chief Secretary, with representation f rom other departments (e.g. Finance, Social Welfare, Women and Chi ld Development, Panchayati ra j etc) and f rom the educational profession. SISs are autonomous legal entities registered under the ‘Societies Registration Act ’ and the ‘Societies Registration Rules’ enacted in each State. State laws regulating societies are very similar, and they fo l low the same Government rules applicable to departments. These mechanisms have worked successfully in the f i rst six years o f SSA. SISs have three main advantages: (a) as parastatal bodies, they have administrative flexibil i ty combined with public accountability; (b) representation o f several departments o f the State Government and the Central Government o n the governing bodies o f the SISs facilitate planning and coordination; and (c) financial transactions are efficient and transparent. SISs employ both staff on deputation f rom other organizations and those who are directly recruited by the Society - these staff are brought together in the State Project Off ice (SPO) under the leadership o f the State Project Director (SPD). The SIS has a team o f professionals (pedagogy specialist, gender coordinator, planning and M I S specialist, financial and accounts officers, c iv i l engineer). The Council has a key role in coordination with other departments to ensure convergence o f programs (e.g., Mid-Day Meals Scheme, tribal development, and other infrastructure -- drinking water and toilets for girls) and overseeing a l l planning, administrative, financial and academic aspects. At the District level: The District Elementary Education Committee (DEEC), headed by the District CollectoriMagistrate, has representation f rom B lock level officers, educationists, and members o f the public. I t i s responsible for coordination and reviewing progress related to enrolment, retention and quality o f education. As the head o f the DEEC, the District Collector/Magstrate plays a key role in planning, implementation, and monitoring o f SSA.
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11.
3.
a.
b.
C.
4. des
At the sub-District level: Block Education Offices (BEOs) have administrative responsibility for the schools, working in close collaboration with BRCs and CRCs o n academic support. They facilitate and oversee the Vil lage Education Committees (VECs). At the community and school level: There have been variations in forms, structure, and functions o f community and school level organizations for community participation. The Vil lage Education Committee (VEC) i s responsible for planning, social mobil ization and oversight at the vil lage level, whi le the Ward Education Committee (WEC) does the same for the wards in urban areas. The VECs and WECs in coordination with the block administration, assist in household chi ld census, update the village or ward register o f the education status o f the 6-to-14-year-olds, monitor whether parents send their children to school and often carry out school building construction work. VECs are often sub committees of the Gram Panchayat (GP- the village level elected government) but variations abound - usually, the membership o f the V E C i s selected f rom the community o f parents. School Management Committees (SMC) and Parent Teacher Associations (PTA), usually act as alternate to VECs where such VECs do not exist. The VEC/WEC/SMC/PTA are responsible for ensuring that the educational needs o f a l l children are met, that gender and social parity i s reflected in enrolment, that school grants are used and accounted for properly, and that teachers and students attend regularly. These village and ward based bodies are the site o f parental and community participation in the education system and through them SSA aims to promote local control and accountability o f schools and their staff.
Decentralized Management and Implementation
SSA i s operating in a context o f decentralization that has three main aspects:
Administrative decentralization, moving beyond the State to strengthen the capacity o f the Districts for formulating and implementing plans addressing District-specific issues and the creation o f B lock and Cluster level resource centers, has been the most successful. The second aspect o f decentralization has been the delegation of functions to VECs and SMCs which has also been successful, particularly as a device for implementation o f c i v i l works and in community mobilization. The links o f SSA with the third type o f decentralization, the devolution to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), has been largely beyond the ambit o f SSA with States proceeding at their own pace and SSA responding flexibly to State arrangements.
The decentralized management and implementation i s organised as depicted in Figure 6.1 and i s cr ibed below.
At the State level: State Departments o f Education (DOES) work closely with State Missions, and are supported by State Implementation Society (SISs), which i s the key implementing organization. . The SPDs from their State Project Offices (SPOs) coordinate with District and sub-District level organizations; support Districts in preparing annual plans; recruit implementation staff for District teams CRC coordinators and hire consultants; handle the f l ow o f funds from the Center to the Districts and sub-District levels; carry out procurement, financial and project management; monitor implementation progress on agreed indicators using education management information system (EMIS) and PMIS; commission research and evaluation studies; arrange training o f State, District and sub-District staff; get the accounts audited; submit implementation progress report and audited accounts to the DSEL; and facilitate National and JRMs. At the District level: SPOs have units extending to the District level (District Project Offices, or DPOs), which interact with District Boards/ZiZZa Parishad, Village Panchayats, and VECs/WECs/SMCs/PTAs, to oversee al l planning and implementation o f activities f rom the District
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t o the school and community levels. The DPO has a team o f 7 to 8 professionals according to the additional staff requirement in the areas that require special focus to achieve SSA objectives - these are led by the District Project Coordinator (DPC). This staff i s supplemental t o the mainstream staff available in the education department. They prepare District annual work plans for the PAB, manage the f l ow o f funds, monitor the physical and financial implementation process, coordinate with DIETS, and establish BRCs and CRCs including recruitment o f b lock and cluster coordinators. Staf f of the Department o f Education posted in the District, including supervisory officials and functional specialists, work closely with the District SIS/SPO units. At the Block and Cluster levels: SISs/SPOs have units extending to BRCs/CRCs to implement the program. The BRCs/CRCs are responsible for providing academic support and in-service training to teachers, whi le state Departments o f Education are represented at the B lock level by B lock Education Officers who have the administrative responsibility for the schools. These personnel work in close collaboration with the BRCs and these institutions also facilitate and oversee the Vi l lage Education Committees. SSA has a provision o f 3-4 staff in the BRC to augment the existing staff in the B lock Education Office. At the community and school levels: VEC and W E C are expected to mobi l ize the community to get children into school. In addition they also handle procurement and c iv i l works. The schools receive grants for repair and maintenance o f the school, and for purchase o f teaching/learning materials and equipment. Teachers receive grants to purchase teaching learning materials. The VEC are also expected to perform an oversight role in matters o f school quality, in particular student and teacher attendance. In several states, schools are beginning to prepare school development/quality improvement plans, linked to evaluations o f school quality. They also play an active role in teacher management and the provision o f incentives in some states. The development o f performance standards by the States for teachers and elements o f the teacher support system (for example BRC and CRC) i s an important innovation in SSA. At the level o f the community, whi le there are variations across states, the village and ward based locally elected bodies are responsible for addressing grievances that are bought to their attention by stakeholders.
111. Technical Support and Capacity Building
5. The program provides technical support and capacity building for a l l levels o f implementation.
0 At the National level: There i s a dedicated Technical Support Group to provide assistance to D S E L in planning, appraisal, and capacity building. Apex national institutions, such as NCERT, NUEPA and IGNOU provide support to the D S E L and to State institutions in pedagogy, student assessment, teacher training, educational planning, and monitoring and evaluation o f SSA. A Technical Cooperation fund will provide support and facilitate strengthening o f capacities at the national level and through it, at the State levels in the specific areas o f learning Achievement Systems and Evaluation o f quality initiatives. In addition, 40 National and State level resource institutions that take part in monitoring and evaluation o f the program are also supporting the appraisal function at the national level.. At the State level: The SCERTs and SIEMATs are intended to be apex institutions for improving the quality o f school education and management.-They, in collaboration with the State Resource Groups ( SRGs) are involved in curriculum and textbook renewal; training o f Distr ict teams for quality enhancement interventions; evaluation and research; and development of leaming materials for students, materials for student assessment and teacher guides. In order to build capacity in educational planning and management at the District and sub-District levels, SSA provides resources and technical assistance to establish either free-standing SIEMATs or a unit within the existing institution. In addition, states are also using SSA resources to hire Consultants and N G O s for technical support.
0
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At the District level: The District Resource Groups (DRGs), DIETS and other resource institutions provide training to the BRCs and CRCs so that they, in turn, can train adequate academic support t o school and in addition train and support village level personnel. SSA and state departments are working together to address outstanding capacity issues, including understaffing. At the sub-District level: The CRCs and BRCs, in collaboration with N G O s and B lock Resource Groups (BRGs) provide training to members o f the VECs/WECs/SMCs, in such areas as management o f community construction, micro-planning, conducting household surveys, mobil ization o f community and parents for enrolment and retention o f children, verifying student and teacher attendance, and recruiting teachers for EGS and alternative schools. They also provide training and academic support to teachers to improve classroom processes and enhance student learning. However, the capacity o f BRCs and CRCs in many States needs strengthening and the extent o f involvement o f non-academic activities should be reviewed. SSA i s n o w focusing o n enhancing the capacity o f these institutions in order for them to fulfill their responsibilities effectively. Evaluation studies undertaken o n BRCs and CRCs in Phase 1 o f the project and performance standards agreed for the academic support system will provide a basis to strengthen the development o f these institutions. Academic support structures will also be augmented in urban areas. Systemic provisions are in place for redressal o f grievances.
0
6. The SSA Framework provides for participation o f non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector, and this i s being encouraged by the D S E L - over 6,500 NGOs participated in SSA in 2006. NGOs are the main implementers o f the EGS and alternative schooling in several States, and they are also carrying out community mobilization, inclusive education for children with disabilities, education o f tribal children, early childhood education, the mid-day meals program, education o f children in disadvantaged urban areas, and so on.
IV. Institutional Assessment
7. The institutional and governance assessment o f SSA carried out by DPs as part o f the preparation process suggests that, while there are challenges, these arrangements for the program are generally workmg well.
8. Administrative decentralization, through establishing District project implementation structures, BRCs and CRCs which have played a key role in project implementation, has, in general, been successful. The creation at the District, B lock and lower levels organizations with the abil ity t o not just implement but formulate their own plans and strategies has been a major achievement o f SSA. Institutional capacity has also improved greatly in recent years with the filling o f most vacancies. However, two outstanding issues are: (i) strengthening the capacity for formulating plans in districts with weaker capacity - primarily in the lagging states; and (ii) ending parallel implementation systems between SSA and State Government structures at district level t o strengthen capacity and enhance sustainability.
9. Addressing these two capacity challenges will be a focus o f capacity building efforts o f SSA moving forward. To address the f i rs t challenge, the SSA Framework encourages the hiring o f experts to supplement the available technical expertise at State, District and sub-District levels based o n an assessment o f the existing structure and strength. The latter issue i s being addressed through the AWB&P process with states committing to integration o f these structures.
10. Delegation o f functions to VECs/SMCs has been a mixed experience. Whi le these committees have become increasingly involved in project implementation and community mobilization, their ro le as a mode o f deeper community participation and engagement in schools has been less obviously successful. In some States more powers were vested in VECs etc. for activities such as hiring certain types o f teachers, running o f alternative schools, bridge courses, back to school camps, delivering mid day meals,
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monitoring teacher attendance and student performance etc. However, in many other States the interface has remained confined to c iv i l works. The challenge moving forward i s t o strengthen their ro le in broad- based community participation and engagement in schools including through monitoring o f quality and learning outcomes o f children. SSA i s addressing this through training o f a l l members o f SMCsNECs o n roles, responsibilities and mechanisms to ensure quality in schools, and sharing o f learning outcomes with communities.
11. SSA i s committed to strengthening l inks between the project management structures, the VECs/SMCs and the statutory PRI bodies in order to enhance accountability. By a circular in November 2006, the SSA framework was amended to underline the centrality of Panchayats in monitoring and supervision o f SSA. This amendment instructs that (i) a standing committee o f the Gram Panchayat (GP), the PRI structure at village level, should be the nodal body for elementary education, (ii) the VECs and SMCs should be l inked with that committee, and (iii) all tiers o f P R I should be given roles in the supervision o f SSA. The challenge will be to make these links effective in promoting greater accountability and effectiveness in delivery o f elementary education.. H o w i t i s t o be done depends upon the respective State Governments, as this would require stronger coordination between the education and PRI Departments as wel l as efforts at the District and sub-District level administrators. However, i t i s expected that these will be operationalized through provision o f information and training to the elected members o f PRI regarding their functions and options, and the specification o f processes for PRI action in education, particularly in regard to the means by which the standing committee o f GPs act in linkage with SMCs.
... I . . . I ....................................................................
Annex 7: Financial Management and Disbursement Arrangements
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
I. Stock-taking and Evaluation of SSA I
1. DPs have been engaged with SSA I (P055459) since 2004; therefore preparation for SSA I1 i s seen in continuum and an analysis of the major interventions o f Go1 during the earlier engagement was carried out. This was based o n review o f Financial Monitor ing Reports, Audit Reports, JRM Documentation, PA1 reports on Concurrent Reviews, Manual, and SSA Website. The review also took in to account the first-hand experience gained during visit to eight” states as part o f various JRMs undertaken by Fiduciary/ Governance Specialists f rom the GoI/ DPs and a Fiduciary Risk Analysis. The analysis concludes that overall, the Program continues to have adequate arrangements for Accounting and Financial Management. Further, results o f the background work have fed in to continuing dialogue with MHRD on future implementation. K e y aspects o f the Program FM arrangements are given in subsequent paragraphs.
MHRD has made signijkant achievements in the fo l lowing areas: Funds Flow: This has been reasonably satisfactory since FY 2004-05. Electronic channels are used for al l transfer to states, and in a significant number o f states; for transfer to districts. Releases have been regulated and funds availability has not been a constraint in program implementation; however there are some states which have instances o f large balances lying unutilized. However, these balances are allowed as spill over i.e. carried forward to be spent in the next FY. Manual: A Manual o n Financial Management and Procurement (Manual) has been in effect since 2004. T h i s i s applicable to the entire program and since i t s issue, has been in use/ reference across the program states and has been translated in Hindi and many other local languages; guidelines as la id down in the Manual are elaborate and comprehensive. Starting 2005, many states have prepared simpler/shorter VEC Manuals to guide accountinghook-keeping at the sub-district levels. Audit: (a) T h i s i s as per a standard Terns o f Reference (TOR) which requires for provision o f an opinion o f the truth and fairness o f the financial statements. Audit Reports provide insights in operation o f the program in states; (b) MHRD guidelines specify that auditors (Chartered Accountants) empanelled by the C A G should be hired for SSA Audits; and (c) Guidelines have been issued regarding co-ordination between multiple auditors (usually in larges states) Monitoring: MHRD conducts quarterly review meetings o f Finance Controllers o f states; issues regarding audit observations, financial performance, training, staffing, internal audit etc are discussed in these meetings and actions agreed on. Others: (a) Go1 has constituted a process o f independent Concurrent Financial Review covering areas o f financial management, expenditure tracking and procurement. This has provided useful insights to GoI/ DPs in operation o f the program in 21 states in the past; i t i s planned that the remaining states wil l be covered in 2007/8; (b) Efforts have been made to use financial accounting software in many states; this would improve FM in general. States have taken these initiatives independently; therefore there i s possibility o f helping other states learn f rom experience o f these states; and (c) January JRMs would now have four FMProcurement Specialists who would visit states to review implementation.
Fiduciary/ Governance Specialists made one week long f ie ld visits t o states during JRMs; they covered Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh during January 05, Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, West Bengal in January 06 and Bihar, Gujarat during January 07.
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However, some areas o f concern need to be addressed: Internal controls: This continues to be weak (a) Double entry system o f accounting i s s t i l l not being followed'8 consistently in some states (at the sub-district level); (b) Bank Balances for the program as o n March 3 1, 2004 varied between the figures as reported in the Audited Financial Statements and as reported in the FMRs. These were reconciled and the corrected balances presented in June 2006; however this i s an indication o f weakness in internal controls. This has since been strengthened by r o l l out o f the FM Manual; (c) In some states/ UTs, Audit Reports have pointed out bank reconciliations not being carried out regularly, weaknesses in settlement o f advances (at district level), large cash payments (e.g Mizoram), etc.; and (d) Internal Audit continues to be a weak area in some states across the program. External Audit Process: This suffers f rom the fol lowing weaknesses (a) In many states, a large number o f different f i r m s are appointed for conduct o f district level audit which need effective coordination at the state level;lg this may impact effectiveness o f the process and brings about lack o f standardization. Some instances have come to the notice o f JRMs that fee payable to the district auditors has been low; (b) Audit Reports have not covered procurement aspects sufficiently; MHRD has issued a procurement check-list for auditors to ensure adequate coverage; and (c) JRMs have come across instances where auditors may be certifying advances for which Util ization Certificates have not been received by District Offices. Audit findings: Audit reports have identified significant issues as wel l as observations which have led to disallowance o f expenditure relating to specific states. E.g. based o n the review o f audit reports for 2004 - 05 Partners disallowed*' expenditure relating to Bihar, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, S ikk im and Mizoram and certain regions o f Maharashtra. Attention to Sub-district level: There are s t i l l areas o f concern at the sub-district levels. This i s however faced with the twin challenges o f being the most di f f icul t to reach o n one hand but s t i l l handling a significant portion o f SSA funds o n the other. MHRD would need to make further efforts to reach this level (through the states) to improve FM.
Focus Area External audit- (a) large number o f auditors (b) unsettled advances from district level may be certified in audit
(a) Weaknesses in internal controls in some states (b) effectiveness o f capacity building measures in FM i s difficult to measure Appropriate focus at sub-district level
FM Focus areas during SSA I1
Present status Impact (a) communicate applicability of relevant guidelines of ICAI; (b) provide audit checklist, for State and VEC level Measure impact of F M capacity building initiatives during J R M s
Strengthen audit, improve fiduciary assurance
Improve focus, better utilization o f resources
Guidelines regarding aspects of Social Oversight and Local level transparency to be re-emphasized and included as part o f VEC Manuals
Relevant and practical initiatives at local level
4. During SSA 11, monitoring o f Financial Management aspects will focus o n the following:
FY 04-05 Audit Reports have pointed out that this i s not being followed in Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal & Rajasthan and being partially followed in Karnataka, Kerala & Mizoram. l 9 Major states have recently been advised to clarify relationship between state and district auditors f rom FY 06 - 07 to ensure better co-ordination 2o Communicated to Go1 vide letter dated August 24,2006 on 'India Elementary Education Project (Credit No. 3882 - IN) Financial Monitoring Reports for the year 2005 - 06'.
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11. Country Issues Applicable to SSA
Risk
5. The fol lowing country issue i s relevant for SSA: Share of states in SSA financing will increase f rom 25 percent to 40 percent by FY2009/20, implying a need to increase their own resources. 21 T h i s may lead to instances o f shortfall/ delay in provision o f funds for SSA in the State Budget. Go1 will need to monitor this regularly and ensure that the states meet their commitment on the program.
Risk Rating Risk Mitigating Measures Incorporated into
111. Risk Assessment and Mitigation
IV. Implementing Entity
6. At the top o f the management structure for SSA i s the Governing Council o f the National Miss ion headed by the Prime Minister, served by an Executive Committee which i s headed by Minister o f Human Resources Department, and a dedicated Technical Support Group. The Elementary Education Bureau retains the technical and financial oversight o f the entire program, with core responsibilities being to appraise and sanction State and District levels plans (through the Project Appraisal Board), and overall program monitoring and review.
7. SSA i s implemented by State Governments through State Implementation Societies (SIS) and Distr ict Offices. The framework also allows for stakeholders at the level o f school and community under the broad umbrella o f the Panchayati Raj, NGOs and the private sector to play key roles, where appropriate in program delivery. The Governing Council o f the SIS i s headed by the Chief Minister, and District Collectorskfagistrates are accountable for implementation in their respective districts. Program implementation i s through the administrative structure o f the Department o f Education, working in coordination o f other departments to ensure convergence o f programs. SIS wil l handle the f l ow o f funds from the Center to the districts and sub districts. Departments o f Education take responsibility for overall program coordination and planning, and have keys roles in ensuring appropriate levels o f technical support are available to support implementation at district levels and below, with the B lock and Cluster
2' Share o f Northeastern states wil l remain constant at 10 percent.
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level Resource Centers assuming crit ical roles, particularly in ensuring appropriate support and monitoring o f improvement to the quality o f education.
V. Budgeting
8. During SSA I1 costs will be shared between the Go1 and states starting with a 65:35 ratio and tapering down to 60:40. At the Go1 level a budget for the Program i s included in the overall budget for MHRD. Similarly, at the state level a budget i s provided to the Department o f Elementary Education for i ts share o f SSA. Funds from these two budgets are eventually pooled at the State Implementation Society (SIS) for further utilization under the program.
9. The Program for each state i s prepared in the form o f an Annual W o r k Plan and Budget (AWP&B). This details out the activities proposed in terms o f numbers o f teachers, targets for c i v i l works, student enrolment/ retention, teaching aids, books to be procured, etc. The same are evaluated by a Project Approval Board (PAB) prior/ close to commencement o f a financial year and the AWP&B finalized. This takes into account the needs, implementation capacities as wel l as the past performance o f the state. As explained subsequently, funds transfers and monitoring i s based o n the approved AWP&B.
VI. Accounting
10. A Manual on Financial Management and Procurement (Manual) has been in use under the program since 2004. T h i s documents the accounting and financial management processes and procedures in detail. Further the same has been translated in many local languages and distributed across states; states have developed their versions o f Vil lage Education Committee (VEC) Manuals.
1 1. Books o f accounts for the project are maintained using double-entry bookkeeping principles. Standard books o f accounts (cash and bank books, journals, ledgers, etc.) are maintained at the state and district levels on a manual basis; many states have started using off-the-shelf accounting software for recording/ compilation o f information. Compilation o f information at the district level i s o n spreadsheet software and in many cases, transmitted to the state level through E-Mai l . A similar process o f compilation and transmission to Go1 takes place at each SIS.
12. A Chart o f Accounts (standard activity l ist) i s used to enable data to be captured and classified by expenditure center and type o f expenditure. This i s used by a l l implementing entities (upto district level) t o ensure consistency in recording/ reporting o f information. The key issues that have been addressed in the design o f the accounting policies and procedures are: 0 Release o f funds to states and districts will be accounted for as advances in the books o f accounts and
treated as expenditure only upon submission o f expenditure statement/utilization certificate. Releases o f funds to entities below the district level will be accounted for as advances in the books o f account (of the district office) and treated as expenditure only upon submission o f expenditure information. However, these advances are considered eligible for claiming reimbursement f rom the Partners. These advances are subsequently ve r i f i ed adjusted at t ime o f receipt o f Annual Audit Reports i.e. Audited Expenditure wil l be restricted to an the amount for which Ut i l izat ion Certificates (UCs) have been received by the District Office
VII. Internal Control and Internal Auditing (IA)
13. Accounting units maintain CasWBank Book and Ledgers and (most) carry out bank reconciliation on a regular basis. In addition, vouchers, bills, supporting documents are retained and Bank pass books are regularly updated.
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14. Internal Audits are carried by an I A Team, or in states where an in-house team i s not available; a firm o f Chartered Accountants i s engaged to carry out the function as per a specified TOR. I A reviews and reports o n adequacy o f internal controls, accounting for and safeguard o f assets, accuracy and propriety o f transactions, bank reconciliation, level o f compliance with SSA financial norms, procurement procedures, etc. IA Reports are submitted to the State Project Director for necessary action and also to the Executive Committee o f the SIS. However, IA continues to be a weak area in many states across the program due to insufficient attention/ resources.
VIII. Staffing and Training
15. MHRD i s already staffed with a Financial Advisor and a Chief Controller o f Accounts who have the overall responsibility for financial management/ book keeping o f the department, respectively. They are adequately supported by qualified, trained staff. MHRD has designated a Director in the Elementary Education Bureau as the person responsible for Financial Management and Procurement Aspects. H e i s supported by a team consisting o f Go1 staff and Consultants f rom a Technical Support Group. They are responsible for review/ monitoring as wel l as for capacity building o f the relevant staff at the state level.
16. Based o n the experience over the past 3 - 4 years, FM capacity at many o f the large states i s considered to be reasonable; however variations/ weaknesses do exist in some states and at the district level and below in some o f the states. Guidelines as la id down in the have ensured that position o f staffing has been gradually improving.
17. Significant efforts have been made by MHRD towards capacity building o f the FM function (a) MHRD holds Quarterly review meetings for heads o f the finance function f rom each state; issues regarding audit observations, financial performance, training, staffing, internal audit etc are discussed in these meetings; (b) trainings are held in many states for district level staff and in some cases for lower level staff as well; and (c) V E C Manuals ensure that relevant guidance i s available at a l l levels.
IX. Funds Flow Arrangements
18. Go1 level: Funds f rom Partners wil l be received in accounts (Special Account) maintained with the Reserve Bank o f India (RBI); the account will be denominated in US$, GBP and Euro in case o f the Wor ld Bank, DFID and European Commission, respectively. The rupee equivalent o f the receipts will be transferred to the Consolidated Fund o f India. Adequate funds are provided to the relevant budget head o f MHRD for further release to states.
19. Go1 to states: Go1 releases funds based upon the approved Annual Works Plan and Budget (AWP&B) o f the states. The release i s broadly23 in two installments. The f i rs t release i s made soon after approval o f the AWP&B and i s approximately 50 percent o f the Go1 share. This amount i s released in a separate bank account maintained by the SIS for the program. Subsequently, the state government releases i t s share to the SIS. The second installment i s released based upon demand from the state (usually six months after the first release) in a similar manner. This release takes into account the expenditure incurred and a forecast o f cash requirements for rest o f the FY.
22 The guidelines provide for a Controller Finance at the state level supported by a team o f f ive persons, and at the district level, a Finance and Accounts Off icer supported by a team o f three persons. 23 Go1 has fol lowed the pol icy o f making o f an i n t e r i d a d hoc release equal t o 50 percent o f the previous year’s expenditure in April o f the Financial Year t o counter delays in approval o f the AWP&B.
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20. Within the States: A separate bank account i s maintained by a l l district offices, BRCs, CRCs and VECs. The SIS releases funds to the district office based upon the approved annual plan, expenditure incurred, and future requirements. Further the district office releases funds to the BRCs, CRCs and VECs fol lowing the same principles. However releases at this level consider ‘norms’ as la id down in the Manual.
21. The funds f low i s explained in form o f the chart below. I t i s important to note that al l releases f rom Go1 are made electronically and a significant number o f states/districts further release funds to implementing agencies, electronically.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan 11, Funds Flow Arrangements
MHRD‘s Budget for SSA
State Implementation Societies State Share
I
Approx. One million entities across lndia
1 Adrnn., SIEMAT, Research, Salaries
District Off ices I r % 1 + 1
Maint., School Grant, Civil Works, Salaries
L
X. Disbursement Arrangements
22. Program expenditures under SSA I1 will be defined as expenditures on goods, works and services related to the activities under the SSA program. Eligible expenditures for DP financing will be defined as program expenditures by GoI, eligible project States and UTs (i.e. those who have signed a Letter o f Undertaking with GoI) in excess o f annual thresholds. The thresholds have been set at the fo l lowing levels (or such other levels as the Go1 and the DPs may agree):
Rs. 4,200 crores for expenditure period April 07-March 08 0 Rs. 4,900 crores for expenditure period April 08-March 09 0 Rs. 6,400 crores for expenditure period April 09-March 10
23. Together, the partners will disburse against one third o f Eligible Expenditures up to agreed annual caps. The shares o f the partners in total external financing would be 60 percent for IDA, 30 percent for DFID, and 10 percent for EC. An illustrative scenario showing the estimated expenditure eligible for reimbursement for the three year period o f SSA I1 i s presented below (Table 7.3 and Table 7.3 (a)).
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Projected Expenditure 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Total
3,000 3.500 4.000 10.500
24. Disbursement will be made once per year around July/August, for eligible expenditures incurred in the prior fiscal year. Disbursements wil l be based o n FMRs, covering the previous fiscal year. The program expenditures reported in the FMRs will be subject t o confirmationhertification by the annual audit reports o f a l l implementing agencies. Go1 would submit to the Partners a Consolidated Report o f Audits summarizing the findings and certifying total program expenditures as reported in the individual audit reports o f a l l implementing agencies. Any discrepancies between the amounts o f program expenditures reported by the FMRs and those reported in the Consolidated Report o n Audits wil l lead to adjustments o f subsequent disbursements, to be recovered from or reimbursed to Go1 through the next disbursement. Agreement will be reached among the GOY DPs on amounts approved for disbursements before Go1 submits applications for withdrawal to the Bank.
25. The fol lowing points highlight the key disbursement aspects: 0
0
The Association has agreed to provide an advance o f U S $ 100 Mi l l ion. T h i s advance will be recovered from the final disbursement due in July/ August 2010. Disbursement will be subject to receipt o f the Consolidated Report o n Audits due by December each year. If the Consolidated Report i s not received by April o f the fo l lowing year, n o further disbursement will be made until the outstanding Consolidated Report i s received. However, Go1 will s t i l l be required to submit the FMRs on the due dates. When audit reports indicate higher levels o f eligible expenditures when compared to the FMRs for the same period, the excess wil l be added to the next report based disbursement; and when audit reports indicate lower levels o f eligible expenditures against the relevant FMRs, an adjustment will be made to the next disbursement by reduction.
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Any default/ delay by a state in reporting annual expenditure in time for the June FMR will result in under reporting o f project expenditure and such expenditure can be included in the Consolidated Report o n Audit and claimed from the next due disbursement. In case o f late submission o f an audit report by a state, Go1 will not ho ld back submission o f the Consolidated Report on Audit to the Partners. If such state audit reports are submitted to the Go1 at a later date, the same will be factored in the next disbursement provided a revised Consolidated Report on Audit i s submitted by June. In case a state does not submit the audit report o f a given financial year by June o f the next financial year, expenditure reported by such state will be excluded for disbursement purposes and not reinstated even if submitted subsequently.
April 07 - March 08 April 08 - March 09 Ami1 09 - March 10
Table 7.5: Disbursement Schedule
June 2008 July 2008 June 2009 July 2009 June 2010 Julv 20 10
XI. Financial Reporting
26. Program Expenditures wil l be reported by the district t o the state and by the state to GoI. Expenditure Statements o f a l l the states will be consolidated by GoI, along with i t s own expenditure, for submission to the Partners as a single statement for the entire program. Reporting will be o n a semi-annual basis. The Financial Monitor ing Reports (FMRs) will include state-wise and activity-wise expenditure for the previous ha l f year and year-to-date. Information on physical progress achieved (enrolment, number o f teachers, progress o f c iv i l works, training, text books etc) wil l be shared with Partners as part o f the JRM documentation. FMRs will be due 90 days after close o f the ha l f year.
XII. Disclosure of Information
27. Currently, the fo l lowing information relating to SSA i s disclosed o n the SSA Website. This information i s fairly detailed and indicates a significant level o f transparency on the Program: 0 Manual o n Financial Management and Procurement (English version released in 2004)
AWP&B, releases, expenditures; state-wise data generally updated every quarter 0 Minutes o f quarterly review meeting o f Finance Controllers o f states (these include information o n
status in each state relating to staffing, internal audit arrangements, training, implementation o f the FM/ VEC Manual etc.) Audited Financial Statement for each State; for FY 2006 - 07 onwards Reports o n Monitor ing o f Financial Aspects relating to SSA (State Reports; reviews conducted by IPAI) Others l ike JRM Aide Memoires, SSA framework/ norms, link to State SSA Websites.
0
0
XIII. Auditing
28. Audits o f SISs are conducted by f i r m s o f Chartered Accountants. Selection o f the firm o f Chartered Accountants i s based on criteria (specified in the Manual), which assess the size o f the f i r m s in terms o f the number o f staff and relevant experience. The Audit will cover Program Financial Statements, including a Statement o f Receipt and Expenditure and a Balance Sheet. The Audit will cover a l l SISs/
72
District Offices and sub-district units o n a sample24 basis. Audits will be carried out in accordance with TORS which are documented in the Manual and which meet requirement o f the Partners. Audi ted AccountdAudit Report will be furnished to GoI; which in turn will provide the Partners with a Consolidated Report on Audit o f the Program within nine months2' o f close o f the Financial Year i.e. by December 3 1". This report wil l consolidate the Program Expenditure incurred under the state/ national components. The report wil l also consolidate the key observations forming part o f the audit report o f each state. Based on the key observations, Partners may request Go1 to provide copies o f audit reports o f specific states. The following audit reports will be monitored in the Audit Reports Compliance System (ARCS).
Implementing Agency Entire Program D E A / G o I
Audit Auditors Project Audit Special Account
Consolidated Report o n Audit o f SSA Comptroller & Audi tor General o f Ind ia
XIV. Supervision Plan
29. As part o f engagement o n SSA 11, attention wil l be given to the states with higher outlays/ expenditure. Areas o f focus during supervision will include funds flow, internal/ external audit findings, quality o f reporting and capacity building measures. The supervision intensity wil l be bi-annual including visi ts to states as part o f the JRMs.
24 MHRD has decided that for the audits for FY ending M a r c h 2007, Auditor wil l be required t o cover a l l VECs (incurring annual expenditure above a specific threshold, presently Rs. l lakh) over a period o f three years.
25 Usually IDA requires that a l l Project Audit Reports be submitted within six months o f close o f the Financial Year; however this timeline has been agreed (for SSA I as we l l as SSA 11) since this i s aligned with the Go1 requirement as stated in the Manual on Financial Management and Procurement
1. The SSA-I1 project wi l l be implemented in SWAP arrangement with the Government o f India (GoI) Wor ld Bank, EC and DFID jo in ing the pool. Being a repeater project, the procurement arrangements for the project will be quite similar to those o f i ts predecessor SSA-I with some changes described further, as both these projects are based o n same Go1 SSA framework.
2. Procurement for SSA-I1 will be carried out in accordance with SSA Manual for Financial Management and Procurement (FMP) Manual, which was developed for SSA-I during 2004, and the provisions stipulated in the Legal Agreement. Table 8.1 given below describes the indicative categories of expenditure based on the fund allocation for the year 2007-08. However the actual expenditure may vary f rom year to year.
11. Implementing Agencies Handling Procurement
3. The procurement under SSA-I1 wil l be handled at National, States, Districts, BlocWCluster and Village/School levels. At National level the procurement responsibility i s handled by the Ministry o f Human Resources Development (MHRD). At State level, the State Implementation Societies (SIS) set up under Societies Registration A c t 1860 will handle the procurement. The SIS has i ts units at District, B lock and Cluster levels to handle the respective procurements. At Vil lage level, the Vi l lage Education Committee (VEC) or such other bodies are responsible for school level procurement. In urban areas, this role i s taken up by Ward Education Committee (WEC). Apart f i om the above implementing agencies, in some States additional implementing agencies (outside SIS) may be assigned with the procurement responsibilities. The agencies which are owned by either the union government or state governments shall not be contracted under the project unless these are legally and financially autonomous, operate under commercial law, and are not dependent agencies o f either the union government or state
74
governments. However based o n their unique skills, government owned agencies l ike EdCE, NUEPA, NIAR, IGNOU, State IT Corporations and State Textbook Corporations are planned to be contracted on single source basis under the project and Bank has n o objection for contracting these agencies o n sole source basis. State Public Works Departments and State IT Departments will also handle the procurement o f some c iv i l works and IT equipment respectively under the project. At the national and state levels NCERT, N I C and SCERTs will also be acting as implementing agencies at the respective levels. The
School/ Village
illustrative details o f items procured at various levels are indicated in the Table 8.2.
Construction o f new buildings, addition/ renovation/alteration o f existing school buildings Learning Equipment (TLE) etc. such as additional classrooms, toilets, drinking water facilities, ramp boundary walls, separation walls, electrification etc. and routine repairs and
Teaching Learning Materials (TLM), School equipment and other items for the improvement o f schools, Teaching and
Table 8.2: Items to be Procured and Ope Level lcivil works IGoods
Block/ Cluster
maintenance o f schools Construction o f CRCBRC building Library Books etc.
Furniture, Equipment, Computers, TLM,
tting Costs at Various L iewices
office equipment, Office furniture, Office contingencies; Hir ing o f 'Textbooks/other books/supplementary equipment and vehicles; vehicles; arranging district level materials, Computers and accessories, Aids training and workshops, Salary o
teachers and appliances and other materials required for disabled children, TLE, Materials required for research and evaluation, EducationaVECCE kits etc. Textbooks; Computers and accessories; Office Equipment, Office furniture,
Printing, Maintenance o f
Printing, Engagement o f Auditors; Engagement o f
Office contingencies; hiring o f vehicles; arranging State level
guilding Construction Expert or only Supervision
Equipment for distance education, Aids and appliances and other requirements for children w i th disability, Materials required for research and evaluation etc.
experts/ resource persons; Engagement o f NGOs, Engagement o f Consultancy Firms, maintenance o f equipment and vehicles etc. H i r ing o f consultants/ National apex bodies/ NGOs/ Academic Institutions/ Social Science Institutions for Training, Capacity Building, Technical Support, hiring o f auditors; Support services for financial management and procurement; Support services for monitoring appraisal and supervision; and Awareness generation, media, documentation and dissemination o f good Dractices
I I C
rels Iperating Costs
>ffice contingencies, arranging teacher training and other workshops, community training letc.
District
SIS
National
Construction o f SIEMAT
training and workshops
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111. Applicable Procurement Procedures
4. Fol lowing procurement procedures, as la id down in FMP (rate contracts for goods could also be used if allowed under the state government rules):
shall be used for Goods & Works
Open tender (or National Competitive Bidding) i s the competitive bidding procedure normally used for public procurement in India. The procedures provide for adequate competition in order to ensure reasonable prices and the methods used in evaluation o f tenders and the award o f contracts shall be made known to a l l bidders and not be applied arbitrarily. The open tender does not preclude foreign bidders f rom participation. The steps generally followed are notificatiordadvertising, issuance o f bid/tender document, submission o f tender document, public opening o f tender, evaluation, selection o f lowest evaluated responsive bidder based on post qualification, negotiation (when necessary), contract award and contract performance.
Limited Tendering (or Shopping) i s a procurement method based on comparing price quotations obtained f rom several suppliers (usually at least three) to ensure competitive prices. The request for quotations shall be made indicating the description, specification and quantity o f goods as we l l as desired delivery time and place. Quotations may also be obtained by telex or facsimile. The evaluation shall fo l low sound public or private sector practices. The terms o f the accepted offer shall be incorporated in a formal purchase order.
Single Tender (or Direct Contracting) i s the method which involves obtaining a tender f rom single source. This may be adopted in case o f goods which are specifically certified as o f proprietary nature or in cases where only a particular firm i s the manufacturer o f the i tem required. Rate contracts o f Director General o f Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) and Rate Contracts o f State Government shall also be an appropriate method under the Single Tender system.
Procurement through Communities may be used for construction o f c iv i l works by organizing local labor (local masons), local construction materials and t a h n g up technical/ managerial assistance f rom government agencies (such as state Public Works Department), NGOs or individual experts. The Village Education Committees (VECs)/ School Management Committees (SMCs) take up the role o f implementing agencies in such procurement. Apart f rom grants for repair and maintenance o f the school, the schools also receive grants for purchase o f teachingl learning materials and equipment.
Procurement without tender2' will be used only for very small value articles which could be
Procurement under the project wil l be undertaken as per procedures l a id out in the FMP manual. The FMP Manual has been reviewed by IDA and found to be in compliance with Section 4.09 o f the General Conditions. The Manual has been reviewed carefully and has been found t o b e substantially consistent with the Bank's revised procurement Guidelines. SSA I1 wil l not finance ICB. The major i ty o f procurement i s o f small value and the entire project fol lows either shopping, direct contracting or open tendering (which i s the Manual's equivalent for NCB). Those methods are described in the SSA Financial Management and Procurement Manual and they are substantially the same as the procurement methods in the Bank's Guidelines. In addition, there i s n o pr ior review under the project given the l o w value o f the contracts. The post review arrangements as described in the SSA Procurement Manua l mir ror substantially the requirements spelled out in the Introduction and in Appendix 1 o f the Bank's Guidelines. To address any gaps, the Financing Agreement has been prepared with a section on "Addit ional Procurement Provisions" t o ensure that the Project procurement arrangements are fully in l ine with the provisions o f the Bank's Procurement Guidelines. In addition, the Fraud & Corruption provisions o f the Bank's Guidelines are referred t o directly in the Financing Agreement.
27 T h i s method is essentially for acquiring items o n cash payment basis under the operating cost and i s referred here only as i t i s l isted in the procurement chapter o f FMP manual.
26
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procured through visit to a shop/outlet, provided this does not involve any splitting o f purchases.
5. Except for a few packages o f computer hardware (which will be procured using open tendering); most o f the contracts would be l o w in value and about 75% o f the procurements will fo l low shopping procedures. A threshold o f U S $ 4 Mi l l ion, below which open tendering i s justif ied for the procurement o f IT equipment has been accepted because the global IT hardware manufacturers have subsidiaries in India2*, which will ensure reasonable competition through open tendering.
6. Based on the experience o f SSA-I implementation, none o f the procurement i s l ike ly to involve International Competitive Bidding. The contracts estimated to exceed the thresholds for open tendering and the contracts exceeding $200,000 for consultants will not be eligible for Bank financing
7. Most o f the consultancy assignments under the project are o f standard or routine nature (for example selection o f auditors) and Least Cost Selection procedure as described in FMP Manual could be used for such assignment. For selection o f NGO, NGO Selection Procedure as described in FMP Manual shall be used.
8. For non-consultancy services such as printing, the methods described under para 4 above shall be applicable.
IV. Assessment of the Procurement Capacity of the Implementing Agencies
Broader procurement related policies
9. The Constitution o f India (Seventh Schedule) l is ts specific subjects in which the U n i o n Government or the State Government alone can make laws and concurrent subjects in which both the Un ion and State governments can make laws. Procurement falls in the concurrent l i s t . Procurement o f goods/works and services by MHRD and the State Governments (except for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, who have passed their own procurement legislations) i s regulated mainly by the General Financial Rules (GFR), 2005; State Finance Rules, Indian Contract Ac t 1872 as amended to date and the Sales o f Goods Act. Other pol icy interventions such as Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Right to Information A c t also potentially impact o n the government procurement systems.
Country/State Procurement Assessments
10. A Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR) was prepared in 2001, which provides an understanding/overview o f GoI’s National Procurement System. State Procurement Assessment Reports (SPAR) were also prepared for the States o f Karnataka, Tami l Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in 2002 and 2003. Based on these assessments, the existing basic framework o f public procurement rules and procedures in India largely requires open tenders to a l l qualified f i r m s without discrimination, use o f non-discriminatory tender documents, public bid opening, and selection o f the most advantageous contractor/supplier. However, these assessments revealed (1) significant weaknesses such as absence of: a dedicated pol icy malung department, a credible complaint/ challenge/ gnevance procedures, and the availability o f standard bidding documents; and (2) lack o f compliance with the basic framework o f rules and procedures such as cases o f preferential treatment in procurement, delays in tender processing and award decisions, use o f two envelope system and incidents o f inappropriate negotiations. Some major changes have been introduced since these reviews were undertaken l ike (a) introduction o f new General Financial Rules (GFR) by the Go1 including procurement manuals and SBDs (b) instructions f rom C V C
Samsung, Seagate, Sun Microsystems, Texas Instruments etc.
77
o n procurement related disclosure and negotiations, (c) revision o f procurement rules by some o f the states, while some more states are in the process o f doing so.
Procurement Capacity Assessment for the Project
11. A sectoral level assessment o f the procurement capacity o f selected States (Haryana, Punjab, Tami l Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh) was carried out under SSA-I. Collectively, the selected states account for a large percentage o f student population. The assessment was conducted at a l l levels o f SSA implementation - State, District, BlocWCluster and Village/School level. The assessment covered the procurement capacity (clear definition o f functions and delegation o f authority, staffing, internal procedures, training needs etc.) o f the procurement entities. As per this assessment, the States have sufficient capacity to handle the procurement under the project. The report also identified:
(i) the need for improvement in procurement capacity at the Vil lage level committees by providing appropriate training and detailed manuals;
(ii) availability o f a well-established capacity o f the Institutions in processing large c i v i l works;
(iii) sufficient institutional capacity for procurement o f papers and computers that could be improved by developing Standard Bidding Documents.
(iv) the need to develop Standard Bidding Documents as we l l as the Guidelines for purchase o f small value items
12. Based on the CPAR, SPARS and this assessment, the procurement capacity o f implementing agencies were found to be generally acceptable for SSA-I. During the implementation o f SSA-I, the fol lowing actions have been taken to address the above listed weaknesses:
(i) Introducing the FMP Manual in 2004 covering procurement procedures to be used under the project in details
(ii) Arranging training for the Vil lage Education Committees (VEC) which covers procurement and introducing VEC Manuals detailing the implementation procedures including the procurement procedures;
(iii) State specific bidding documents for different types o f procurement are being developed as part o f the larger procurement reform. M a n y o f these documents are based o n Bank’s SBD particularly for the states which have earlier handled Bank financed projects l ike District Primary Education Project (DPEP);
13. In addition, the reports o f various Joint Review Missions (JRMs), audit reports submitted by Chartered Accountants and reports o n concurrent financial reviews, Ex-post review o f the contracts issued under SSA-I, and the financial/performance audit conducted by CAG o f India have identified various areas that require further strengthening.
14. As per the reports o f various JRMs, the identified weaknesses are: weak internal audit in most SIS and lack o f focus o f internal audit o n procurement, lack o f community oversight for school level, lack o f formal monitoring o f the procurement plans and instances o f conducting negotiations inappropriately.
15. Some o f the findings o f the concurrent financial reviews are: a general lack o f awareness o f the provisions o f FMP Manual, some instances o f large variations in the costs o f similar items, inappropriate procurement f rom private firm using conduit o f government organization (which does not deal in the
78
items procured), weak monitoring by SPO for large value procurements; and significant variation between what was contained in the procurement plan and the actual procurement achieved.
1 Risk
Corruption in
16. An ex-post review was conducted by a consultant engaged by the Bank and covered review o f 550 contracts awarded during the period o f April 1, 2004 through March 3 1 , 2006 in eight states (Karnataka, AF', Jharkhand, Assam, U.P., Rajasthan, Maharashtra and MP). The review found that the agreed procurement procedures were generally adhered to. It was also found that whilst procurement capacity i s considered to be acceptable at State and District levels, some improvement was needed at School level.
Risk Mitigation Plan Residual Risk I Rating Rating
High2' - Disclosure o f contract opportunities and contract award Substantial
17. The performance audit o f CAG found that there were delays in supp ly ing free textbooks in some States and that school grants were released to non-existent Schools. F e w cases o f procedural lapses have been reported in some states (e.g. in Jharkhand), where MHRD has initiated the follow-up action. Some o f the audit reports submitted by statutory auditors o f the SIS have also corroborated the issues which are listed above.
18. I t i s noted that MHRD has promptly initiated appropriate action to address the deficiencies and weaknesses identif ied in the various reports (listed in paragraphs 13 through 17), most o f which were n o longer observed after the init ial years o f SSA-I. MHRD has also instructed the states to submit the procurement plans immediately after the receipt o f PAB Minutes approving the AWP&B and some o f the states have taken action to translate the FMP Manual in local languages and developed V E C Manuals. In summary, the capacity o f the implementing agencies and the implementation arrangements for SSA-I1 have been much improved over those o f SSA-I.
V. Major Risks Related to Procurement and Mitigation Plan
19. The major factors contributing to procurement risk are a) l imitation in monitoring the decentralized procurement; b) l imi ted capacity to handle the procurement at school level; c) lesser awareness of procurement procedures at school/village level, where most o f the expenditure i s incurred; d) l imi ted disclosure o f procurement related information; e) country environment factors. Table 8.3 summarizes major r isks and r i s k mitigation plan for SSA-11.
procurement I decisions Adherence to agreed procurement procedure Social oversight and community participation
- - - Intemal/extemal procurement audits - Proper complaint handling mechanism - Improved documentation - Concurrent monitoring o f procurement by MHRD and SIS
~ ~~ ~
29 The risk rating i s decided by two factors, f i rst the probability o f occurrence o f the event and second the impact o f occurrence. Even if the probability o f occurrence o f corrupt procurement i s very low (based on the data available for the implementation o f SSA t i l l date), it impact particularly on the reputation o f MHRD and DPs i s expected to be quite high. Th is i s the rationale behind the rating assigned for Corruption in Procurement,
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Risk
Delays in contract award and completion
L a c k o f economy in procurement and use
Risk Rating
M e d i u m
M e d i u m
Mitigation Plan
- - Effective contract management - - - Procurement audit/ review - - Need based procurement planning - - - Competit ive procurement - Community ownership o f assets - - Procurement audit/ review -
Procurement planning and regular monitoring o f the plans
Provision and training o f the procurement staff Regular monitoring through review missions
Concurrent monitoring o f procurement by MHRD and SIS
Development o f standard bidding documents Avai labi l i ty o f trained procurement staff
Regular monitoring through review missions
Concurrent monitoring o f procurement by MHRD and SIS
Residual Risk
M e d i u m 7
Substantiall
20. M a n y o f the mitigation measures are already in place or suggested in FMP Manual but the compliance needs to be emphasized. For other measures (such as disclosure o f contract opportunities, providing checklists for internal/external audits), MHRD has initiated steps immediately to put in place the mitigating measures and the compliance o f these will be monitored through the semi-annual jo in t review missions and post reviews by Development Partners to be conducted in consultation with MHRD.
VI. Agreed Procurement Arrangements
Procurement Plan
21. MHRD has already requested (on 25 October 2007) the States to publish their procurement plans o n the respective SIS websites latest by October o f each year. The SIS who are not having website would be asked to develop the same. The individual state level procurement plans can be accessed f rom SIS website during Joint Review Missions for the purpose o f monitoring o f the procurement.
Financial Management and Procurement Manual
22. MHRD will address the fol lowing weaknesses observed during SSA-I implementation:
The SIS will reiterate and disseminate the resolutions passed by their Executive Committees for using procurement procedure(s) out o f the options available under SSA viz. state government procedure, DPEP procedure and PRI Rules including clarification on applicability o f individual procedures i f more than one procurement procedures are selected. This information should be shared with MHRD and also possibly be disclosed at website o f respective SIS.
I t would be clarified that whi le using the selected procurement procedure(s) out o f state government procedure, DPEP procedure and PRI Rules, the relevant provisions o f Chapter IX o f the FMP Manual will s t i l l be applicable.
Model format for preparation o f the procurement plan has been developed and the states have been asked (on 19 June 2007) to fo l low the format. The importance o f monitoring o f the plan for t imely completion o f the procurement process will be emphasized.
Obtaining written quotations and issuing written purchase orders should be emphasized for a l l the
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procurement (except for procurement without tender). Procurement without tender (paragraph 1 15 o f the manual) should only be used if permitted by the state rules and FMP Manual.
Modi f ied thresholds for various procurement methods are to be shared with SIS.
The need for systematically maintaining the contract records/filings for post review should be emphasized and a model format for compiling the contract data wil l be developed. In this connection, MHRD has already issued instructions (on August 3, 2007) to the states for maintaining data regarding major contracts. Possibility o f computerization o f procurement data (as part o f the MIS) wil l also be explored.
A check l i s t for procurement audits by external and internal auditors has been developed including a format for CA certificate for procurement audit and has been circulated to the states o n 12 November 2007. The compliance needs to be monitored.
The procurement staffing and training requirements (contents as we l l as periodicity) will be emphasized. MHRD vide i t s letter dated 13 April 2007 has asked the states to provide a minimum o f 5 days o f training to the staff in Financial Management and Procurement.
23. For all price-negotiated contracts, the C V C Guidelines shall be followed. MHRD vide letter dated 17 September 2007 has already emphasized the States to comply with the guidelines o f CVC on negotiations. The Bank will post-review such price-negotiated contracts, in consultation with MHRD. The StatesAJTs have been instructed further o n 1 November 2007 to put the invitation for tenders o n their websites besides advertising in newspapers.
24. Above provisions wherever applicable, wil l also be added in VEC manuals.
Procurement Thresholds
25. Table 8.4 indicates the thresholds agreed for various procurement methods.
Table 8.4: Thresholds for Various Methods of Procurement
Goods except IT Equipment and Textbooks3' (also applicable for non- intellectual services and the services contracted on the basis
Under operating expenditure, a l l goods o f lesser than US$ 1000 in value could be acquired without quotation 30
3 ' Single Tender procedure wi l l be used in the states which have textbook corporations. In case o f other states, Open Tender procedure wil l be used to purchase the textbooks or get these printed.
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Category Goods (only IT Equipment)
Consultants’ Services
Procurement Audit
Method of Procurement Threshold (US% Equivalent) Open Tender Up to 4,000,000 Limited Tender Up to 50,000 Single Tender Up to 30,000 As per FMP Manual up to 200,000
26. Fol lowing procurement reviewdaudit will be conducted for the project:
Chartered Accountant Audit: The CA f i r m s are being uti l ized to audit the accounts o f SIS, including reviewing procurement procedures being used. The Districts and Sub-District Uni ts are also being covered in the CA audit, on a sample basis. MHRD has modified the TOR for external auditors to cover the VECs/Schools receiving more than Rs.O.10 M i l l i o n a year in a cycle o f 3 years. In order to bring uniformity in procurement audit across the states, i t has been provided procurement audit checklist including format for CA certificate to C A firms. I t wil l be also be clarified that i f the funds are transferred laterally to other implementing agencies outside the SIS, the SIS will share the procurement audit checklists with such agencies to ensure that the procurement audit for such agencies needs i s conducted in accordance with the checklist.
Internal Audit: The FMP Manual requires the recruitment o f internal auditors at SIS, who wil l also be responsible for internal procurement audit. As per the latest information provided by MHRD, 26 states have internal auditors in place; whi le others are s t i l l trying to put this arrangement in place. These internal auditors are either departmental staff or the Chartered Accountant f i r m s engaged to perform the internal audit function. Apart f rom SIS they also cover Districts and Sub-District Units. The procurement audit checklist proposed to be developed for external C A auditors wil l also be uti l ized for internal auditors.
CAG Audit: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) o f India also conducts the procurement audit (as part o f the financial audit) o f MHRD as wel l as SIS. T o date 19 States have been covered under C A G audit. In addition C A G also conducts performance audits o f the schemes run by the Government. The performance audit o f SSA was conducted for the period 2004-05 by CAG. MHRD has shared the audit remarks f rom CAG reports with DPs along with the action taken report.
Concurrent Financial Review: The Institute o f Public Auditors o f India (IPAI) has been engaged by MHRD to conduct concurrent review o f SIS. T o date 21 States have been reviewed whi le reviews o f remaining States will be covered under SSA-11. MHRD will share the procurement related audit remarks f rom concurrent financial review reports with DPs along with the action taken report.
Procurement Staff
27. MHRD has designated a Director in the Elementary Education Bureau as the person responsible for Financial Management and Procurement Aspects. H e i s supported by a team consisting o f Go1 staff and 4 Consultants f rom a Technical Support Group. They are responsible for review/ monitoring as wel l as for capacity building o f the relevant staff at the state level. However due to scaling up o f the operation in SSA-11, the requirement o f additional procurement consultant for capacity building o f the states should be assessed.
28. At SIS level, state finance controller i s responsible for supervising the procurement at SIS level as wel l as monitoring o f the procurement at districthub-district levels. At district level, the account officer i s designated for handling procurement also. Currently 5 days training covering FM and procurement
82
aspects i s provided to these staff each year. However, more focused training i s required to ensure the correct understanding and application o f the procurement procedures contained in FMP Manual. At Village/School level also, basic procurement training should be provided regularly in addition to incorporating the procurement procedure in VEC Manual. U s e o f visual a id l i ke posters to display the procurement procedure at VEC/School level may also be considered.
Contract Monitoring
29. In order to ensure timely supply o f goods/textbooks etc. and timely completion o f works, ensuring right quality o f the items, timely release o f payment etc., SIS will be requested to set up internal mechanism for effective contract monitoring. In some states third party monitoring o f the t imely supply o f textbooks already i s in place.
Disclosure
30. MHRD has agreed to publish financial and procurement audit reports o f State implementing agencies on SSA website. In addition, the States will be asked to disclose the contract opportunities, bid documents and contract award information on their website in l ine with the C V C directives. The disclosure o f financial information at VEC offices i s being done in some States. However, this needs to be improved (viz. to increase the penetration across a l l the states and have disclosure o f both receipt o f funds and expenditure) and also the coverage also needs to be extended to other States.
Complaint Handling Mechanism
3 1. In order to deal with the complaints received f rom contractor/suppliers effectively, a complaint handling mechanism i s available at both the national and state level. On receipt o f complaints, immediate action will be initiated to redress grievances. All complaints will be dealt with at levels higher than that o f the level at which the procurement process was undertaken.
32. If the complaint i s received pr ior to award o f the contract, the complaint shall be taken into account whi le considering the award o f the contract. If, after contract award, a protest or complaint i s received f i o m bidders, i t would be examined and if necessary, the contract award will be reconsidered.
33. In cases where an individual staff i s found responsible, suitable disciplinary proceedings will be initiated against such staff under the C iv i l Service Conduct Rules at national level or the Classification, Control and Appeals Rules at the State Level. The receipt o f any illegal gratification by staff i s to be considered as misconduct and if established, wil l result in disciplinary proceedings against such staff, in addition to penalties under the law. The existing provisions under the law, the discipline and appeal rules and the powers o f the Central Vigilance Commission are to be strictly fo l lowed to deal with the complaints o f contractor/suppliers.
Misprocurement
34. The goods, works and services that may no t have been procured in accordance with agreed procurement procedure (as defined in the FMP Manual in addition to the legal agreement) shall be treated as misprocurement. The expenditure incurred o n such procurement shall not be eligible for financing f rom the SSA funds. In addition, Bank may exercise other remedies as detailed in the legal agreement for the project.
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Procurement supervision
35. All aspects of SSA-I1 including procurement shall be reviewed during Joint Review Missions which will be arranged twice a year. MHRD has agreed to include two additional FMP Specialists (one from Go1 and another from DPs) in the field Joint Review Missions for SSA-11. Thus future Joint Review Missions would have 4 FMP specialists out o f total 24 members, who will be able to visit 4 states.
36. Post Award Review: All contracts issued under SSA-I1 will be subject to post review on a sample basis. These reviews are meant to ensure that the agreed procurement procedures are being followed. Such post review, however, shall be carried out in consultation with the MHRD.
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Annex 9: Economic and Financial Analysis
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
1. The objectives o f the SSA program have been to improve completion rates in primary and upper primary levels o f schooling and to enhance the quality o f education in the entire country. Investment in human capital, especially elementary education, affects a variety o f economic and social outcomes. I t i s one o f the key solutions to breaking the vicious cycle o f poverty for individuals, and for providing the basis for the economic growth o f countries. Individuals who have completed primary and upper primary education are more l ike ly to find employment and have higher l i fe-time incomes compared to individuals who don’t. Completing elementary education also provides the option value o f attaining higher levels o f education. Education o f girls has beneficial effects in terns o f later marriages, lowered fe r t i l i t y and better ch i ld health. Societies with an educated population are more capable o f inventing and adapting new technologies, which are drivers o f economic growth in the global economy. Recent research has shown that not only completed years o f schooling but also the quality o f education i s important t o achieve the various economic and social benefits associated with education (Hanushek and Woessman, 2006).
2. Private Rates of Return. Completing primary and elementary education has high rates o f return for the individual. Empirical evidence shows that these returns are higher for developing countries such as India compared to developed countries. Completing even primary and upper-primary education enhances the wage-earning capacity o f individuals (Tilak, 1987; Acharya, 1995). Completing basic and elementary education also provides the option value to individuals to enter and complete higher levels o f education.
3. Social Returns and Externalities. The social rates o f return f rom investing in elementary education are also high as there are a range o f positive externalities generated by education (Psacharapoulos, 1994). A large body o f literature shows that education leads to improved health outcomes such as lower infant mortality rates and better nutrition, a higher age o f marriage and lower fe r t i l i t y among girls and women , higher l ikelihood o f using modem health facilities for maternal and chi ld health, among others (Visaria, 1993; Dasgupta, 1990, Leras-Muney, 2003). More educated societies are also more l ike ly to experience higher rates o f technological change which leads to higher economic growth rates. The benefits o f upper primary education are becoming well-evidenced, both in sustaining the demand for high primary enrolment and attendance and equipping people with l i fe s h l l s and learning.
4. Poverty Alleviation and Equity. Education i s one o f the key strategies o f countries around the wor ld to break the vicious cycle o f poverty o f i t s citizens. Education enhances an individual’s l ikelihood o f gainful employment. Better health and lower ferti l i ty rates encouraged by education improve the quality o f l i f e o f people as individuals and as members o f households. They are more able to make use o f economic and social opportunities available to them.
I. Cost-Benefit Analysis o f SSA
5. The SSA program seeks to universalize elementary education for a l l children in India in l ine with internationally ratif ied the MDGs and the National constitutional amendment making elementary education a fundamental right. I t makes available a holistic package o f inputs to provide access for a l l children, and to improve the quality and management o f elementary education.
6. The cost-benefit analysis done for the project found an internal rate o f return (IRR) o f 16 percent and a net present value o f the net economic benefit i s about USD 4.47 bil l ion.
7. The benefits o f the projects are assumed to come f rom two sources. As a result o f the project: (a) a higher number o f children complete primary and upper primary grades, and (b) children complete primary
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and upper primary grades with a better quality education. The quality benefit results in a small increase in wages. The cost-benefit analysis done for the project can be assumed to be the lower bound o n the return f rom the project as it i s assumed that benefits are due only to higher wages. The positive externalities resulting f rom more education in the population, such as better health-seeking behavior and lower fertility, are not easily quantifiable, and therefore not accounted for in the present analysis. These would increase the rate o f return f rom investing in the project even further.
Benejts Stream
8. The benefits o f the SSA program, as has been noted above, comes f rom more children completing primary and upper primary schooling and the better quality education they receive due to various program components aimed at improving learning in schools. Empirical evidence f rom many countries, both developed and developing, shows that more education i s positively correlated with earnings and i s associated with higher expected income in an individual's life-time. The SSA program has focused o n providing universal access to primary and upper primary schools to al l eligible children. The program uses innovative methods to reach out to the hardest-to-reach children such as girls, tribal children and minorities. Additionally, the SSA program focuses on improving the quality and efficiency o f providing elementary schooling through initiatives such as provision o f teachmg-learning material, free textbooks, teacher training and attention to children with special needs among others. There has been a continuous improvement in enrolment rates and reduction in repetition and drop-out rates in the past f ive years in which the program has been operational. I t can be expected that the focus o f the current phase o f the program on assessment and achievement wil l improve the quality o f education received in elementary schools which will be reflected in the benefits stream.
Mean Wages byAge and Education India, 2004-05
Rirnary Middle
Higher Secondary Diploma/Certif icate
ll". I.." Secondary
0 - I I
20 30 40 50 60 Age
Source: NSS 61st Round, 2004-05
The following assumptions were made to estimate the benefits stream for the cost-benefit analysis: The population o f 6-13 year olds has been projected using the age-wise projection f rom census population projection tables. The enrolment rates for each age group 6-10 years and 11-13 years are also projected using estimates f i o m the 11' Five Year Plan (Government o f India) document. The Gross Enrolment Rates in primary and upper primary grades are estimated to be 101.68 percent and 104.83 percent respectively. These rates are more than 100 due to some under-age and over-age enrolment. Projections were also made for primary and upper primary completion rates. According to the National Sample Survey 6 lSt Round, 2004-2005, primary and upper primary completion rates among
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the 15-19 year olds were 82 percent and 68 percent respectively. I t i s assumed that the primary completion rate would be 100 percent in 2010; and the upper primary completion rate would be 91 percent in 2010. A wage equation i s estimated to compute the wages associated with different levels o f completed schooling. Data f rom the 6lSt Round o f the National Sample Survey o n employment are used for estimating this regression equation. It i s assumed that the benefits accrue to completed levels o f schooling and not completed years o f schooling. T h i s i s in accordance to the assumption Stated earlier that benefits arise f rom more children completing primary and upper primary grades. SSA contributes towards this by increasing the enrolment rate and completion rates, including reducing repetition and dropping out f rom school. Final ly i t i s assumed that due to the better quality schooling provided under SSA, wages increase by 1 percent for a l l students completing primary and upper primary school. The unemployment rate i s assumed to be 5 percent.
Scenario
Economic Costs
Low Base Base High Case 1 Case 2
10. The economic costs o f the project include (a) project costs f rom 2007/8-2010/11 which will be around U S D 10.5 b i l l ion and (b) private household costs o f sending children to Data f rom the 52”d Round o f the National Sample Survey i s used to estimate the private cost. According to this data, the private household cost per year o f sending a chi ld to primary school i s Rupees 622 and that o f upper primary school i s Rupees 957. These are converted to 2004-05 rupees. The private per student cost i s multiplied by the appropriate number o f years spent in school for primary and upper primary grades - 5 years in the case o f primary and 3 additional years in the case o f upper primary grades, respectively.
11. Using the above benefits and costs stream, the project has an internal rate o f return or IRR o f 16 percent. The present value o f net benefits using a discount rate o f 12 percent i s U S D 4.47 bi l l ion. Sensitivity analysis shows that the rate o f return i s 12 percent with status-quo regarding internal efficiency indicators and an unemployment rate o f 5 percent.
Sensitivity Analysis
12. A sensitivity analysis i s also carried out under different scenarios o f internal efficiency (e.g. different completion rates) and external efficiency (e.g. different unemployment rates). The rate o f return estimated above refers to the ‘high’ case scenario. We also estimated rates o f returns under (a) a ‘ low’ case scenario where-in status-quo regarding internal efficiency and a higher unemployment rate o f 12 percent are assumed; (b) a ‘base-case 1’ scenario where internal efficiency indicators are unchanged but unemployment rate i s 5 percent; and (c) a ‘base-case 2 scenario’ where internal efficiency indicators have the same values as in the high case but the higher unemployment rate i s assumed. The values o f the internal and external efficiency indicators and the associated rates o f return are shown below in Table 9.1. In Table 9.2, the net present value o f economic costs and benefits under the various scenarios are presented. A discount rate o f 12 percent was used to estimate the net present value o f benefits.
32 Data using the 61’‘ Round of the National Sample Survey shows that only 0.58 percent o f children in the age- group 6-13 years w o r k for wages. The computations in the present analysis therefore assume away wage-work by children in this age-group.
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Scenario
Primary Completion Rate in 2010 Upper Primary Completion Rate in 2010 Unemployment Rate Rate o f Return
13. Thus, in the case where the project significantly underperfoms, the rate o f return varies between 10- 12 percent. In the successfil project scenarios and with variable labor market situations, the rate o f return o n the project varies between 15-16 percent.
N e t Present Value Low Case Base Case 1 Benefits USD 8.65 bi l l ion USD 9.33
costs USD 8.92 bi l l ion USD 8.92
Benefits Minus Costs USD -0.27 bi l l ion USD 0.41
bi l l ion
bi l l ion
Base Case 2 High Case USD 14.68 USD 15.85 bi l l ion bi l l ion USD 11.38 U S D 11.38 bi l l ion bi l l ion USD 3.30 USD 4.47
11. Fiscal Sustainability Analysis
W V )
14. As stated above, some states have already improved their provision and infrastructure during the last f ive years. In these states SSA requirements may be more directed towards quality interventions during the next few years.. On the other hand, the educationally backward states l i ke Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, UP, MP and Orissa are s t i l l struggling with basic provision and infrastructure gaps. Fo r such states, the requirement would be both for infrastructure as we l l as quality interventions and hence the overall fund requirement for these states i s expected to be higher than for other states.
15. Under the 10" Five Year Plan (FYP), SSA expenditures were shared between the Centre and the States o n the basis o f a ratio o f 25 percent state share and 75 percent Go1 share. I t was originally anticipated that the cost-sharing ratio between Go1 and the states would change to 50-50 during the 1 lth FYP period (2007-08 to 2011-12). However in v iew o f a concern that states, particularly the 9 educationally backward may have diff iculty allocating substantial increases for SSA, i t has been agreed among MHRD, the Planning Commission, and the Finance Ministry to adopt the fol lowing cost sharing arrangement :
16. The projected expenditures for FY07/08-FY09/10 are Rs. 12,000, Rs. 14,000 and Rs. 16,000 crores r e ~ p e c t i v e l y . ~ ~ T o get an idea o f the fiscal sustainability o f the program, projections were done under three different scenarios.
33 These are Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Orissa, Rajasthan, Up and West Bengal. 34 For the lagging states these projected expenditures would be around Rs. 8,400, Rs. 9,800 and Rs. 11,200 crores respectively.
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0 Scenario I: States can continue to increase investments in SSA as they have done, but at a decreasing rate due to competing demands on their finances. This i s also consistent with the fact that many states are closing infrastructure gaps so that increases in resource requirements will taper off. This scenario uses a pace o f increase in nominal annual state SSA releases that declines over the f ive year per iod f rom 35 percent in 2007-8 to 16 percent in 20 1 1-1 2.
2006-07 I A 75:25
f ive years (o f 13 percent annually), with corresponding increases in SSA expenditures. Scenario II; Total state expenditures will continue to grow at the average pace observed over the last
3787 1 10857 I 2493 I 17139 [ 84.39% 14709
0 Scenario III; Owing to fiscal constraints, a l l states will increase investments in SSA at a slower rate f rom 20 percent in 2007-08 to 5 percent in 2011-12. This i s the most pessimistic o f scenarios, as it assumes that states expenditures on education and SSA wil l actually decline over time, as a percent o f overall state expenditures.
2008-09 2009- 10
Results
A 65:35 6612 12281 2558 21452 86.00% 18449 A 60:40 8212 12318 3003 23533 87.00% 20474
17. Scenarios I and I1 show very similar results and so we have reported them together. These are presented in Table 9.3 (for a l l states) and Table 9.3(a) (lagging states). The projections are consistent with continuing increases in the pace o f implementation o f SSA, albeit at a declining rate. The cost sharing ratio above i s used to compute the central releases. Total funds available are then the sum o f projected state and central releases as wel l as the balance carried forward f rom the previous year. Expenditure patterns are then projected o n the assumption that the rate o f uti l ization o f SSA expenditures wil l continue to improve35.
2010-1 1 201 1-12
18. The total SSA expenditure projections in Table 1 thus reflect a composite measure o f what states can afford, as wel l as the absorptive capacity as represented by utilization o f releases. What states can afford i s thus higher than the total resource need estimated by Go1 or the 2007-10 period o f DP support.
A 55:45 9859 12050 3059 24968 88.00% 2 1972 A 5050 11499 11499 2996 25994 90.00% 23395 1
35 The assumed pattern on uti l ization improvements i s somewhat on the conservative side.
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19. Table 9.3(a) presents the results o f the same exercise carried out for the 9 lagging states. As in the case o f the aggregate analysis, the proposed cost sharing arrangement i s affordable and consistent continued increases in the pace o f implementation.
Table 9.3(a): Actual and Projected Releases and Expenditures in Rs. Crores for SSA (lagging
centre: state
20. Under scenario 111, a more pessimistic picture emerges, as shown in Tables 9.4 and 9.4(a). In this scenario, for a l l states and the lagging states the total expenditures remain at the same level as the FY06- 07 levels - which i s below the projected SSA expenditure (especially in the latter years) and i s l ike ly to hamper the pace o f implementation.
Table 9.4: Actual and Projected Releases and Expenditures in Rs. Crores for SSA (all states) under Scenario 111
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2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
A 75:25 2613 7619 1823 12056 84.02% 10130 A 65:35 3136 5824 1926 10887 85.00% 9253
65:35 3606 6698 1633 11937 86.00% 10266
2011-12 1 "50:50 I 4665 I 4665 I 1368 1 10699 1 90.00% I 9629
2009- 10 2010-1 1
21. However, Scenario I11 would involve a reduction in state commitment to education and SSA, and based o n the trends over the past few years and continuing state commitment to education, this i s unl ikely to happen.
A 60:40 4039 6059 1671 11770 87.00% 10239 A 55:45 4443 5430 1530 11404 88.00% 10035
22. Given that Scenarios I and I1 are more realistic, based on historical expenditure patterns by states o n SSA, in aggregate and state-wise, the proposed cost sharing arrangement appear to be affordable even for lagging states. The resource availability wil l continue to support an increased pace o f SSA implementation over the 1 1' plan period.
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Annex 10: Safeguard Policy Issues
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
I. Tribal Development Plan
1. According to the 2001 census, the population o f Scheduled Tribes in the country i s 84.3 m i l l i o n (84,326,240) constituting 8.2 percent o f the total population o f the country. Of this, the male population i s 42.6 m i l l i on and female i s 41.7 mill ion, accounting for 8 percent and 8.4 percent of the total population o f respective groups. With regard to the chi ld population among the ST group, 12.6 m i l l i on are in the age group o f 6-10 years and 7.7 m i l l i on in the age range o f 11-14 years. The literacy rate for the ST communities was only 29.6 percent in 1991 as against the national average o f 52.19 percent. In 2001 this has improved to 47.1 percent with female literacy improving f rom 18.2 to 34.8 (Census 2001).
2. In India, there are 698 tribes, as notif ied under Article 342 o f the Constitution o f India and these are spread over different States and Un ion Territories o f the country. Most have their own language, w h i c h i s generally different f rom the 'mainstream' language o f the state in which they l ive. Wh i le some tribal communities have adopted a mainstream way o f life, at one end o f the spectrum are 75 Pr imit ive Tr ibal Groups (PTGs), who are characterized by (a) a pre-agriculture level o f technology; (b) A stagnant or declining population; (c) Extremely l o w literacy; and (d) a subsistence level o f economy. T h e main concentration o f tribal population i s in Central India and in the North-Eastern States with n ine states together accounting for about four-fifihs o f the total tribal population o f the country.
3. Tr ibal people tend to l ive in two main types o f situations: (a) in 'mixed' (tribal and non-tribal) rural communities, within reach o f educational and other opportunities and resources, and (b) in habitations that are small in size, scattered and located in relatively inaccessible hilly or forested areas o f the country. Major i ty o f these habitations have less than 200 persons. The distribution o f tribal people in these two types o f settlement varies markedly by state, district and even block, calling for different strategies to be used in different areas to provide elementary education to tribal children.
4. A supportive pol icy framework i s in place for the education o f a l l social groups, including tribals. The 86th Amendment to the Constitution o f India (2000) made education a fundamental right, ca l l ing for the State to provide free and compulsory education to al l children between 6 and 14 years. At the same time Article 51 o f the Constitution was amended to enjoin parents and guardians to provide education to their 6-14 year o ld children. Recognizing that the STs count among the most deprived and marginalized sections o f Indian society, a host o f welfare and developmental measures have been initiated for their social and economic development. Tr ibal Sub-Plan approach came into existence as the ma in strategy for the welfare and development in the Five Year Plans. A long with core economic sectors, elementary education has been accorded priority in the tribal sub-plan approach. Elementary education i s considered important, not only because o f constitutional obligation, but as a crucial input for total development o f tribal communities, particularly to build confidence among the tribes to deal with outsiders on equal terms.
5. A second important development in the pol icy towards education o f tribals came with recommendations o f the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986, which specified, among other things, the following: 0
0
0
0
Priority will be accorded to opening primary schools in tribal areas. There i s a need to develop curricular and devise instructional material in tribal language at the in i t ia l stages with arrangements for gradually adopting to regional languages. Promising ST youths will be encouraged to take up teaching in tribal areas. Ashram schools/residential schools will be established on a large scale in tribal areas.
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0 Incentives schemes will be formulated for the STs, keeping in v iew their special needs and lifestyle.
Main Educational Issues
6. In the case o f tribal children, the two main educational challenges are ensuring physical access to schooling at upper primary level and addressing the diversity in socio-cultural context. In 2001, there were 14 mi l l ion tribal children enroled in elementary schools, as against 20.2 m i l l i on in the 6-14 years age group. Thus 6.2 mi l l ion were s t i l l out of school. The cohort drop out rates among tribal children was as high as 52.3 percent for primary and 69.5 percent for upper primary. For 20 percent o f the habitations at the primary stage and 33 percent at the upper primary stage, access was s t i l l an issue.
Achievements of SSA I(2001- 2006)
7. SSA I addressed these issues with opening o f 133,000 primary schools and 106,000 upper primary schools. Most o f these schools have been provided to unserved habitations and the tribal habitations have clearly benefited f rom it. This has resulted in achieving almost universal access at primary level. Apart f rom these, there are about 100,000 EGS centers that are providing education in unserved habitations. Moreover, based o n the specific circumstances in which tribals live, the norms for establishing primary schools have been relaxed to suit tr ibal areas in order to improve their access to education.
8. There has been an over a l l increase in the enrolment o f children belonging to Scheduled Tribes. At the Primary Stage, between 2000 and 2004, against an overall increase o f 15 percent in enrolment, ST enrolment increased by 25 percent, and against an overall increase in girls enrolment o f 23 percent, the increase for ST girls was by 36 percent. Similarly, at the Upper Primary Level, against the overall increase o f 20 percent, ST enrolment increased by 35 percent, whereas that o f ST girls increased by 47 percent against the overall increase in girls enrolment o f 30 percent. The dropouts at primary level have also declined by 10-percentage points.
Challenges for SSMI
9. About 1.7 mi l l ion (2005) ST children are s t i l l out o f school. Thus, the continued focus o f SSA I1 will be to bring in these remaining 1.7 m i l l i on children in school and retain them at the elementary stage. The decreasing trends in children being out o f school, indicates that i t will not be di f f icul t to narrow these gaps. Though the reduction trends in dropouts have been at par with overall, the gap between the t w o (13 percent points) i s a challenge. Reduction o f this gap remains a key focus area in SSA.
10. Physical access to schooling, especially at the upper primary stage, i s s t i l l an issue in some parts o f the country in sparsely populated and remote tribal areas. Therefore, targeted coverage o f a l l eligible habitations for the upper primary school facilities i s a priority. In some remote sparsely populated areas, i t may be diff icult to set up primary schools due to small number o f children. These states are being provided residential schools/ hostels for which scope o f SSA framework has been enlarged to include construction o f residential schools in sparsely populated remote, hilly, desert & tribal blocks. Seasonal migration i s common in several tribal areas. Facilities l ike seasonal hostels are being provided in a l l such blocks with high level o f migration to help retain children in villages when parents migrate. Recognizing this, the SSA framework has been amended to give focus to the issue o f seasonal migration.
Main Strategies for Inclusion
1 1. The SSA i s central sector program with specific goals, as indicated earlier. The strategy and nature o f interventions, as described below, will therefore largely continue to remain the same under SSAII,
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particularly since the emerging trends in educational outcomes are positive. The interventions will focus on (a) community mobil ization and participation (b) special facilities and favorable norms and (c) quality improvement in education. Based o n lessons learned f rom SSA I, there may be shifts in emphasis and scale, to be decided in a decentralized and participatory mode in consultation with the beneficiaries.
12. Consultative Process of Planning: SSA uses a bottom-up approach o f planning instead o f a top- down approach, as it reflects the reality at the grassroots level. The planning process i s participatory in nature and it also focuses o n creating a sense o f ownership among stakeholders, enhancing awareness and capacity building o f program personnel at various levels. The plans developed thus also, reflect local specificity.
13. A Planning and Appraisal Manual sets out the processes for formulation o f district (and state) plans, and for their appraisal by national teams. Checklists focusing o n ST children (as we l l as separate ones for other focus groups) have been formulated and included in the Manual. The Planners’ Checklist calls for special attention to: a special policy statement and strategy for education o f ST children; provision o f schools to “pockets o f ST concentration”; inclusion and analysis of disaggregated data on ST children; special programs for urban ST children; community mobil ization plans to ensure participation o f ST children in education; in-service training o f teachers to remove biases especially in classroom transactions; remedial measures to improve learning outcomes; innovations to improve learning levels; links with other schemes to address the problems o f ST children.
14. The Appraisal Checklist calls for special attention during appraisal to presentation o f disaggregated data on ST children; identification o f un-served habitations and plans to provide them with school facilities; strategy to motivate the tribal community; availability o f local teachers; capacity building o f teachers to teach tribal children; the match between problems identified and interventions proposed; provisions for nomadic tribes; medium o f instruction; attitudinal training o f teachers; convergence with tribal department schemes; and the utilization o f the allocation o f Rs. 15 lakh per year for innovative strategies for ST children in the district.
15. District plans are developed with incorporation o f information f rom the habitation plans, o n the basis o f the findings as we l l as on secondary data. Every District Elementary Education Plan (DEEP) and Annual W o r k Plan i s expected to articulate clearly the district’s strategy and approach to tribal education and adopt specific programs and interventions to translate the strategy into action. I t provides disaggregated data o n tribal demography and education, spells out the educational problems o f ST children, the interventions, quality improvement efforts, and convergence with programs o f NGOs and other Government departments such as the Tribal Department etc. The assessment o f problems related to the education o f tribal children i s made through household surveys and micro planning exercises.
16. Targeting: While the overall SSA strategy wil l continue to be in the same direction as in SSA I with regard to social equity, 74 districts with high tribal concentration have been identif ied for focused and targeted intervention and 52 districts identified by Ministry o f Tr ibal Af fa i rs are being targeted for focused attention on the tribal girl’s education, closing o f infrastructure gaps, and convergence with other schemes o f Ministry o f Tr ibal Affairs. 13 percent o f the total outlay provided under SSA i s focused on 106 tribal focus districts in the year 2007-08
17. Monitoring and Evaluation: The Results Framework for SSAI I provides for monitoring o f Special Focus Groups, including tribal children. For each o f the KF’Is, the progress will be tracked on a disaggregated basis for each o f the special focus groups. Whi le in SSA I, the Results Framework focused on access and enrolment, in SSA 11, this has broadened to include, transition, attendance and learning
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levels for each focus group. The Framework has also incorporated many process indicators, which contribute to quality.
18. Focused interventions for girls: Girls Under the NPEGEL program o f SSA 11, special focus will continue to be given to education o f girls f rom ST communities. The scheme i s targeted to educationally backward blocks where the level o f rural female literacy i s less than the national average and the gender gap i s above the national average, as also in blocks that have at least 5 percent ST population and where the ST female literacy rate i s below 10 percent. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) schools will continue to be provided for girls in educationally backward blocks, where a minimum o f 75 percent girls enroled are to be f rom ST, SC, OBC Minor i ty Communities. A total 2180 KGBVs (Residential Schools for older girls) have been sanctioned in the country out o f which 457 KGBVs are located in Scheduled Tribe concentrated blocks. Total enrolment in a l l KGB i s 80853, o f which 23298 are Scheduled Tribe girls which i s 29 percent o f the total enrolment.
19. Favorable Budgetary Norms for Tribal Areas: Focused attention i s being given to those districts with concentration o f tribal population (above 50 percent), with plans and budget allocations ensuring that these districts get a proportionately higher share in allocations for primary and upper primary schools, additional classrooms, teachers, interventions for out o f school children and overall allocations under SSA, NPEGEL and KGBV. In 2006-07 Rs. 1527 crores were allocated for these 74 districts, which amounted to 7.5 percent o f the total outlay for the program. In 2007-08 the special tribal focus districts has increased to 106 and funding to them enhanced to Rs. 2679 cr. (13 percent o f total outlay).
Disclosure
20. The Tribal Development Plan i s being disclosed o n the Ministry o f Human Resource Development website (www.ssa.nic.in). The Project Approval Board (PAB) minutes are already o n the web site. These clearly indicate the commitments to tribals and the provisions made for the special focus districts as wel l as the state interventions for tribal children funded f rom the Innovations grant o f Rs 15 lakhs.
21. In addition, SSA project offices in al l states are disclosing the availability o f the Tr ibal Development Plan and soliciting comments f rom the community.
Grievance Redressal Mechanism
22. Systemic provisions are in place for redressal o f grievances. States have their own specific institutional mechanisms established at a l l administrative levels. A statutory body, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been established with a mandate interalia, “to investigate and monitor al l matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution or under any other l a w for the time being in force or under any order o f the Government and to evaluate the working o f such safeguards”. I t also, inquires into specific complaints with respect t o the deprivation o f rights and safeguards o f the Scheduled Tribes.” The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has six regional offices covering al l the States and Un ion Territories. The Collector or the District Magistrate heads the District Level Implementation Society for SSA and i s responsible for addressing local grievances. At the level o f the community, whi le there are variations across states, the village and ward based locally elected bodies are responsible for addressing gnevances.
11. Environmental Assessment and Management
23. The following four sections cover (i) the overall environment assessment process conducted in December 2003 (prior to SSA I) and in September 2007 for SSA 11; (ii) major issues and associated management measures reported during implementation o f SSA I recommended remedial measures during
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second phase o f DP support to SSA, (iii) community consultation and disclosure; and (iv) implementation and monitoring. These are based o n the SSA I EA Report (December 2003), SSA I1 EA report (August 2007) and review o f SSA I JRM reports and other relevant literature. The SSA I1 Environment Assessment Report was presented by MHRD in September 2007.
Overall Environment Assessment Process - SSA I and SSA II
24. The SSA implementation strategy remains unchanged over second phase of DP support. Therefore, EA carried out at the beginning o f f i rst phase o f DP support, remains applicable during implementation o f SSA 11.
25. Environmental Assessment for SSA I. The D S E L prepared an Environment Assessment Report for the SSA I in December 2003 through the Technical Support Group o f Education Consultants India Ltd (EdCIL). The report identified the probable environmental issues in the SSA, described the manuals, directives and guidelines that were prepared by the D S E L and shared with the states to address environmental issues, and the arrangements for implementation and monitor ing to ensure that environment aspects are mainstreamed in the planning and implementation o f the program. The EA (SSA I) was based on the large number o f state-specific evaluations o f c i v i l works undertaken in both DPEP and SSA.
26. Environmental Assessment for SSA II. The D S E L prepared an Environmental Assessment Report for SSA I1 in August 2007. Probable environmental issues were already listed in SSA I EA report, these remain the same over SSA 11. The EA also presents a summary o f in i t ia l findings o f the national Third Party Evaluation36 (TPE). The SSA I1 EA report provides an update o n mitigation measures and environmental management practices adopted. The EA also l is ts measures to mitigate emerging concerns f rom the national TPE. These are presented at the end o f this annex in Table 10.1.
27. As the environmental issues in the SSA were not anticipated to be grave, a limited environmental assessment, rather than an extensive one, was carried out, prior to SSA I as w e l l as SSA 11. The EA for SSA I was based o n desk reviews o f available documents (Lok Jumbish, DPEP, and SSA). The EA recognized that environment issues are mainly related to c iv i l works and that these projects have already considered a number o f environmental issues in their planning, design and implementation, and developed and implemented several good practices for environment management.
28. C i v i l works in the program include (i) construction o f additional classrooms in existing schools, (ii) construction o f new primary or alternative schools, (iii) construction o f Cluster or B lock Resource Centers (CRCs/ BRCs), (v) model cluster centers, (vi) KGBV (residential schools for girls and (vii) provision o f drinking water and sanitation facilities. In addition, the SSA has started funding major repairs to existing buildings, provision o f boundary walls and electrification f rom FY 2007-08. All these are small-scale construction activities. Launched in 2000-01, the program i s in 6" year o f effective implementation and spread across a l l 35 States and UTs. As o f end-March 2007, the progress made under c iv i l works i s presented in Fig 10.1 below:
36 At the t ime o f EA preparation, reports were available f r o m 7 States: Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Tami l Nadu.
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Fig 10.1 : Sanctioned Construction Targets and Progress of Civil Works under SSA
BRC/MRC/CIRC (2,947)
CRC (24,086)
Pry SchoolBuildings (125,918)
Upper Pry School Buildings (57,543)
Additional Classrooms (692,678)
Drinking Water (170,267)
Sanitation (235,041)
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Proportion of Physical Target
I Completed Ea In Progress 0 N o t Started
Notes: 1. Progress for Goa, Chandigarh, Lakshdweep updated till end-March 2006,
Manipur updated til l end-December 2006, and Pondicheny i s updated til l end- September 2006;
Source: SSA, Cumulative Progress Report o f Civil Works ending 31 March 2007 (updated on 11 May 2007)
29. Guidelines and Manuals. Several guidelines have been prepared (as part o f the SSA and the earlier projects such as DPEP) to ensure better construction management, better learning environment, child- friendly elements o f the schools, and health and hygiene o n the school premises. These guidelines form essential parts o f the SSA EA. During the implementation o f SSA I, the States reportedly translated these guidelines into local languages. The JRM reports also indicate that some states have developed additional manuals. SSA I1 EA reports development and circulation o f two new manuals by Go1 - i) Manual o n Planning and Appraisal and ii) Manual on Financial Management and Procurement. These manuals have been circulated to a l l the States and UTs.
30. Environmental Clearances. The EA for SSA I identified that the program as a whole does not require any environmental clearance. Normal ly school sites would be located in areas already approved for such purposes. During implementation o f the program, there could be a few schools to be located in a forest or any other protected areas (such as the coastal regulation zone). If such cases arise, site-specific clearances wil l be obtained, and a l l requisite GoI/ state conditions will be fulf i l led. These procedures would continue during implementation o f SSA 11.
3 1. Community Consultations and Public Disclosure. Community consultation i s an integral part o f the SSA program. The overall program i s being planned as a participatory process where communities and local level institutions including the village education committees are involved in identification, planning, design, implementation, operation and maintenance o f the schools and al l other program activities. Consultations with schoolteachers, experts, NGOs and other stakeholders wi l l continue throughout the implementation period. The D S E L has a program-specific website for SSA (www.education.nic.in), wherein important aspects o f the program are disclosed for wider dissemination. SSA Framework,
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physical and financial progress reports, SSA I and SSA I1 EA and other important documents are available on this website.
Environmental Issues, Mitigation and Enhancement Measures
32. Environmental issues in SSA are mainly l imi ted to building construction works and sites. Overall, c i v i l works in the SSA are planed to be l imi ted to 33 percent o f the total investment in each state. However, in 2006-07, c i v i l works comprised 40 percent o f total allocation. In 2006-07, almost 200 districts have c i v i l works allocation more than 50 percent o f the total AWP&B (Source: MHRD presentation to Review Mission and I C R Report mission teams - 16 January 2007). The SSA has successfully adopted community-managed school construction, moving away f rom conventional contractor-driven construction. As the individual works are small, environment issues are reported to be small and local. In the implementation o f SSA so far and earlier projects such as the DPEP, substantial experience has been gained to manage these issues. Some states have implemented innovative and good environmental management practices.
33. Site Location and Sensitivity. The foremost environmental issue in this program relates to the selection o f sites for the new schools, BRCs, CRCs, and DIETS. Buildings are provided only for formal schools in SSA. The EA reports that for informal schools, communities are expected to arrange fo r the physical infrastructure. This would mostly be unutilized existing buildings in the villages or spare rooms in houses. Usually sites donated by the village/ l oca l community for schools are free o f environmental hazards. Site selection procedures are part o f the "Community Construction Manual" which i s issued to communities before the start o f the intervention. The procedures recommend that communities avoid hazardous sites, steep slopes, low-ly ing areas, sites with filled-up soil, and sites along ra i l tracks, highways, and industrial and effluent disposal areas. The EA further reports that the choice o f site i s usually done through a village mapping exercise, and i s supervised by a local engineer.
34. In urban areas, schools are set up in designated sites in the slum improvement schemes. Where slum improvement schemes sites are unavailable, schools are set up in spaces provided by the communities. All such site selections are guided by relevant municipal regulations. No major issues relating to site location and sensitivity are reported in JRM reports. However, there are concerns relating to availabil ity o f appropriate and sufficient land in few states (Bihar, Uttaranchal and Delhi3') urban areas. SSA I1 EA reports that Bihar has provided separate budget for land purchase. In urban areas o f Andhra Pradesh, the State clubbed together 3-4 neighborhood schools and built multi-storey complexes to house a l l the children in the area.
35. Site Planning and Building Designs. These issues relate to site planning (ensuring proper and adequate drainage, providing safe slopes, safe excavation, and removal o f trees), indoor air quality, daylight and ventilation (especially in hilly areas) in classrooms. These issues were reportedly addressed in the SSA by adopting guidelines contained in the documents- "A Guide to Design for Better Learning Environment" and "Guidelines for Building Rural Primary Schools". These documents were circulated to the states in the beginning o f SSA I. All the States have engineering cells, which are designing school buildings in accordance with NBC38 and I S 8827 - 1978. SSA I1 EA reports that some States are also engaging Consultants/ Architects to design school buildings. All new buildings under SSA are n o w designed as composite structures with drinking water, toilet kitchen shed, garden and playground.
37 5fi SSA Review Mission report (January 2007) 38 National Building Code
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36. The SSA I & I1 EA further recognize the need for provision o f adequate hazard-resistant features (in earthquake, f lood or cyclone-prone areas) including design and construction measures commensurate with natural hazard zonation, and emergency egress. SSA I1 EA reports that a l l States and UTs have been directed to adopt hazard resistant features in school building designs. Use o f cyclone resistant features i s reported f rom Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. States fall ing under EQ zone 111, IV and V are incorporating seismic protection features. Thatch r o o f buildings are also being replaced to avoid fire risk. The EA further reports that the states are increasingly referring to I S 8827 - 1978 and I S 2406 - 1963, which deal with requirements o f school building safety precautions. The D S E L has also issued specific instructions to al l States and U T s to take safety precautions and to observe 16* July o f every year as “School Health and Safety Day”. The DSEL, with support o f National Disaster Management Div is ion o f Min is t ry o f Home Affairs and UNDP, organized a national workshop to discuss the issue o f schools safety. Proactive responses from States o f Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya and UP are reported.
37. Teaching Learning Environment. SSA I EA identified that textbooks, teaching-learning materials, training, resource support, etc., include provisions to create a physical environment conducive to learning. Environmental studies are an integral part o f the school curriculum. Concepts o f science, environment, health and hygiene are introduced to children. The National Curriculum Framework, developed by NCERT, introduced the Art o f Healthy and Productive Living, includes education on environment. Some states have integrated textbooks combining Language and Environmental Studies (EVS), or Language, Mathematics and EVS. Other states have Separate EVS textbooks. The thrust o f the c i v i l works program in SSA has been to create a physical environment, both inside and outside the classrooms, that i s conducive to learning. During DPEP, alternative type-designs were prepared for each o f the states. These designs take adequate care o f features such as i l lumination and ventilation o f classrooms. Whi le some states (e.g. Gujarat, Bihar) have moved forward, others reportedly reversed the process and gone back to traditional box type classroom design (e.g. Andhra P r a d e ~ h ~ ~ )
38. F ie ld observations during SSA I I C R report mission, JRM mission reports and national TPE indicate substantial issues related to school level infrastructure planning and implementation. There i s also reported lack o f basic scaled school campus maps (showing existing infrastructure - buildings, toilets, water source, boundary, etc.). Use o f such maps i s reported only f rom Gujarat. 5* SSA review mission noted “In a number o f States, the mission found haphazard expansion o f a school due to lack o f such a comprehensive layout.” Nevertheless, the same mission also expressed satisfaction that many states have initiated efforts to create a physical environment o f schools, both inside and outside classrooms, that i s conducive to learning. SSA I1 EA has recognized this issue and proposes to undertake preparation o f scaled campus maps for new schools to be taken up. B a L A (Building as a Learning Aid) concept was developed during SSA I. States l i ke Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and MP have included B a L A features. Other States are also reportedly coming forward. Nationwide scaling up o f such initiatives will be crucial task during SSA I1 implementation period.
39. SSA I1 EA indicates that States are increasingly shifting towards activity based learning. There has been increasing emphasis on developing TLM that are leading to better learning outcomes. Under SSA, an annual grant o f Rs 2,000 i s given to every school for development. These funds are used for developing posters, wa l l writings and other developments. N e w curriculum also promotes activity based and group learning.
40. Physical Built Environment. The SSA I EA identified that SSA wil l create a l ive ly learning environment in al l schools in the country-both new and existing. SSA schools will address “furniture- less’’ situations by providing in-built ledges, foldable wooden worktops, and bamboo furniture. SSA I1 EA report presents examples o f window gnl ls , f loor patterns, wal l paintings and specially created learning spaces being developed and used for teaching learning. Construction o f storage and display spaces has also been reported. SSA I1 EA reports instances o f community donating furniture. Karnataka has
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attempted to have foldable furniture, whereas Assam i s reportedly experimenting with bamboo furniture. As identified in SSA I EA, many schools have reportedly developed gardens with h i t trees, f lowering shrubs and medicinal herbs. SSA I1 EA reports that VECs and students are taking initiatives in maintaining these gardens. I t i s important that these initiatives are scaled up nationally. As the provision o f infrastructure - classrooms, water and sanitation i s completed, i t i s important that more and more attention i s paid to campus development and maintenance to ensure sustainability.
41. At the beginning, i t was decided that SSA will provide a learning environment free o f barriers - both social and physical. Additional features were proposed to be incorporated in the new and existing buildings per IS: 4963-1987 and IS: 4838 Part 1-1969 for children with locomotor, visual, hearing or intellectual impairment. As o f M a y 2007, more than 0.50 m i l l i on schools have been provided with ramps (DSEL). Whi le the provision o f ramp i s an important step towards inclusive education, adequate slope, width or provision o f handrails i s reportedly less attended. D S E L has issued guidelines for other impairments. These include, reducing distance between teacher and student, avoiding glare o n blackboard, maintaining i l lumination levels, provision o f inbuilt p lay elements and so on. Some o f these have been incorporated in building designs.
42. Efforts towards energy efficient and environmental friendly buildings started in the earlier L o k Jumbish and DPEP projects. Use o f local materials was promoted. Rainwater harvesting techniques were used in Gujarat and Rajasthan, while solar-passive features were incorporated in schools in Himachal Pradesh. As specified in the SSA Framework for Implementation, a l l these innovations are being continued in the SSA. SSA I1 EA reports that a cross-State workshop was organized in Gujarat in 2005, after which few States have started planning energy efficient building designs.
43. Construction-related Aspects. Under SSA, most constructions are executed through VECs. VECs arrange for material and employ local villagers or contract labor for construction. This has resulted in creation o f local employment opportunities. In case o f larger constructions l ike BRCs engagement o f construction agency i s permissible. Nevertheless, there are examples o f VECs constructing BRCs or large school buildings3'. Government' public sector agencies, engaged for construction activities, fo l low existing norms and regulations with respect to construction, contract labor and environmental management. A lso for private contractors, the bidding documents specify the requirement o f the contractor to abide by a l l relevant environmental laws.
44. SSA I EA suggested that environmental issues related to construction be managed through the system o f construction quality control already in place. The VECs and local masons are trained to address basic site management issues, which include reducing wastage o f materials, ensuring safety, avoiding damage to flora and fauna, and restricting air and noise pollution. Technical staff (from government departments or recruited on contract) supervise al l construction works. Most States are fo l lowing these arrangements, except UP, which has given the responsibility t o Rural Engineering Department. Each technical staff supervises an average o f 30-40 construction sites. SSA I1 EA report indicates that most States have f i l led a l l technical staff positions as sanctioned.
45. Independent Third Party Evaluation (ITPE) i s being carried out by more States - e.g. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan. The process o f engaging ITPE consultants i s underway in 9 other States and P A B has taken commitment f rom remaining major States. National evaluation i s currently underway. The evaluation covers - planning, site selection, construction and design innovation processes, safety audit, community involvement, provisions for Children With Special Needs (CWSN), cost effectiveness and O&M. Such evaluations are proposed to continue during SSA I1 implementation.
39 Primary school-cum-cyclone shelters in Orissa.
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46. SSA I EA recommended that the use o f local construction materials and low-cost technologies be encouraged in school construction. Appropriate building materials were expected to be identif ied through resource mapping exercises. It was also suggested that efforts be made to choose materials that cause a minimum depletion o f natural resources and alternative technologies such as rat-trap bond wall, f i l ler slab roof, and stub foundations, already used in earlier projects, be expanded. Also, the EA suggested for promotion o f alternatives such as stabilized mud-blocks, fly-ash bricks, brick-corbelled structures, and jack arch roofs. SSA I1 EA reports use o f local material and cost effective technologies in most States. Few examples are - AP, MP, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh using stone slabs for roofing, NE States using bamboocrete wall ing and Kerala and other coastal states using ti le roofing.
47. Facility-related Impacts. These impacts arise due to the provision, or lack o f provision, and lack o f maintenance o f facilities that are needed. SSA provides for water supply and sanitation facilities in schools as reflected in District Infrastructure Plans. Guidelines have been issued to the states to provide safe drinking water to children, locate water facilities to avoid water-logging, build platforms and channels to drain water into nearby water channels, re-use waste water to flush toilets or water plants, and assess water table and water-quality issues. States have been directed to use the centrally sponsored scheme to provide deep bores where required. D I S E 2005-06 reported that nearly 83 percent schools have drinkmg water facilities. SSA I EA recommended that rainwater harvesting techniques, used successfully in Rajasthan and Gujarat, will be expanded. However, review o f available literature indicates that these st i l l remain to be replicated in other states.
48. Provision o f adequate sanitation facilities (low-cost, safe, two-pit type toilets) in the schools was one o f the important targets under c iv i l works. Compared with provision drinking water facilities, progress in provision o f toilets has been slower. DISE 2005-06 reports than only about 52 percent schools have common toilet facilities. Separate toilets for girls are reported in only about 37 percent schools. Apart f rom SSA, Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) i s an important Go1 scheme under which sanitation arrangements are being provided in schools. The MHRD has committed to provide water supply and separate toilets for girls by 2010. SSA I1 EA indicates that provision o f toilet facilities has had positive impact o n retention o f girl children, especially at upper primary level.
49. The SSA has also started funding construction o f boundary walls and providing electricity t o schools f rom FY 2007-08. The States have been advised to tap and converge funds f rom various centrally sponsored schemes4', MPMLA LAD funds, 1 l* Finance Commission grants, State government funds and various other Panchayat funds.
50. There has been substantial progress in provision o f drinking water and sanitation facilities. However, there are concerns relating to the maintenance o f these facilities. In a number o f schools, sanitation facilities are not maintained well due to lack o f running water. Whi le basic provisioning remains a priority, maintenance o f assets created i s an equally important issue. SSA I1 EA reports that States are increasingly adding overhead tanks, force-lift pumps to ensure regular f low o f water in toilets. The report further indicates that part o f annual O&M grant41 i s used for toilet maintenance. Encouraging VECs to take up maintenance o f these facilities could be an important agenda during SSA 11. D I S E currently tracks provision o f water and sanitation facilities in schools; i t may be useful to expand the scope o f D I S E to track maintenance o f water and sanitation facilities.
5 1. Health and Hygiene. Many states already have a system o f maintaining Health Cards for children. Health and hygiene are integral parts o f the curriculum. Topics such as food, household health, good and bad habits, personal hygiene and common illness are part o f classroom transaction. Messages relating to
40 Swajaldhara, Total Sanitation Campaign, Raj iv Gandhi Rura l Electrif ication Scheme, PMGY, SJY. Currently SSA provides an average annual Repair Maintenance grant o f Rs 5,000 to each school. 41
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health and sanitation are delivered to children. Field trips to local hospitals and interviews with doctors are part o f children's activities in the schools. Schools have Safai Samitis comprising o f children who are responsible for cleanliness o f the schools. SSA I1 EA reports that some States are running special programs l ike School Sanitation and Water towards Hygiene and Health (SWASTHH) in Karnataka and Jharkhand and School Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE). SSHE i s being implemented under TSC. Bo th these programs are aimed at achieving larger goal o f sustainable sanitation practices across the Country.
52. A s part o f the mid-day meal scheme, freshly cooked food i s served to children on schooldays. In the absence o f appropriate kitchen sheds, cooking i s diff icult in rainy season. Further, in the absence o f adequate storage spaces, food grains and fuel i s stored in classrooms (or in office). Additionally, food grains are spoilt by rats etc. MHRD clarif ied that the new school approvals n o w include kitchen sheds. However, the mid-day-meal (MDM) being a separate scheme, i t i s reported that the MHRD i s hnding kitchen construction under a separate scheme. Though the issue does not directly come under the purview o f SSA, i t i s an essential component o f environmental management and health and hygiene in primary schools.
Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation
53. Implementation Agencies. SSA i s a decentralized program, and individual states are free to decide o n implementation strategies within the overall framework. Go1 monitors the program pr imari ly against outcomes and budgetary utilization. The Go1 also plays a supportive role, strengthening the capacity o f the states and helping them to develop the right strategies and interventions. At the school level, implementation responsibility lies with the V E C and the local community, which are supported by the state agencies providing resources, guidelines, overall supervision and monitoring.
54. Strategy to Mitigate Environmental Issues. SSA I1 EA report outlines strategy to mitigate environmental issues. M a i n responsibility o f SSA implementation rests with States. The States, however, operate within an overall framework provided by the GoI. Go1 plays supportive role in strengthening capacity o f States and helps them develop right strategies and interventions. Based o n experience o f DPEP and other basic education projects, GoI, at the beginning o f SSA, circulated the fol lowing guidelined instructions to the states for implementation o f the program. The states, in turn, have circulated these to the district and local implementing agencies:
55. Community Construction Manual - this i s a sample manual and the states have or are developing their own manual in the local language based on this; the manual l i s t s issues related to site selection and good construction practices; 0 A Guideline on Des ign that l i s t s issues related to functionality o f schools (illumination, ventilation,
etc.), essential design requirements (storage, display, etc.), and basic facilities to be provided (toilets, water supply, boundary walls, ramps, etc.); A compilation o f school designs developed through a nationwide architectural Competition that gives the basic requirements o f rural primary schools; A handbook o f child-friendly features that can be incorporated in a school; A Guideline for uti l izing the maintenance grants provided by SSA; An instruction to states to converge with programs l ike the Total Sanitation Campaign, Swajaldhara, and other state/ central government programs for Providing water supply and sanitation facilities in a l l schools; and Suggested management structures that can be adopted to implement c iv i l works.
0
0
0
0
0
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56. Additionally t w o important manuals have been subsequently developed and circulated by GoI:
0
0
Manual on Financial Management and Procurement that provides various heads under which c i v i l works components relating to environmental issues can be budgeted; and Manual o n Planning and Appraisal provides details on norms and process by which environmental issues can be addressed.
57. In addition a guideline on construction issues in urban areas, and a handbook on barrier-free school environments were subsequently developed and circulated to the implementing agencies. There are also region-specific directives f rom Go1 that apply in specific regions. The GoI, along with the Technical Support Group, has been playing a proactive role in sharing experiences and encouraging cross-learning. Quarterly progress review meetings have become an important plat form for experience sharing. Apart f rom this, State Project Engineers have also been visiting other states for cross-learning. These initiatives need further strengthening through promotion o f inter/ intra-state exposure visits o f f ie ld based technical staff.
58. 10.35 Training. The SSA I EA recommended that, as part o f the program's regular training, supervisory staff at the state and district levels be trained in sound environmental and construction practices. The VECs and local masons were also proposed to be trained in safe and clean construction practices. Review o f JRM reports and other literature indicates that the implementing agencies have developed relevant training modules and imparted these to the staff as wel l as VECs and masons. SSA I1 EA indicates that Go1 and States have also developed series o f manuals and guidelines to provide onsite orientation to engineers and VECs. D S E L has proposed to direct a l l States to modi fy engineers' training program to include one day schedule to orient the engineers o n environmental concerns and safeguard mechanisms.
59. Environmental Monitoring and Review. Appraisal o f the Annual W o r k Plans includes appraisal o f the previous year's activities. T h i s serves as the basis o f recommendations for the subsequent year. The SSA Manual for Appraisal o f Plans lays down procedures and parameters for appraisal. These include parameters that address the major environmental concerns, for example: 0 Whether specific (remedial) environmental actions have been integrated in the Infrastructure Plan
and costed (specifying source o f funds, implementation timeline and responsibility); 0 How much the states have progressed in respect o f the use o f local materials and technologies (as part
o f the Infrastructure Plan), and whether these are in accordance with guidance provided in the Construction Manual; and Whether the training program includes appropriate orientation and sensitization o n environmental aspects for supervisory personnel.
0
60. These appraisal parameters are qualitative in nature and are augmented with an annual review to check quantitatively (as required) whether the states have adopted the desirable quality interventions and technically-sound strategies/ activities that are being advocated by SSA.
61. The Go1 i s regularly supervising environmental parameters by conducting periodic reviews and through independent evaluation team visits to States to review progress. Further monitoring institutions have been appointed for each State to monitor the program through a set o f monitoring indicators.
62. National level monitoring is supplemented through the Joint Review Missions ( JMs) . These missions look into al l aspects o f program implementation, including environmental aspects. JRMs have been effective in identifying shortcomings and highlighting good practices. Many o f the c i v i l works initiatives under DPEP such as design renewal, use o f local materials, efforts towards child-friendly
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schools emanated f rom these missions. However, review o f JRM reports indicates that there i s l imi ted reportage on environmental aspects.
63. Evaluation of Environmental Management Practices. The SSA I EA recommended third-party evaluations o f the physical infrastructure built under the program. SSA I1 EA reports that 7 States have already undertaken third party evaluations, whereas other states are in the process o f appointing the agencies. National third party evaluation (TPE) i s currently underway. TPE evaluates Safeguard aspects such as school location, site selection, prioritization for planning, materials and building technologies, quality o f construction, community involvement and maintenance. Whi le final report i s awaited, D S E L has presented init ial findings in the EA. Similar evaluations are proposed over SSA I1 implementation period. I t would be important to carry these evaluations wel l in time to ensure corrective action. MHRD has also proposed internal environmental audits42.
64. District Information System on Education (DISE). The National University o f Educational Planning and Analysis (NUEPA) has been maintaining D ISE since the implementation o f DPEP. D I S E i s s lowly developing into an important database. National analysis published annually provides useful information for planners. D ISE provides information on infrastructure. D ISE data i s also used for computing Educational Development Index (EDI). The infrastructure ED1 is computed considering - (a) student- classroom ratio, (b) schools with student-classroom ratio ? 60, (c) schools without drinking water facilities, (d) schools with boys toilet and (e) schools with girls toilet. As infrastructure provisioning i s reaching saturation, i t would be useful to expand D I S E coverage to include information on functionality and maintenance o f infrastructure, especially in relation to drinlung water and sanitation facilities.
65. Operation and Maintenance. Currently SSA provides annual Repair Maintenance Grant (RMG) and School Improvement Grant (SIG) to a l l schools. The RM grant usage guidelines encourage community contribution. The SSA has also received approval to provide funds for major repairs up to Rs. 1,500 mi l l ion per year for buildings older than 10 years. The D S E L i s also emphasizing need for convergence with other schemes to ensure sustainable maintenance beyond SSA implementation period. Principal source o f such funds are expected to be non-plan allocation o f State funds. SSA I1 EA illustrates Rajasthan making effective use o f drought rel ief fund for meeting maintenance requirements. National TPE findings indicate that RM funds are spent on maintenance o f o ld buildings. Recently constructed SSA buildings are in good condition; however, the minimum required annual maintenance has not been carried out. This i s resulting in an accumulation o f maintenance needs o f SSA buildings. The TPE also observed lack o f efforts o n part o f community to contribute towards O&M. T o overcome this, the MHRD will direct a l l States to develop sustainable school infrastructure O&M strategy.
66. Environment Budget. The budget for environmental management i s integrated with the program budget at a l l levels o f implementation.
Tab le 10.1: Emerg ing Env i ronmen ta l Issues and M i t i g a t i o n Measures
I Concerns I Mitigation Measures I
42 The audits are to be conducted by special team constituted out o f existing l o t o f engineers within the State. Al l States and UTs will be covered in a cycle o f three years. The audit is expected to provide the State technical teams an opportunity to learn through self-evaluation.
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Table 10.1: Emerging Environmental Issues and Mitigation Measures v u
Concerns Most States have allocated uniform building cost throughout the State. T h i s is reported to pose difficulties for remote schools and diff icult sites (e. g. hill slopes, special soil types requiring additional care for foundations). Some States have not incorporated natural hazard resistant features in design or implementation or both.
Ramps have been provided in al l schools, however, there are concerns related to i t s slope or width.
The JRM and TPE (National and State) reports together indicate that local materials are used in al l States. However, adoption o f alternate and appropriate building technology including use and further developments o f DPEP school building designs is limited.
National TPE reports lack o f maintenance and cleanliness o f sanitation facilities. Insufficient provision in schools wi th large no o f students. The reports also indicate that water potability tests are not reported from any o f study schools.
Development o f school campus by planting trees, flowering shrubs, medicinal plants and gardens i s largely ignored across States. Campus without boundary is cited as a key reason for this.
JRM reports and TPE evaluation indicate urgent need for capacity building (CB) o f technical staff through training, exposure visits and other inputs. Lack o f technical teams’ awareness on environmental concerns and safeguard mechanisms i s resulting in a number o f shortfalls in safeguarding environmental concerns.
School infrastructure Operation and Maintenance (O&M) i s currently financed through annual Repair and Maintenance Grants (RMG) and other State funds. RM funds are spent on maintenance o f o ld buildings. Recently constructed SSA buildings are in good condition; however, the minimum required annual maintenance has not been carried out. T h i s i s resulting in an accumulation o f maintenance needs o f SSA buildings. National TPE observed lack o f efforts on part o f community to contribute towards O&M.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Adequacy o f environmental safeguards i s being monitored through State and National third party evaluations, six monthly JRMs and quarterly National reviews.
Mitigation Measures The MHRD has already instructed the States to develop context specific designs and prepare cost estimates according to prevalent State P W D Schedule o f Rates. The States w i l l be further directed to review adopted building designs and revise/ develop school designs and estimates to be context specific including incorporation of necessary hazard resistant features. The MHRD will emphasize the States to take corrective steps in improving the ramps and to strictly adhere to specifications in future construction. The MHRD will emphasize use o f cost-effective technologies through national quarterly reviews and workshops and through specific instructions to States.
Agreed measures are - a) All SSA schools w i l l have water supply and separate toilets for girls. (2010); b) The MHRD w i l l again direct a l l States to ensure cleanliness and maintenance o f toilets; and c) The MHRD is already in constant dialogue with Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation for convergence on water supply and toilet provisions in schools. The MHRD wi l l initiate a dialogue with Department o f Drinking Water Supply address concerns about lack of potability tests o f drinking water in schools.
Boundary provision i s being undertaken in a phased manner starting with States where other infrastructure gaps are bridged. The States w i l l be directed to promote provision o f green fence (hedge etc.) through community participation. Campus development b y planting trees and plants w i l l be promoted through awareness generation and motivational programs for VECs and teachers.
All States w i l l be directed to modify engineers’ training program to include one day schedule to orient the engineers on environmental concerns and safeguard mechanisms. Al l engineers w i l l be given a compulsory training o f minimum 5 days every year.
~~
T h e MHRD informed that al l the States have undertaken to provide adequate resources and maintain assets created under SSA. Additionally, MHRD w i l l direct all States to develop sustainable school infrastructure O&M strategy.
~~
In addition, the MHRD has proposed internal environmental audits. The audits will be conducted by special teams constituted out o f existing lot o f engineers within the State. All States and UTs w i l l be covered in a cycle o f three years. The audits are expected to provide the State technical teams an opportunity to learn through self-evaluation.
105
Annex 11 : Project Preparation and Supervision
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
Planned Acutal P C N review 4/10/2007 4/10/2007 Ini t ia l PID to PIC 411 312007 4/13/2007 Ini t ia l ISDS to PIC 4/13/2007 4/13/2007 Appraisal 812012007 8/17/2007 Negotiations 10/01/2007 411 112008 BoardlRVP approval 11/13/2007 5/08/2008 Planned date o f effectiveness 6/01/2008 Planned date o f mid-term review 6/30/2009 Planned closing date 1213 0120 10
K e y inst i tut ions responsible f o r preparat ion o f t he project :
Department o f School Education and Literacy (DSEL), Ministry o f Human Resources Development (MHW
Bank s ta f f and consultants who w o r k e d o n the pro ject included:
Name Ti t le Unit World Bank Amit Dar Co-Task team Leader SASHD Venita K a u l Reema Nayar Lant Pritchett Deepa Sankar Venkatesh Sundararaman Tanuj Mathur Shanker La1 Priyanka Pandey Sangeeta Goyal Nal in Jena Tapas Paul Savita Dhingra Bertha Mburugu Margaret Forster
Co-Task team Leader Senior Economist Lead Economist
Economist Economist
Sr. FM Specialist Procurement Specialist
Economist Economist
Operations Officer Sr. Environment Specialist
Team Assistant Team Assistant
Consultant
SASHD SASHD SASES SASHD SASHD S A R F M S A R P S SASHD SASHD SASHD SASES SASHD SASHD
DFID Michael Ward
Arundhuti Roy Chowdhury Pankaj Jain Governance Adviser Deborah McGurk Senior Economic Adviser Paul Thomas Procurement Adviser Subir Shukla Consultant Robin Alexander Consultant Robin El l ison Consultant
Sr. Education Adviser (DFID Team Leader)
Social Development Adviser
106
Pravin More Consultant
EC Parimal Bardhan
Jos Jonckers Principal Administrator Shanti Jagannathan Adviser, Education Team
Adviser, Education Sector (EC Team Leader)
Bank f inds expended to date on project preparation: 1. Bank resources: $393,500 2. Trust funds: $75,000 3. Total: $468,500
Estimated Approval and Supervision costs: 1. Remaining costs to approval: $10,000 2. Estimated annual supervision cost: $170,000
107
Annex 12: Documents in the Project Fi le
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
Documents from MHRD
Environment Assessment Manual o n Financial Management and Procurement Procurement Capacity Assessment Procurement Post Review SSA Aide Memoires for the lSt, 2nd, 31d and 4" Joint Review Mission Tribal Development Plan Presentations made by MHRD during preparation o f SSA I1
References
Alexander, R. (2007). Education for all, the quality imperative, and the problem ofpedagogy.
Ellison, R. (2007). Results Framework & Monitoring; Discussion ofpossible enhancements.
Forster, M. and G. Matters (2007). Technical note on the uses of student learning assessments under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Goyal, S. (2007). Learning Achievement in India - A study of Primary Education in Rajasthan and Orissa.
Jhingran, D. and D. Sankar (2006). Orienting Outlays towards needs: An evidence based equity focused approach for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan mimeo.
Kaul, V. and D. Sankar (2007). Report on Teachers Time-on-Task.
MHRD (2002). Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Framework for Implementation.
MHRD (2006). A l l India Survey of Out-of-School Children in the 6 - I 3 years age group.
Muralidharan, K. and V. Sundararaman (2007).Teachers incentives in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence in India.
N C E R T (2006). Learning Achievement of Class Il, III& V - A Baseline Study.
National University of Educational Planning and Administration NUEPA (2007). Elementary Education in India: Where do we stand? District Report for 2003-04; 2004-05; 2005-06, Volume I & II. dpepmis. org.
Pandey, P. (2007). Teachers accountability and school outcomes: Findings from baseline surveys in UP, MP and Karnataka.
Pratham (2007). Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2006 (ASER).
Sankar, D. (2007). Paper on Educating a Tribal Child: Case study from M.P.
108
Sankar, D. (2007). “What is theprogress in elementary education in India during the last two decades?” An analysis using NSS Education rounds, mimeo.
Sankar, D. (2007). Financing Elementary Education in India through SSA: Recent Challenges ” mimeo.
World Bank Team (2008). DIR Risk Mitigation Matrix
World Bank (2004). India: Country Strategy
World Bank (2004). Elementary Education Project (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan)
World Bank (2004). World Development Report: Making Services Work for Poor People
109
Annex 13: Concept Note for Technical Cooperation Fund
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
1.’ The Technical Cooperation Fund (TCF) under SSA will support and facilitate strengthening o f capacities at the National level and through it, at the State levels in the specific areas o f (i) Learning Assessment Systems and ii) Evaluation o f quality initiatives.
2. In the context o f National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005, there has been a wide-ranging shift in teaching-learning strategies towards constructivist approach o f learning and use o f child-centered pedagogy giving importance to children’s experiences and their participation. This has significant implications for teaching and assessment particularly at the elementary level. An initiative in this direction i s being taken by the NCERT in its recent work o n ‘Source Book on Learning Assessment’ at the Pnmary Level.
3. Innovations in teaching and assessment are underway in several other countries. A study o f these experiences would be useful, through various capacity building programs o f the NCERT faculty and through them, o f the SCERTs. Technical Cooperation Funds will be used in capacity building for (i) learning assessment systems and (ii) development o f evaluation expertise for assessing quality initiatives in terms o f their effectiveness and impact.
4. The Technical Cooperation Fund (TCF) will enable the use o f relevant national and international expertise and best practices in support o f the SSA objective o f enhancing quality o f education. The TCF will be a flexible mechanism for the development/enhancement o f national technical capacity by enabling (i) access to relevant national and international expertise (ii) processes which support effective capacity development, and (iii) providing expert guidance and facilitation for institutional or organizational development and strengthening. The choice o f institutions/experts for such capacity building will be indicated by NCERT.
I. Measuring Learning Outcomes
5. The TCF will support the current system o f student assessments implemented by N C E R T (through the NAS) to build sufficient capacity to (i) upgrade the quality o f test instruments; (ii) strengthen the psychometric underpinnings o f the system; and (iii) improve the quality and timeliness o f analysis, reporting, feedback, and (d) dissemination o f N A S to various levels and stakeholders.
6. The specific activities to be supported under the TCF would include: (i) short-term development/ placements o f key faculty in appropriate international institutions for
intensive training in learning assessment , including test development, techniques for developing graded assessment tests in various subjects and skill areas, sampling procedures, data analysis, constructivist approach in students’ learning and assessment; developing a systemic quality index by t a h n g into account school quality as we l l as socio-economic indicators; data presentation, interpretation and dissemination; managing and administering large scale testing programs and development o f guides for data collection, quality interpretation and use o f achievement data by states.
(ii) For this purpose, institutions such as International Association for the Evaluation o f Educational Achievement (EA), Center for Formative Assessment Studies , School o f Education , University o f Manchester, UK, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, Students Testing, California, USA, Australian Council for Educational Research, Educational Testing Service(ETS)
110
Princeton , etc. to have a few examples, will be contacted for short duration training or attachment programs.
(iii) Inviting expertdeminent educationists. Internationally reputed experts wil l be invited to deliver lectures and interact with NCERT/RIE faculty in the two pr ior i ty areas identif ied for technical cooperation.
(iv) Support for national and international conferences, workshops and seminars o n learning assessments. International best practices would be accessed and shared, including f rom SAARC countries, where appropriate.
(v) Institutional development and material support such as appropriate IT equipment and software; etc. for learning assessment systems. Learning materials o n assessment o f learning potential/aptitude, learning readiness, reading and writing skil ls, memory, concept formation, process based assessment, subject specific assessment, learning disorders/disabilities, learning styles etc. will also be accessed. Software such as L ISREL will be purchased.
2007-08 1. 2. 3 . 4.
11. Capacity Building for Evaluation of Quality Initiatives
Activity to be undertaken
Identif ication and engagement o f a technical service provider (TSA) by DP in consultation with MHRD. Finalisation o f annual work p lan and budget for 2008-09 by NCERT in consultation with MHRD. First meeting o f the Steering Committee in NCERT. NCERT to develop specific TOR’S for activities, identif ied under the TC Fund.
7. The second set o f activities that the TCF would support in the capacity building o f NCERT and State institutions to support evidence based continuation and scaling up o f quality enhancement initiatives under SSA.
8. The specific activities to be supported under TCF would include: (i) N C E R T personnel and through them, State level institutions, will also be trained on
evaluatiodimpact assessment o f quality initiatives under SSA through national and international experts/institutes.
(ii) N C E R T will also organise/participate in national and international seminars o n evaluation techniques for national capacity building.
(iii) Evaluations and impact assessment studies. NCERT will conduct, in collaboration with State institutions, universities and other social science institutions, some exemplar evaluations and impact assessment studies o n quality initiatives in select States (8-10 states).
(iv)A National documentation unit in N C E R T wil l be strengthened to serve as a national resource center on assessments and evaluation practices. NCERT will also draw up a catalogue o f international experience on good practices for quality enhancement (which were taken to scale) and widely disseminate them in the Indian educational system.
111. Schedule of Activities
111
I
I
2009-10
I
1.
2.
3 .
4.
5. 6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
1.
2
3.
4.
National Achievement Survey (NAS) Capacity building o f N C E R T Faculty through exposure to two efficient large scale Nat ional Learning Assessment Surveys, t o understand the organizational and managerial aspects o f the exercise NCERT to be trained by international institute/(s) in modem techmques o f test development and analysis including o n IRT in activities such as: (a) Writing test instruments that meet the requirements for successful IRT analysis (b) Re-analyze l ive grade V M A S data to deliver a report indicating understanding and skil ls in IRT analysis and report writing. (c) Developing sample design that wil l enable va l id reporting of specified groups Develop analysis p lan for M A S at grades I11 and VIINIII that contribute to capacity ~.
building. This p lan wil l be based on using l ive M A S 111, VII-VI11 data and wil l involve bringing in technical expertise t o assist NCERT in accomplishing the task. Capacity building o f NCERT faculty in report writing and processes for dissemination o f results to School, Distr ict State and National Levels. Purchase o f advanced software for sophisticated analysis, for learning achievement surveys Br ing ing in technical expertise to provide ongoing support t o assist NCERT in producing for T A S at Grade-V: Quality test items Appropriate Sampling design Robust analysis, and Effective reporting Evaluation of Quality Initiatives Capacity building o f NCERT faculty in evaluation o f programs for quality enhancement, through a seminar conducted by experts in the area o f evaluation Training o f NCERT Faculty at an International Institute, in the area o f evaluation o f qual i ty related interventions. Bring in capacity t o develop a design for evaluation o f systemic quality indicators with identif ication o f parameters and their reckoning. Init iat ion o f evaluatiordimpact studies in States such as Tami l Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh Building capacity for assessing reading and wr i t ing abilities through tests, and utilizing them in State programs for improvement in language and mathematics. T h i s wil l b e studied in States covered by such initiatives, such as Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Ut tar Pradesh, Bihar etc. Training workshops for SCERT /State personnel o n a Learning Achievement Surveys and b) evaluation techniques National Achievement Surveys (NAS)
International Seminar on Large Scale Assessments in Elementary Education: Country case studies. Bringing in technical expertise to assist NCERT in developing for T A S at Grade I11 & VIWIII:
a) Quality test items b) Appropriate Sampling design c) Robust analysis, and d) Effective reporting.
Evaluation of Quality Initiatives
Training workshops for SCERT /State personnel o n a) Learning Achievement Surveys and b) evaluation techniques Analysis and reports to be published on evaluation o f quality interventions init iated in previous year, t o cover at least 5-6 States.
112
5.
6.
9. The Technical Cooperation Fund will be around US$10 mill ion.
Conducting program evaluation wi th respect to quality innovations undertaken by various States such as Maharashtra, Orissa, Assam, Kerala, J&K, etc. Development o f a national documentation unit in NCERT for Learning Assessment Systems and Evaluation methodoloeies.
11. Modality for Managing the TC Fund
10. DFID will engage a Technical Support Agency/agencies (TSA) to provide the required technical services to NCERT for the above components through an agreementkontract. T h i s arrangement would relieve NCERT o f the responsibility for management and administration o f the TC Fund whi le ensuring that the technical services provided are completely under the institution’s control. This agreement will be in concurrence with MHRD.
11. The N C E R T would set up a Steering Committee headed by the Director, NCERT to manage and uti l ize the TC fund for capacity building. The Member Secretary would be the HOD, Department o f Elementary Education, NCERT. The HOD, Department o f Measurement and Evaluation would be a member o f the Committee. A representative f rom Ministry o f Human Resource Development’s SSA Bureau would also be a member. Three other members would be nominated by Director, NCERT o f which two would be Directors o f SCERTs o f major States. Director, N C E R T can enlarge the scope o f discussions by inviting experts in assessment, evaluation and finance as special invitees. The TC Fund agreement will clearly specify that the T S A will operate as per directions o f this N C E R T Committee, which shall issue the necessary instructions in the form o f minutes to the T S A for technical services and through an AWP&B for each financial year to be drawn up and finanlised in consultation with MHRD’s SSA bureau by December o f the preceding year.
12. TC Funds would be located with DFID and would not f l ow into the consolidated fund o f the GoI. DFID would contract the TSA to manage the delivery o f a l l technical services. The framework agreement between DFID and the T S A would cover a l l costs associated with the delivery o f the technical services and a schedule o f payments. The T S A would then invoice the DP o n a quarterly basis with a report f rom N C E R T M H R D certifying that the services that are being invoiced are in fact being delivered and milestones achieved.
13. The T S A will furnish expenditure statements o n a l l TC funds to the N C E R T every quarter, which will be forwarded to the DP’s through the Ministry. Audited accounts through independent Chartered Accountants will be furnished by the T S A to the NCERT within six months o f closure o f the financial year and will be forwarded to DP’s thereafter.
14. The progress o f activities under the TC hnd will be reviewed by the DP’s during the course o f the JRMs. The AWP&B drawn up by the NCERT for the TC fund operations will also be reviewed by DP’s during the January JRM.
15. DFID will hold consultations with the N C E R T o n the logistics o f T S A management every quarter to review (i) rendering o f services by the T S A as per contract (ii) funds needed to be released by DP’s to T S A and (iii) any other coordination issue.
16. The Ministry o f HRD through i t s SSA Bureau can at any time intervene with the NCERT to undertake any required activity necessary within the framework o f the approved TC fund.
113
Annex 14: Statement of Loans and Credits
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
Original Amount in US$ Millions
Difference between expected and actual
disbursements
Project ID FY Purpose IBRD IDA SF GEF Cancel. Undisb. Orig. Frm. Rev'd
PO95114 2008
P101653 2008
P102737 2008
PI05124 2008
PO78539 2007
PO90585 2007
PO78538 2007
PO90592 2007
PO75174 2007
PO75060 2007
PO90764 2007
PO90768 2007
PO83187 2007
P102768 2007
P100789 2007
PO99047 2007
PO97036 2007
PO96019 2007
PO71160 2007
PO86414 2006
PO83780 2006
PO79708 2006
PO79675 2006
PO78832 2006
PO93720 2006
PO92735 2006
PO84632 2005
PO75058 2005
PO94513 2005
PO84790 2005
PO84792 2005
PO73370 2005
PO73651 2005
PO86518 2005
PO77856 2005
PO77977 2005
PO73776 2004
PO82510 2004
PO73369 2004
Rampur Hydropower Project
Power System Development Project I V
Bihar DPL
HP DPL I TB I1
Punjab State Roads Project
Third National HIVIAIDS Control Project Punjab Rural Water Supply & Sanitation
AP DPL I11
RCH I1
Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project
TN IAM WARM
Uttaranchal RWSS
Shen India's Rural Credit Coops
AP Community Tank Management Project
Vocational Training India
Orissa Socio-Econ Dev Loan I1
HP State Roads Project
Kamataka Health Systems
Power System Development Project I11
TN Urban Ill TN Empw & Pov Reduction
Kam Municipal Reform
Kamataka Panchayats Strengthening Proj
Mid-Himalayan (HP) Watersheds
NAIP
Hydrology I1
TN HEALTH SYSTEMS
India Tsunami ERC
MAHAR WSIP
Assam Agric Competitiveness
Madhya Pradesh Water Sector Restructurin
DISEASE SURVEILLANCE
SME Financing & Development
Lucknow-Muzaffarpur National Highway
Rural Roads Project
ALLAHABAD BYPASS Kamataka U W S Improvement Project
INDIA: Second Elementary Education Project (SSA 11)
P O V E R T Y and SOCIAL
2 0 0 6 lndla
109.8 820
90.0
P 0 pulat io n, mid-year (millions) GNI per capita (Atlas mefhod, US$) GNI (Allas method, US$ billions)
Average annual growth, 2000-06
Population (%) 15 Laborforce (%) 19
M os1 recent estimate (latest year available, 2000-06)
Poverty (W of population belo wnationalpo vertyline) 29 Urban population (%of totalpopulation) 29 Life expectancyat birth (pars) 64 Infant mortality(per lO0Oiive births) 56 Child malnutntion (%of children under5) Access to an improved water source (%ofpopulation) 86 Literacy(%ofpopulation age t i c ) 61
GDP (US$ billions) 246.4 3883 Gross capital formation1GDP 23.0 22 1
Gross domestic SavingsIGDP 212 20.9 Gross national savingsiGDP 216 23.2
Current account balanceiGDP -2.0 -13
Total debtiGDP 8.5 24.1 Total debt serviceiexports 32.5 22.2 Present value of debtlGDP Present value of debtiexports
€worts of goods and ServicesIGDP 5.3 0 . 5
Interest payments1GDP 0.7 10
1986-96 WS6-06 2 0 0 5 (average annualgrowfh) GDP 5.5 6.4 9.2 GDP percapita 3.5 4.7 7.7 ~xports of goods and services 118 0 .4 5.9
South Low- Asia Income
1493 766 1143
17 2 1
29 64 62
a4 56 10 125 0 5
2 0 0 5
8057 33 4 20 3 30 4 32 7
-12 0 6 153 P 5 0 7
56 9
2,403 650
1562
19 2 3
30 59 75
75 61
0 2 0 8 96
2 0 0 6
9118 33 9 23 0 311
33 5
-11
2 0 0 6 2006-10
9 2 7 7 8 6
Development dlamond'
Life expectancy
T
GNI Gross per primary capita enrollment
I
Access to improvednatersource
-India ~ Lowincomegroup
Economlc ratios'
Trade
Domestic - Capital savings formation
I
Indebtedness
-india ~ Low-incomegroup
STRUCTURE of the E C O N O M Y
118
(%of GDP) Agnculture Industry
Services
Household final consumption expenditure General gov't final consumption expenditure Imports of goods andservices
Manufactunng
(average annualgmwih) Agnculture Industry
Services
Household final consumption expenditure General gov't final consumption expenditure Gross capital formation Imports of goods andservices
M anufactunng
1986 I 9 9 6
300 274 263 270 6 4 r75
437 456
669 684 119 a 7 7 1 117
1986.96 1996-06
3 7 2 3 6 2 6 4 6 5 5 9 6 6 8 2
5 2 4 7 4 0 5 3 7 0 9 1 a8 9 9
2005
183 27 6 6 0 54 1
58 3 11 3
23 3
2 0 0 5
6 0 9 6 9 1 9 8
6 1 9 8 188 a 3
2006
7 5 27 9 6 3
54 6
57 6 I t 3
25 8
2006
2 7 a6 Q 3 112
7 5 9 0 142 114
Growth o f capital and G D P ('A)
30 1
I growth o f exports and imports (#A)
Note 2006 data are preliminaryestimates This table was producedfrom the Development Economics LDB database *Thediamonds show four keyindicators in the country(in bo1d)compared wth its income-group average if data are missing,thediamondwll
be incomplete
India
P R I C E S and G O V E R N M E N T F INANCE
Domest ic prices (%change) Consumer pnces Implicit GDP deflator
Government finance (%of GDP, includes current grants) Current revenue Current budget balance Overall surplusldeficit
T R A D E
(US$ millions) Totalexports (fob)
Marine products Ores and minerals Manufactures
Totalimports (cif) Food Fuel and energy Capital goods
Export price index (2000=00) Import price index(2000=00) Terms o f trade (2000-00)
1986
8 7 6 8
8 6 -2 3 -9 9
1986
a , 4 0 414 476
6,564 IT729 1028 2,371 4,914
0 1 119 85
I 996
9 0 7 5
r75 -3 5 -6 4
1996
34.u3 1Q9 1,v2
24,6U 48,948
12 14 a,036 9,922
a 4 115 90
2005 2006
4 2 5 8 4 4 5 9
8.7 216 -3.1 -19 -6.8 -6.5
2005 2006
05,152 Q7,090 1.589 1744 6,%4 7,033
72,563 82.818 156,993 191995
2,767 3,291 43,963 57,074 37,665 52,944
14 I
'Export and import levels (US$ mill.)
250 000 T
I 00 01 02 03 04 05 CB
I .Exports elnports
119
B A L A N C E o f P A Y M E N T S
(US$ millions) Eworts of goods and services Imports of goods andsewices Resource balance
Net income Net current transfers
1986
0,630 19,951 -6,321
-977 2,327
Current account balance -4.971
Financing items (net) Changes in net reserves
4,397 574
M e m o : Reserves including gold (US$ millions) 6,574 Conversion rate (DEC,local/US$) Q 8
EXTERNAL DEBT and RESOURCE FLOWS
(US$ millions) Total debt outstanding and disbursed
I 986
48,94 IBRD 3,475 IDA 0.529
Total debt service iBRD ID A
5,273 469 152
Composition of net resource flows Official grants 595 Official creditors 1404 Pnvate creditors 2,793 Foreign direct investment (net inflows) 118 Portfolio equity(net inflows) 0
World Bank program Commitments Disbursements Pnncipal repayments Net flows Interest payments Net transfers
1,790 1,297 235
1,062 386 676
1996
41.607 55,696 -14,089
-3,307 Z367
-5,029
0,847 -5.818
26,423 35.5
1996
93,466 8,768 7,615
11981 I514 364
589 184
-146 2,426 3,958
1.725 1592 1074
518 804
-287
2 0 0 5 2006
66,556 208,420 84,515 240,598
-27.960 -32,78
-5.50 -4,846 24.02 27,95
-9,368 -9,829
23,582 45.64 -14214 -35,335
150.866 198,70 443 452
2 0 0 5 2006
93,723 5,557 6.77
23,363 24,068
24,335 4TT 597 809 841
1,060 142 1 379
6.598 Q,%2
1,592 208 2,UO 1787
843 942 1288 845 384 496 904 349
Current account balance to G D P (%)
131
jComposlt Ion o f 2005 debt (US$ mill.)
1 G 8,788 A 5*557
A - IBRD E- Bila!e-al 6 - I D A D-DihermAtil&a;l F-Private C - I M F G - Short-ten
Note:This lablewas producedfrom the Development Economics LDB database 9/28/07
