Document of The World Bank ONA FOR A. Febniary 7, 2002

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1 Public Disclosure Authorized Document of The World Bank Report No: BD Public Disclosure Authorized PROJECT APPRAISAL DOCUMENT ONA PROPOSED CREDIT Public Disclosure Authorized IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 96.4 MILLION (US$120.9 MILLION EQUIVALENT) TO THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH FOR A FEMALE SECONDARY SCHOOL ASSISTANCE PROJECT-II Febniary 7, 2002 Public Disclosure Authorized Humani Deveiopment Sector Unit Bangladesh Country U nit South Asia Regional Office

2 CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective July 2001) Currency Unit = Taka 1.00 = US$ US$ 1.00 = Taka FISCAL YEAR July 1 -- June 30 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AD Assistant Director ADB Asian Development Bank APO Assistant Project Officer ADP Annual Development Program BANBEIS Bangladesh Bureau of Education Information and Statistics BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics B. Ed Bachelor of Education BISE Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education CA Chart of Accounts DD Deputy Director DEO District Education Officer DSHE Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education DG Director General EC European Commission FEAP Female Education Awareness Program FMM Financial Management Manual FMS Financial Management System FSP Female Stipend Program FSSAP Female Secondary School Assistance Project FY Fiscal Year GDP Gross Domestic Product GO Government Organization GOB Government of Bangladesh HSC Higher Secondary Certificate IDA International Development Association IDP Institutional Development Program M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MIS Management Information System MOE Ministry of Education MOF Ministry of Finance MPO Monthly Payment Order MTRT Mobile Training Resource Team NCTB National Curriculum and Textbook Board NGO Non-Governmental Organization NORAD Royal Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation

3 NSC OSDP PAD PC PCP PCT PEDP PIP PIU PMR PMU POU PP PPT PTA PROMOTE SESDP SESIP SMC SSC TEP UPO UPOM National Steering Committee Occupational Skills Development Program Project Appraisal Document Planning Commission Project Concept Paper Procurement Core Team Primary Education Development Program Project Implementation Plan Project Implementation Unit Project Management Report Program Monitoring Unit Project Operations Unit Project Pro-forma Project Preparation Team Parent-Teacher Association Program for Motivation, Training and Employ Female Teachers Secondary Education Sector Development Plan Secondary Education Sector Improvement Project School Management Committee Secondary School Certificate Teacher Enhancement Program Upazila Project Office Upazila Project Office Manager Vice President: Country Manager/Director: Sector Manager/Director: Task Team Leader/Task Manager: Mieko Nishimizu Frederick Thomas Temple Charles C. Griffin Ana Maria Jeria

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5 BANGLADESH FEMALE SECONDARY SCHOOL ASSISTANCE PROJECT-II CONTENTS A. Project Development Objective Page 1. Project development objective 2 2. Key perfornance indicators 2 B. Strategic Context 1. Sector-related Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) goal supported by the project 2 2. Main sector issues and Government strategy 3 3. Sector issues to be addressed by the project and strategic choices 7 C. Project Description Summnary 1. Project components 9 2. Key policy and institutional reforms supported by the project Benefits and target population Institutional and implementation arrangements 11 D. Project Rationale 1. Project alternatives considered and reasons for rejection Major related projects financed by the Bank and other development agencies Lessons learned and reflected in the project design Indications of borrower comnmitment and ownership Value added of Bank support in this project 18 E. Summary Project Analysis 1. Economic Financial Technical Institutional Environmental Social Safeguard Policies 28 F. Sustainability and Risks 1. Sustainability 28

6 2. Critical risks Possible controversial aspects 30 G. Main Conditions 1. Effectiveness Condition Other 31 H. Readiness for Implementation 32 I. Compliance with Bank Policies 33 Annexes Annex 1: Project Design Summary 34 Annex 2: Detailed Project Description 37 Annex 3: Estimated Project Costs 43 Annex 4: Financial and Economic Impact 45 Annex 5: Financial Summary 57 Annex 6: Procurement and Disbursement Arrangements 59 Annex 7: Project Processing Schedule 87 Annex 8: Documents in the Project File 89 Annex 9: Statement of Loans and Credits 90 Annex 10: Country at a Glance 93 MAP(S) IBRD 31635

7 Date: February 7, 2002 Country Manager/Director: Frederick Thomas Temple Project ID: P Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan (SIL) BANGLADESH Female Secondary School Assistance Project-LI Project Appraisal Document South Asia Regional Office SASHD Program Financing Data [ ] Loan [X] Credit [ ] Grant [ ] Guarantee [ ] Other: For Loans/Credits/Others: Amount (US$m): Team Leader: Ana Maria Jeria Sector Manager/Director: Charles C. Griffin Sector(s): ES - Secondary Education Theme(s): Poverty Targeted Intervention: N Proposed Terms (IDA): Standard Credit Commitment fee: 0.5% Financing Plan (US$m): Source Local Foreign Total BORROWER IDA LOCAL COMMUNITIES Total: Borrower: GOB Responsible agency: DIRECTORATE OF SECONDARY & HIGHER EDUCATION OF THE MOE Address: Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) Ministry of Education Shikkah Bhavan 16, Abdul Ghani Road, Dhaka Contact Person: Mr. Abdur Rashid, Director General, DSHE Tel: / Fax: fssap@citechco.net Estimated disbursements ( Bank FY/US$m): FY Annual Cumulative Project implementation period: June 2002-December 2006 Expected effectiveness date: 06/30/2002 Expected closing date: 12/31/2006 OCS PAD Fn -r -al -0

8 A. Project Development Objective 1. Project development objective: (see Annex 1) The project development objective is to improve the quality of, and girls access to, secondary education in rural areas of Bangladesh. The proposed project is a sequel to the IDA-financed Female Secondary School Assistance Project (FSSAP) ( ), and responds to the Government request for IDA assistance to build upon the successes of that project. The FSSAP II project sustains improved gender equity, and adds activities and incentives to improve the quality of education in participating schools and to improve both the management capacity of the Ministry of Education and monitoring and accountability mechanisms at the community level. The FSSAP was a ground-breaking program which provided incentives to keep girls in schools and resulted in large increase in enrollments, delays in the age of marriage, higher number of single-child families, improved birth spacing, more females employed with higher incomes, decrease in the amount of dowries, and more confident and aware females who are involved in their children's education. FSSAP II extends the focus beyond access to quality by linking quality outcomes with stipends and tuition support. The stipends program has been a testing ground for innovations, where approaches and instruments pioneered under FSSAP have tended to find their way into other Government and donor-funded projects, including primary school initiatives, in Bangladesh and elsewhere. The project does not attempt to tackle wholesale reform; rather it is a piece within the larger efforts championed by the Government of Bangladesh in partnership with other donors, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the European Union (EU). 2. Key performance indicators: (see Annex 1) Progress towards the project objective will be monitored and assessed according to the key performance indicators outlined in Annex 1. B. Strategic Context 1. Sector-related Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) goal supported by the project: (see Annex 1) Document number: IDA/R [IFC/R ] Date of latest CAS discussion: 12/12/2000 The overarching objective of the CAS is to help Bangladesh realize its aspiration of reducing poverty substantially within one generation (CAS 02/08/2001, para. 54. The CAS supports Government plans and policies reflected in the Fifth Five Year Plan ( ), which envisaged poverty alleviation as its overriding objective). To attain this objective, the CAS outlines a three-prong strategy: (i) consolidating gains in human development and supporting initiatives to address the next generation of development challenges in education, health and nutrition; (ii) implementing an integrated approach to rural development, including making opportunities and assets available to the poor; and (iii) accelerating and broadening private sector led growth. The CAS further states that cross-cutting issues of institutional capacity building, governance, macro-economic stability, social concems such as gender equity, empowerment, and environmental protection will be treated as integral elements within these strategic objectives. In the education sector, the CAS discussion of developmental priorities notes that the impressive gains recorded in education, especially in access to primary education, in the past decade notwithstanding, improving quality remains a principal challenge (CAS, para. 28). Reduction in gender discrimination in education is also cited as a major accomplishment that needs to be sustained. These themes echo the findings in IDA's most recent analytical work on the Bangladesh education sector (World Bank, Bangladesh Education Sector Review, 2000). In the secondary education sub-sector, the principal goals identified include: (i) reorienting content, so that what is - 2 -

9 taught reflects the skills and knowledge the bulk of graduates will need in entering the workforce; (ii) reducing inequities in access to, and quality of, education, primarily between genders and regions; and (iii) raising incentives for quality and accountability within the system. The proposed project is in line with both CAS and sectoral goals. It includes activities and incentives to improve the quality of education in participating schools; it sustains improved gender equity at the secondary school level by continuing the FSSAP girls' stipend and tuition assistance programs; it further addresses inequities through additional outreach in rural areas; and it seeks to improve both the management capacity of the Ministry of Education (MOE) and monitoring and accountability mechanisms at the community level. In line with the CAS concern that IDA assistance be selective, the proposed project does not attempt to tackle wholesale secondary education reform; rather it is a piece within the larger reform efforts championed by the Government of Bangladesh in partnership with the four main donors (ADB, NORAD, EU and IDA). 2. Main sector issues and Government strategy: Bangladesh's education system comprises five years of primary education (classes I-V for six to ten-year old students), three years ofjunior secondary education (classes VI-VIII for year olds), two years of secondary education (classes IX-X for year olds) and two years of higher secondary education (classes XI and XII for year olds). Except when noted, "secondary education" is used in this document to refer to junior secondary and secondary levels - the project will not address higher secondary education. The main issues in the secondary education sub-sector in Bangladesh are as follows: Low internal efficiency. As it currently operates, secondary education mainly serves as a screening device for entry into higher education - it has no independent purpose of its own. In fact, only a fraction of the students who enter into secondary education complete class X and pass the SSC examination, and even fewer complete class XII and pass the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam, a requirement for entry into higher education. Out of 100 students entering class VI, fewer than 60 eventually complete class X. Of 100 girls enrolled in class VI, only 45 complete class X, and, with an SSC pass rate of 42.6 percent, only 19 pass. Therefore, only one in five girls who enroll in class VI pass the SSC. Relevance of Curriculum. High dropout rates throughout secondary education are related to issues of school quality, curricular relevance, and opportunity costs for students and their families. As noted above, the curriculum is geared toward preparation for higher education. Curriculum and certificate exams emphasize factual knowledge and memorization over critical thinking and life-skills. Significantly, not even the HSC certificate is a guarantee of employment, raising important questions about the value and relevance of the secondary school curriculum in the Bangladesh labor market (World Bank, Bangladesh Education Sector Review 2000, p. 13). Declines in Learning Achievement. Bangladesh's SSC (given at the end of class X) and HSC examinations, imperfect as they are, do provide a proxy measure for quality of educational outcomes. Despite problems with these examinations (students assessment and public examinations are currently being reformed and strengthened), they are administered effectively, and it is commonly acknowledged that the results are generally reliable --in the sense that the most meritorious students tend to pass the tests. In the 1990s the number of candidates for the HSC increased almost three-fold, from about 240,000 in 1992 to 650,000 in Pass rates were low and generally declined during the 1 990s (a fairly predictable outcome given the increased numbers of students taking the test). Results from the SSC have also declined, although test revisions in the late 1 990s make comparisons difficult. In 2000, only 42 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls taking the test passed it. In 1997, 37 percent of students sitting for the HSC passed it, while 52 percent passed the SSC

10 Shortages of Facilities. Bangladesh's success in getting children into school at the primary level has created enormous pressure on the secondary system to absorb their school graduates. Classroom overcrowding is a common phenomenon; in 1997, the student-teacher ratio was 38, while the average classroom (built for 40 students) held 56 (Bangladesh Education Sector Review Background Paper 4). Average number of students per class have been reported as 33 for junior secondary schools and 36 for secondary schools in the Bangladesh National Education Survey Most classrooms have no teaching aids and no prospect of getting them; students purchase their own books and supplies. Lack of latrines and requisite privacy for adolescent girls is a widespread constraint to female participation. Absence of Teacher Training and Academic Supervision. One of the main problems with teaching quality at the secondary level is the low percentage of teachers (although possessing relatively high educational qualifications) who have received teacher training. In addition to the general lack of teacher training, teachers who receive in-service training often are not taught techniques for dealing with the prevailing large class sizes. Although there is a formal "inspection" system, true academic supervision is weak or nonexistent in Bangladesh secondary education. Geographic and Gender Inequities. Most children in Bangladesh today attend primary school (classes I-V); the gross enrollment rate (GER) is close to 100 percent of which about 47 percent is female (the net enrollment rate is 85 percent). Despite the increase in access to basic education, the majority of rural girls from impoverished households do not complete primary school. The low rate of female primary school completion in rural areas is an obstacle to increasing the participation of rural girls in secondary school. Govemment and donor efforts to improve rural girls' access to secondary school (including the FSSAP project) have done much to improve the situation, but rural girls are still less likely than their urban sisters to go to secondary school. The gross enrollment ratio for girls in secondary school currently stands at 44.6 percent. Geographic and income considerations also affect the outcome of schooling: better teachers tend to seek out better schools in urban areas, while most children who pass the HSC exam have parents who can afford private tutoring. Private providers of secondary education also have little incentive to establish schools in poorer areas. There are also gender inequities in the teaching force. Female teachers as role models for girls in secondary school are scarce, and the situation seems to be deteriorating at upper secondary level. Although the stated Government goal is that at least 30 percent of the secondary teaching force should be female, currently less than 14 percent of secondary teachers are female and they are concentrated in urban areas. In rural areas qualified women are uncommon and posting of urban women to villages far away from their families is unappealing and even dangerous. In 1999 one female teacher was posted for every 122 girls enrolled in junior secondary. The corresponding ratio for upper secondary schools in 1999 was one female teacher for 151 girls (1: 151) as compared with a ratio of 1:128 in 1997 (BANBEIS 1997/1999). This situation is a cause for concern on two counts. First, the absence of female teachers has been shown to be a barrier to access - parents are less likely to send their daughters to school. Second, there is evidence that the presence of female teachers can have a positive effect on girl students' performance. Weak Management, Lack of Accountability, and Distorted Incentives. Bangladesh's secondary school system is overwhelmingly private. About 95 percent of the secondary education institutions are non-government schools, with oversight provided in the majority of schools by school management committees (SMCs). The SMCs have broad local power over school affairs, headmasters/mistresses, and teachers - whom they alone can dismiss. Although the Government accredits schools and pays 80 percent or more of teacher salaries through subventions, SMCs do not answer to Ministry of Education's District Education Officers. Ideally, community-based and managed schools should be responsive to local demand, but once a secondary school is recognized by the Government, subvention of teacher salaries and payment of tuition for girls - 4 -

11 (under Government and donor-supported stipend programs) to the school generally proceed regardless of performance or community satisfaction. The Government has little leverage beyond periodic non-renewal of accreditation and discontinuation of subventions, measures it rarely employs. SMCs are comprised predominantly of male elites, and are not always representative of their communities. Their performance is varied; some are models of dedication and ingenuity, others are fraught with irregularities and local power struggles. In some communities SMCs are impediments to improving the quality and inclusiveness of the schools they oversee. Although SMCs have significant responsibilities and authorities in non-government schools, they get no training or support for their roles in school planning, administration, or academic oversight. Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) function in only a minority of non-government schools due in part to lack of awareness and information about their roles. Owners of schools also have few incentives to improve quality. Examination results by school are rarely publicized so that the public has access to information about comparative performance. Teachers also have little incentive to maximize student learning during normal class hours. The financial incentive is to maximize personal income from private tuition by teaching the same students for the examinations outside the classroom. Muslim religious schools (normally referred as Madrasahs) operate under their own separate management with their own curriculum and examinations. The quality of education is unknown for this significant group of the secondary system, which operates one quarter of all secondary schools and enrolls more than 15 percent (BANBEIS 1999) of all female students at the secondary level. Muslim secondary schools, by agreement with the Government, now teach core subjects of the national general curriculum. However, the madrasahs have their own pedagogy, their own instructional materials, their own teacher training, their own examinations and their own examination board. Their students do not sit for the general SSC, which, however flawed, is the only indicator of student achievement. It is widely believed that the majority of madrasahs do not effectively teach the national curriculum, and that many of their students do not master the core competencies of secondary schooling. At the central level, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) are in many ways ill-equipped to perform their limited oversight role. DSHE has only minimal capacity to conduct policy research, do planning and budgeting, monitor and evaluate programs, and assess school performance. The MOE does not have sufficient staff to monitor even the financial aspects of the subvention system, let alone the quality of instruction. DSHE also has little control over the collection of inforrnation from schools, which results in substantial delays in the production of even basic statistics. Information about student and school performance and about finance is not always reliable, nor is it available to those who could use it. In many instances, useful data are located in donor-funded project databases, but these are not integrated, nor readily accessed by DSHE staff outside the project. The DSHE currently serves as the executing agency for several donor-funded projects, but coordination between them could be improved to achieve better information for planning and decision making. Until recently, constraints within the MOE and DSHE were exacerbated by a hiring and promotion freeze. High staff turnover is also an issue. Government Strategy As noted in the CAS, Bangladesh has achieved outstanding progress in basic education. As a result of the country's sustained commitment to primary education, most children now attend primary school. Progress in girls education stands out: the proportion of girls enrolled at the primary level increased from 37 percent in 1980 to virtual parity with boys in Bangladesh also does much better than other countries in South Asia in enrolling students from poor families. About 70 percent of the eligible children from poor families enroll in primary education. Having achieved close to universal access, the Government has focussed increasingly on improving the quality of education at the primary level. The IDA-supported Primary Education Development Project (PEDP) is currently assisting in this effort. -5-

12 As in primary education, Governnent efforts at the secondary level have focussed overwhelmingly on improving access. The Government's main strategy has been collaboration with the private sector through the use of subvention. This has been a successful strategy in terms of facilitating the rapid expansion of the system at a reduced cost, though it has also created accountability problems, as noted above. The percentage of school-age children enrolled in lower secondary school climbed from 32 in 1991 to 44 in 1997, while the corresponding numbers for secondary were 21 in 1991 and 27 in Girls' enrollment as a percentage of total secondary enrollment has also increased dramatically: from 34 percent in 1990 to 48 percent in 1997 (Bangladesh Education Sector Review - Background Paper 4). Here too, these improvements reflect conscious efforts on the part of the Government to address gender and geographic discrimination. One of the main strategies has been the use of financial incentives. In 1993, with the assistance of IDA, the Government launched the FSSAP project, which was conceived as an integrated package of interventions designed to help close the gender gap in secondary education and raise female status in the economy and society. A key element of that project has been the Female Stipend Program (FSP), which was modeled in part on an earlier Female Scholarship Program started by a local NGO and later supported by the Government, USAID and NORAD. The FSP distributes tuition to rural schools for enrolled girls and gives stipends to eligible female secondary students in FSSAP's 118 upazilas. To be eligible for a stipend from FSP a girl must attend school for at least 75 percent of the days of the school year, she must achieve at least 45 percent marks on her evaluations and examinations, and she must remain unmarried. The qualification requirements for participation in the FSP reinforce the Government's strategic goals in the sector. The first priority, to increase girls' participation in secondary education, is achieved by paying girls' families to cover a portion of the costs of their attendance, and by paying privately run schools to accept them as students. Setting high performance standards (45 percent marks) for FSP stipend recipients was expected to encourage high achievement by girls and exert pressure on schools to improve the quality of education. Finally, by requiring that stipend recipients delay marriage, social and demographic goals were targeted while increasing the number of girls who could stay in school. The Government expanded the FSP to remaining rural areas of the country in 1994, and other donors (NORAD and the ADB) are also supporting the program. More recently, Bangladesh's National Education Policy (NEP) adopted in January 2001, has outlined additional strategies aimed at improving quality and rationalizing the provision and management of education at the secondary level. A restructuring of the system to include eight years of basic education and four years of secondary has been planned, and will be implemented as part of the Secondary Education Sector Improvement Project (SESIP), as well as the proposed second Primary Education Development Project, supported by the ADB. The SESIP will also assist the Government with strengthening policy and planning capacity, improving effectiveness in the use of resources, enhancing the quality of education, and increasing access for girls and students in under served areas. The Government's Fifth Five Year Plan ( ) calls for improving teacher training facilities, increased training of teachers (both pre-service and in-service), updating of curricula and improving the quality of textbooks. Many of these initiatives are also supported by the SESIP project. The Government has also set a target for increasing the number of women teachers (at least 60 percent at the primary level, and 30 percent at the secondary level). Finally, the Government has supported increasing the number of trained female teachers in the secondary sector. The PROMOTE project will provide B.Ed. training to 5,800 serving female teachers and potential female graduates, give temporary employment to 3,200 female graduates as substitute teachers/additional teachers and permanent employment for up to 2,800 female B.Ed. graduates. Through the construction of women's hostels for female teachers, the project is expected to enhance migration and mobility of female teachers to the rural areas and solve long pressing problems of acconunodation and safety

13 3. Sector issues to be addressed by the project and strategic choices: The main sector issues to be addressed by the proposed project are: (a) improving learning achievement and attainment through improvements in school quality; (b) reducing gender inequities through improved access to secondary education for girls in rural areas; and (c) improving management capacity and accountability at the central and local levels. It should be noted that the project will focus on a discrete geographic area (other areas are being covered by Government and other donor-funded programs). In addition, many of the overarching quality and managerial issues in the secondary system are to be addressed in the context of the ADB-funded SESIP project. Coordination between SESIP, FSSAP II and other donor projects in the secondary sector is thus critical. Table I below illustrates the sector issues being addressed by various actors. Quality Strategies to improve the quality of education under the project will include: teacher education, training, and support; school improvements and incentives; support/incentives for student achievement; and greater community involvement in school quality issues. One of the lessons from the implementation of FSSAP was that the eligibility requirement of a 45 percent passing grade proved an insufficient incentive for schools to improve quality outcomes. There is scope and need for a limited number of new program activities or approaches to quality improvement in the proposed FSSAP II. The project will support in-service teacher education, as well as head teacher training in academic supervision and management, to improve the classroom effectiveness of secondary teachers. Training for local government, school system, and school community members will also be provided to enhance their understanding of how to support girls' achievement and the improvement of school quality. Quality improvement incentives will focus on leaming outcomes and include programs to: (a) give awards for and publicize improvements in school achievement; (b) award additional funds or school materials to qualifying schools that submit a school improvement proposal endorsed jointly by school management and parents; and (c) award students for individual academic achievement. Improved water and sanitation facilities will also be provided at selected schools, giving particular attention to those schools with an arsenic contaminated water supply. Substantial improvements in educational quality will require more strategic planning, more investment, and close coordination with complementary Government and donor initiatives. Revisions to the curriculum, monitoring leaming achievement and examinations, for example, should help drive quality improvements within the system; these are not being addressed under this project because they are contemplated as part of the SESIP project. Innovations in areas like teacher training, however, will strengthen the impact of FSSAP II on the overall quality of secondary education if done well and early in project implementation. Expanding Access for Rural Girls The positive impact of the tuition and incentive programs on gender and geographic equity in secondary education is a compelling rationale for sustaining these programs during FSSAP II. Overall, stipend programs have been enormously popular, and have more than achieved their goals in terms of getting girls into school and delaying marriage. The growth in girls secondary school enrollment in stipend programs is far above the most optimistic projections - in project upazilas, it more than doubled, from 462,000 in 1994 to slightly above I million in Comparing data before and after the program went into effect suggests that it had an immediate and significant effect in delaying marriage. The overall proportion of females who married declined between 1992 and 1995, from 29 to 14 percent for year olds, and from 72 to 64 percent for year olds

14 Stipend programs are, however, expensive. Government expenditure for stipend programs, including donor support, accounted for 13.3 percent of the secondary budget and 5.5 percent of the total education budget in 1999/00. Given the need for other investments in the education sector, the high cost of these initiatives warrants consideration of strategies for cost reduction. During the first two years of this project, the stipend component will continue with minor adjustments. At the Mid-Term Review the stipend and tuition elements of the project will be reviewed for possible modification, including more focussed geographic targeting or linking stipend amounts to family need. The probability of significant change will be linked to decisions by the Government and other donors since IDA sponsors tuition and stipend programs in only I 19 upazilas. The Government is rightfully intent on maximizing the similarity of all of the tuition and stipend programs, so reform will need to be a coordinated effort of the four sponsors (GOB, ADB, NORAD and IDA). The Government also recognizes that other obstacles to girls' participation, besides cost constraints, must be examined and addressed to sustain the rate of growth in secondary school enrollments among rural girls. Community-based studies will identify the reasons for non-enrollment among a substantial number of poorer families in the project catchment areas. Outreach programs to eliminate obstacles to school participation for girls from poorer communities will be initiated. Data collected as part of studies and outreach programs will be helpful in the reformulation of some elements of the project at the Mid-Term Review. There are also still remote, economically disadvantaged areas in the covered upazilas that do not have a secondary institution for female students. Disadvantaged union parishads or mouzas will become the focal points for recruitment efforts to help new schools get started or get registered so that they are qualified to enter the program (about 300 schools per year join the FSSAP program). Improving Management, Monitoring and Accountability The Government's secondary education reform initiative includes an ambitious plan for improving system accountability and management. The SESIP project will provide resources and technical assistance to DSHE to establish a 'Policy Support and Planning Unit' in the Planning and Development Wing of DSHE. This unit will assist pilot activities for decentralizing supervision and EMIS activities to the district level. To complement this investment, the proposed FSSAP II project will establish a Program Monitoring Unit (PMU) within DSHE. This unit will take the lead in coordinating initiatives in female education, and serve as an institutional base for improving DSHE's information management and monitoring capacity. Other strategies to help strengthen DSHE will include: (a) gradual building capacities for introducing performance management and accountability through improved monitoring; (b) support for the addition and training of key personnel; (c) establishment of a cell for oversight of female education projects, including IDA, ADB, NORAD and Government stipend programs and the EU PROMOTE project; (d) integration of information bases; (e) technical assistance to strengthen monitoring and evaluation functions; (f) periodic independent random audits of operations, to strengthen the DSHE monitoring function and help ensure accountability of institutions, upazila project offices and District Education Officers (DEOs); and (g) funding of operational research. Given the largely private and decentralized nature of secondary education provision, there are significant structural challenges to improving management and accountability at the school level. The proposed FSSAP II project will address these issues in several ways. For example, the contractual responsibilities of school management and SMCs under the stipend program agreement will be more clearly defined, with performance standards and the penalties associated with failure to maintain standards, both fiscal and academic, clearly stated. Greater community involvement in school management and monitoring will be encouraged through information dissemination, community empowerment, and training programs at the local level. The project will include regular - 8 -

15 random audits of fiscal and academic performance and local offices will be responsible and be held accountable for increased monitoring activities and timely and accurate reports. Table 1: Issues and Actors in Secondary Education in Bangladesh Issue/Activity GOB FESP PROMOTE SESIP FSSAP 11 (NORAD) (EU) (ADB) (IDA) Stipends for female secondary x x x x students Training and employment of female x x x x teachers Reforms to teacher education x x x Curriculum reform x x Examination system reform x x Privatization of textbook production x x School repair and construction x x Strengthening school management x x x and supervision Incentives for improving school x x x quality (improvement fund) I I Strengthening of DSHE x x x C. Project Description Summary 1. Project components (see Annex 2 for a detailed description and Annex 3 for a detailed cost breakdown): PROJECT COSTS BY COMPONENT Component Sector Indicative Costs % of Bankfinancing % of Bank- (US$M) Total (US$M) financing 1. Improving the Quality of Secondary Girls' Education Education 2. IncreasingAccess andretentionof Girls' Education Girls 3. Strengthening Management, System Reform & Accountability and Monitoring Capacity Building Total Project Costs Total Financing Required

16 2. Key policy and institutional reforms supported by the project: As a follow-on project that rests squarely within the GOB's stated priorities in secondary education, the proposed FSSAP II will not require major policy reforms for its approval or implementation. That said, policy reforms undertaken by the Government either independently or as part of other donor-funded projects are likely to have an impact on the project. For example, reforms to the curriculum and examination system could be an enormous boon to the project's efforts to improve educational quality. They are, however, beyond the scope of this project. Similarly, the proposed project does seek to influence the ongoing process of policy and institutional reform. As mentioned earlier, the creation of a successful model for teacher in-service training under FSSAP II has the potential for contributing to the formation of a national policy on teacher training and reforms undertaken as part of the SESIP. Additional studies and information on how best to attract and sustain the poorest girls in school are also likely to influence future Government and donor policies and programs in this area, including targeting. With regard to institutional reform, the project seeks to gradually shift development initiatives from the current fragrnented, project approach to a more integrated approach under the leadership of the Director General for Secondary and Higher Education. Under FSSAP II, most of the operations that were carried out by the FSSAP PIU will be shifted to the DSHE as its capacity is strengthened. To effect this change, the project will establish a Program Monitoring Unit in the DHSE. The project has also chosen an incremental approach with regard to improved accountability of educational institutions - clarifying contractual responsibilities, broadening membership in SMCs (through the inclusion of women) and strengthening community monitoring and access to information. Local MOE supervision capacity will also be strengthened over the life of the project. 3. Benefits and target population: The expected benefits from the project are continued increases in girls' enrollments in and completion of secondary school, resulting in a more productive workforce and declining family size; increased numbers of female secondary teachers; improvements in the quality of secondary education offered to all students; greater transparency, improved accountability, reduced irregularities, and more broad participation in the affairs of local schools; and more efficient, effective, and accountable management by the MOE/DSHE. Very importantly, the education of girls contributes to reduce poverty by alleviating the worst problems of poverty and malnutrition such as high birth rates, poor health practices, high infant mortality rates, and inability to function effectively in the labor market. The wage disparities between men and women are also reduced. Analysis of poverty levels in Bangladesh shows that more than half of the people live below the upper poverty line (World Bank, From counting the poor to making the poor count, Dhaka, 1998). Education has been found to substantially reduce poverty levels; the incidence of poverty is higher among rural households, and heads of household who have no schooling (among the heads of households who have completed secondary education, only 7 percent were very poor and 15 percent poor). In addition, per capita consumption gains in rural areas range from 6 percent for households whose heads have completed some primary education, to 17 percent for households whose heads have completed secondary education. Consumption gains are augmented further with the educational attainment of the spouse: the higher the educational level the greater the gains in per capita consumption. For example, a rural household whose spouse has completed secondary school would gain 39 percent per capita consumption compared to only 4 percent per capita gain to a similar household whose spouse has some primary schooling. Secondary School Age Girls and their Families: The principal beneficiaries of the proposed program are girls in rural Bangladesh who want to enroll in secondary school and their families. The tuition assistance for female - 10-

17 students encourages education institutions to enroll female students. The small stipend paid directly to girls eases the burden on poor rural families that lack the financial resources (especially cash) to cover the education-related costs of sending their daughters to school. The combination of these incentives has effectively closed the gender gap in the 118 participating upazilas during the FSSAP project. Up to 1.45 million girls are expected to participate in FSSAP II assisted schools by project-end. Young Women and Society: An additional benefit of the FSSAP stipend and tuition program has been a reduction in the number of young women below the age of 18 who are married. The program has a stipulation that remaining unmarried is a criteria for participation. The delay in marriage impacts on fertility rates. Intemational research has also indicated that educated mothers tend to have healthier, more productive families and experience reduced matemal and child mortality. All Participating Secondary School Students: The proposed FSSAP II includes an education quality component that will improve the quality of education in more than 5,000 participating schools. The benefits of better education will accrue not only to the female students but also to boys in these schools, resulting in lower dropout rate and improved pass rates on the SSC examination. Communities: Both the Quality and the Management, Accountability and Monitoring components of the proposed project include activities that will encourage parents and communities to take a more active role in ensuring better educational programs, school management and outreach. Inclusion of two women in SMCs of newly participating schools is expected to have a ripple effect on social norms and expand the roles that women can assume. Communities will also be provided relevant information and training to assist them with these functions. Although difficult to measure, it is expected that empowerment through a strengthened role in education could transfer to other services areas, such as health and social services. Female Education Professionals: The MOE has indicated that they intend to increase the number of women working in upazila offices and within the DSHE. FSSAP II will award fellowships to continue their education to FSSAP II girl graduates who commit to becoming primary or secondary school teachers. An increase in nurnber of women in teaching and administrative positions has a major impact on girls' education. Additionally, these women are income generators who are perceived in a more positive way by families and communities, contributing to change in traditional social practices that include negative views of women. Education Officers and The Ministry: There are a number of committed officers in the Ministry of Education. Recent legal restrictions on promotion and hiring, political interference in the decision making process, lack of training and other factors have tended to discourage them. Recognizing the role of DSHE as having a broader responsibility for secondary education, providing focused training and support for accountability and monitoring functions should provide incentive and encouragement to education officers to improve their performance and ultimately improve their stature among the professional community. Bangladesh: An improved education system and a significantly increased pool of educated workers (male and female) should benefit the country economically as well as help ensure social stability. 4. Institutional and implementation arrangements: The project will be implemented over a five-year period ( ) in 119 rural upazilas. The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education of the Ministry of Education will be responsible for the implementation of FSSAP II. As under the current FSSAP, an Inter-ministerial Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary MOE will facilitate project imnplementation and provide policy and decision-making guidance

18 The DSHE will establish (a) a Program Monitoring Unit (DSHE/PMU) within the Planning and Development wing of DSHE; and (b) a Project Operations Unit (DSHE/POU). The DSHE/PMU will be responsible for overall coordination among female education projects and related secondary education activities, as well as the maintenance of an integrated MIS database and monitoring and evaluation of the FSSAP II project. The DSHE/PMU will also be responsible for providing an independent report on FSSAP II activities to the MOE. The DSHE/PMU will consist of the Female Education Cell and the Monitoring and Evaluation Cell. The DSHE/POU will have three sections: the Operations Section will be responsible for implementation of the quality, stipend and tuition (including outreach) and school management and accountability component activities. The Finance and Administration Section will be responsible for finance, procurement, audit and monitoring and evaluation functions, as well as supervision of the disbursement bank (Agrani Bank). The Data Processing Center will be responsible for processing and disseminating school and participants data and prescribed reports. An Implementation Monitoring Officer will report directly to the Ministry about project progress. Agrani Bank will disburse stipends to FSSAP II students and tuition to participating schools as per the Participation Agreement with MOE. Upazila Project Offices (UPOs) will be responsible for assuring the timely and accurate processing of the forms required for stipend and tuition payment, facilitating and timely payment of stipends by Agrani branch offices, working with SMCs, school management and PTAs to implement the quality, outreach and school management and accountability component activities. School Management Committees (SMCs) will be responsible for ensuring school performance consistent with the agreed criteria and reporting. DSHE District and Zonal Education Offices (DEOs and DDs) will provide assistance to Upazila Project Offices for resolving problems at the school level. Monitoring and evaluation are an essential underlying and cross-cutting element of the Project, not least because there are a number of new and innovative activities that will require careful monitoring and assessment prior to scaling up. Improved accountability and school management, and ultimately school and student performance, require an institutionalized monitoring capacity in the Project at all levels. The Project has built in several mechanisms to ensure that systematic monitoring systems are created that lead to coordinated efforts. The DSHE/PMU has specific monitoring responsibilities - that of creating a database of female stipend programs, and using this database for analytical work that feeds into improved programming. The female education cell of the DSHE/PMU will also undertake studies that would further enhance the evaluative nature of studies required under the project. The DSHE/POU also has responsibilities for carrying out monitoring and evaluation work at the central level. The operations section of the DSHE/POU is the center of monitoring of field operations. Both the DSHE/POU and DSHE/PMU will be supported by the Data Processing Center in the DSHE/POU in their efforts to undertake monitoring by providing the data generated from operations. In addition to the specific responsibilities of the DSHE/POU and DSHE/PMU, there are a number of instruments that will be used to undertake performance-based monitoring - such as the random independent program audits, the performance audits, the annual tuition/stipend audits, and other research that will inform the Project about performance, progress, and lessons leamed. To ensure that accurate data and information are collected routinely, monitoring instruments such as the FSP forms have been revised. These, together with reports of the UPO resulting from their field and school visits, will serve to inform the wider evaluation efforts in the Project. Essential to project monitoring are input, process, output and outcome indicators for all the components and activities, allowing the implementation team to monitor performance against targets. In order to monitor against the indicators, field monitoring will be strenghtened through routine, regular and spot visits, as part of regular UPO operations by forming strong team efforts with field staff, Division teams, the DSHE/POU, with SMCs/head teachers. In sum, the Project places a lot of emphasis on monitoring and evaluation and recognizes that only coordinated systems and shared responsibility of monitoring will bring about the desired outcome - better

19 accountability in the Project, improved performance of the schools, and ultimately the students. Working together with the Borrower, IDA will conduct project supervision throughout the life of the project. Procurement: Procurement under the project will involve small quantities of goods, some civil works at the community level and services. Equipment, computers, vehicles, furniture and training materials are the major components for goods. Civil works for sanitation facilities at the community level under the "Improving the Quality of Secondary Education" component will be small and spread over widely dispersed geographical areas throughout the country. Services will include selected innovative sub-components, for instance, monitoring and evaluation program management studies, outreach-family attractiveness program, community mobilization, arsenic awareness, project management and audits. Procurement under the project will be handled by DSHE/POU with the support of DSHE. In the meantime, DSHE has formed a Procurement Core Team (PCT) entrusted with the responsibility of all procurement matters. Project-related procurement of goods and works will follow procedures outlined in the Bank's Procurement Guidelines. Consultants will be recruited according to the Bank's Consultants' Guidelines. Procurement of goods, works and services will follow the Bank's approved/standard documents. Goods estimated to cost the equivalent of US$200,000 or more per contract will be procured through intemational competitive bidding (ICB) procedure. Any goods estimated to cost less than US$200,000 equivalent per contract may be procured using national competitive bidding (NCB) procedure. Up to an aggregate amount of US$500,000 equivalent, goods estimated to cost less than US$20,000 equivalent per contract may be procured through national/international shopping procedure (NS/IS) by soliciting price quotations from at least three eligible bidders. Goods estimated to cost less than US$2,000 per contract may be procured through direct contracting. Consultants' services through firms estimated to cost US$200,000 equivalent or more per contract shall be procured on the basis of Quality- and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) method. Services through firms estimated to cost less than US$200,000 per contract may be procured following the Fixed Budget Selection (FBS) method. Other individual consultants will be hired on the basis of qualifications and experience in accordance with Section V of the Consultants Guidelines. Appropriate consulting services with costs less than US$50,000 per contract and training activities will be on the basis of Single Source Selection subject to prior agreement by IDA. IDA will carry out prior review of the following contracts: (a) for Goods, all contracts estimated to cost US$200,000 equivalent or more irrespective of procedures and the first one contract for procurement under NCB regardless of value. All other contracts including small works contracts to be implemented by the communities will be subject to selective post review by IDA; and (b) for Services, IDA's prior review will be required for consultants' services contracts estimated to cost US$100,000 equivalent or more for firms and US$50,000 equivalent or more for individuals. All single source contracts will be subject to prior agreement by IDA. Financial Management: Institutional Capacity Building in DSHE: The DSHE is currently implementing nearly 33 projects, both GOB and donor-funded. There has been no financial management capacity developed in the DSHE over the years to support new projects. The DSHE lacks financial powers to handle projects under its implementation. The lack of financial management capacity at DSHE has in turn caused delays in project implementation. DSHE's experience in implementing FSSAP lie with the former Project Implementation Unit established under that project. Thus, the current Finance Unit in FSSAP will continue in FSSAP II under the overall supervision of the Finance and Administration Unit of POU. Agrani Bank, through a Participation Agreement with MOE, will execute Stipend and Tuition funds of the Project

20 Disbursement: Disbursement of IDA funds will be channeled mainly through a Convertible Taka Special Account to be opened at the Agrani Bank Principal Branch, in accordance with the Participation Agreement. GOB's share of expenditure should also be made available in a separate account with the Agrani Bank. The funds flow process for the project will be as follows: - IDA funds will be channeled through a special account. - The GOB will allocate counterpart funds for the project on the basis of the annual development plan (ADP) and Ministry of Finance will release funds to MOE in four tranches against approved Project Proforma. The Chief Accounts Officer (CAO) of MOE will reimburse actual project expenditures upon receiving the statement of expenditure. - The DSHE/POU Project Director will be authorized to issue payments through checks, request payments to CAO for counterpart funds and withdrawal of funds from IDA Credit. - Agrani Bank will disburse stipend and tuition funds to students and schools through its branches on the basis of instructions received from DSHE/POU. To be eligible for disbursements of stipends and tuition, DSHE/POU will: (a) by April 1 of each year, commencing in Calendar Year (CY) 2002 (same as Academic Year: January through December), carry out a comprehensive review of the progress of the project during the preceding Academic Year; and (b) promptly fwunish IDA with the findings and recommendations of such a review, as well as a work program for the ongoing Academic Year. This will be a condition of disbursement for the stipends and tuition category. Retroactive Financing: The project will finance expenditures incurred in the stipends and tuition program during Academic Year 2001 through retroactive financing. Documentation requirements for retroactive financing will be the same as those needed for disbursement against payments made under the proposed FSSAP II Credit. IDA agreement to provide retroactive financing in the amount of US$11.49 million equivalent was confirmed at Negotiations. D. Project Rationale 1. Project alternatives considered and reasons for rejection: Targeting of tuition and stipends. The high cost and specified impact desired from the tuition and stipend programs make them obvious candidates for targeting strategies. Therefore, increased targeting will be tried and evaluated during project implementation. However, in view of the high administrative and political costs to targeting in Bangladesh, the option of modifying the program from the outset was rejected. First, it is unacceptable for the Government, which has, in fact, promoted the success of the program and has a commitment to its continuation. Second, research will be conducted on demand and constraints to access among un-enrolled girls, in far-flung communities, and in the poorest households. Third, although primary school enrollment rates have risen dramatically, for total enrollment from 45.9 percent in 1991 to 70.3 percent in 1998, and 47 percent of primary school students are female, only two thirds of girls finish class V and are eligible for class VI. The distribution of dropouts and the significance of primary participation on secondary enrollment is important to understand before targeting begins. Finally, the early experience of USAID when it instituted targeting suggested that it was very problematic to institute targeting once the program had been offered to all. During project implementation, FSSAP II will review the possibilities for additional targeting in the light of evaluation studies and outreach experience. Targeting will be tried and evaluated since a large part of the project will in fact be a "research lab". The Outreach sub-component could be characterized as "action research", designed not only to provide secondary education to those girls not enrolled and help new schools in poor areas, but also draw lessons/guidelines for future targeting (it should be noted that the ongoing project upazilas were selected based on a combination of their economic impoverishment levels --the "distress level" used by the GOB, low female

21 literacy levels, and low female attendance levels). The activities under the sub-component have been designed to answer questions such as: What are the factors that determine un-enrollment/existence of underserved girls? What are the determinants for the establishment of school in poor/remote areas? Why some schools do not participate in the program? How can SMCs/PTAs in existing schools encourage girls to attend? Expansion of stipend recipients. Paradoxically, while IDA debated the merits of targeting, Bangladeshi concerns focused on whether the stipend should be extended to boys, and to students in classes XI and XII. Extension of the stipend to boys was based on equity arguments and the remarkable success of the stipend programs to date. In 1999 the gross enrollment rate for girls in secondary school was percent, higher than the total gross enrollment rate of percent for boys. Although boys are now relatively disadvantaged there remain several rationales for continuing to focus the stipend and tuition on girls at lower levels of secondary education. First, investments in girls' education are still believed to have high long-term payoff. Second, there are not enough qualitative studies on what has brought girls in to secondary school and what keeps them, nor on what is taking boys out. However, research shows that boys consistently benefit from programs that target girls even if resources are not directly channeled to them. FSSAP project findings suggest that boys continue to fare well in school, even though they are not eligible for stipends. Third, girls' enrollment at the higher secondary level has been rising in the absence of stipends, and it is not clear that the provision of stipends would have as dramatic an effect on access as at the secondary level. And finally, the defining consideration, the Government cannot afford to expand the programs. Giving stipends to boys and girls (in fact doubling the costs) is financially unsustainable. Also, girls' numbers should not be reduced by half to give equally to girls and boys. In sum, girls must continue to be supported in supplemental ways in their aspirations and their achievements, or the country may end up going back on the gains made so far. Increase of stipend amounts. The value of the stipends is too low to cover all costs of sending a girl to school. These stipends do not enable very poor families to send their daughters to secondary school. Thus there is a desire to raise the value of the stipend for the very poor. This is a form of targeting, while holding the broad eligibility in place. Again, the constraints of cost and an inadequate research base for decision-making rule this out as a strategic option at this time. In addition, the majority of reports in the international literature on targeting suggest that targeting of individual girls or families is simply not cost effective. Since the stipend amount provided is not adequate to meet the SSC board exam fee, however, the project will increase the provision for the examination fee from Tk. 250 to Tk Reinforcement of current teacher training. Reinforcement of the current training scheme in Bangladesh (a year-long course of study leading to a B.Ed.) was rejected in light of research findings over the last two decades in many countries. The conclusion from research is that the current design of teacher training in Bangladesh is unlikely to be either effective or efficient. In Bangladesh there is no follow-up to training in the school or classroom. Research has shown that application of learning in the near-term following training, with support, guidance, and feedback linked to the training received, is critical to the development of skills and practice. Research also suggests that the most effective training is delivered in relatively short doses with an emphasis on mentored practice and supervision that reflects the principles and skills learned. Since the current scheme reflects none of these principles, the decision was taken instead to design a program of in-service training courses for all teachers. In addition, the ADB will contribute to improvements in the B.Ed. program, so IDA investment was not a priority. Curriculum and examination reform. The importance of a well-designed and administered examination system cannot be overstated. Teachers in Bangladesh, like teachers everywhere, tend generally to "teach to the test". Thus improving the examinations has tremendous potential for improving the quality of education. When the SSC tests reliably what the students know; tests the same content that is in the curriculum; tests the same content that the teachers teach; and is administered fairly to everyone, the SSC will be a strong force for better quality of education. If the exam is good and the curriculum is also strong, i.e., relevant to the needs of students and the society, quality will be markedly improved. Working to achieve this was rejected for two reasons. First, the - 15-

22 Government would be carrying out examinations reform and ADB has made this a top priority of the SESIP program. Second, not only scoring, but also writing of the exams was recently decentralized to the BISEs. 2. Major related projects financed by the Bank and/or other development agencies (completed, ongoing and planned). Latest Supervision Sector Issue Project (PSR) Ratings (Bank-financed projects only) Implementation Development Bank-financed Progress (IP) Objective (DO) Improve and expand non-formal Bangladesh - Non-Formal S S education; strengthen capacity to Education deliver programs through NGOs and (Credit 2822-BD) (Closed June district administration. 30, 2001) Increase equitable access to primary Bangladesh - General S S and secondary schooling; improve Education (Credit BD) - quality of education; strengthen Closed (OED: evaluation: management capacity; and prepare Satisfactory) future policies and programs for higher secondary and post-secondary education reforms. Improve school quality and system Bangladesh - Primary S S efficiency; establish a sustainable, Education Development (Credit cost-effective and better managed 0380-BD) education system; and ensure universal coverage and equitable access to quality primary schooling. Improve access to secondary education Bangladesh - Female S S and improve opportunities for rural Secondary School Assistance girls. Project (Credit 2469-BD) Improve and expand non-formal Bangladesh - Post Literacy and S S education; strengthen capacity to Continuing Education for deliver programs through NGOs and Human Development Project district administration and improve (Board date of 2/27/2001) links to labor market opportunities. Other development agencies Secondary education reforms Stipends for girls Secondary Education Sector Improvement Project (SESIP) (ADB) Female Education Support Program (FESP) (NORAD) Program to Motivate, Train and PROMOTE Employ Female Secondary Teachers for (Ei) Rural Schools IPIDO Ratings: HS (Highly Satisfactory), S (Satisfactory), U (Unsatisfactory), HU (Highly Unsatisfactory)

23 3. Lessons learned and reflected in the project design: Value of Educating Girls. Educating girls is an outstanding investment, because it yields high social as well as private returns. Evidence from many countries suggests that the GOB investment in rural girls' education should result in better health for women and children; later marriage and smaller families; greater community and political participation by women; decreased income inequality associated with gender and residence; increased productivity and a reduction in poverty. A recent impact study conducted by NORAD covered 780 girls who received stipends in the pilot programs. Results on the girls and their families show, inter alia, delays of up to 25 percent in the age of marriage, higher number of single child families, improved birth spacing, more females employed with higher incomes, decrease in the amount of dowries, and more confident and aware females who are involved in their children's education. Removing Gender Barriers. The project's emphasis on improving recruitment and placement of female teachers is grounded in research showing that parents are less willing to send their daughters to a school where all the teachers are male. Similarly, studies have shown that girls are sensitive to the physical quality of school facilities and are less likely to attend schools that lack the privacy of a latrine. Stimulating Demand for Education. The Bangladesh supply-side strategy of tuition and stipends to give girls access to secondary school was a ground-breaking program and has been the longest and most ambitious of its kind. It has been very successful. All indications are that a profound revolution has occurred in Bangladeshi society and that incentives to keep girls in school were a critical feature of that revolution. This result is the basis for sustaining the Female Stipend Program as the weightiest element of FSSAP II. The unanswered riddle is whether the effects of the stipend and tuition program are sufficiently profound to remain cultural norms even if the financial incentives are withdrawn. Because this program is in a sense, the world's vanguard program of its type, there are no obvious lessons to apply in answering this riddle. Experiences with incentive programs in other social sectors, for example health and population, show that interventions need to be sustained over long periods to effect lasting change, and that demand for social services among impoverished clients is very sensitive to price. The Government and donors need a much better understanding of demand, especially among families at the low end of the income spectrum to make informed decisions about continuation and possible targeting. There is also a need for much better understanding of the critical features of supply. Would demand be strong even without subsidies if the quality of education were better? Experiences elsewhere suggest this could be the case, and that furthermore poor quality of education eventually results in rising dropout and falling enrollment rates. Quality and efficiency considerations affect households very directly. If expectations for quality secondary education and employment for graduates are misunderstood and unfulfilled, the gains made in enrollments may erode. Additional analytical work on these issues is contemplated under FSSAP II. Quality of Education. One of the main lessons from the implementation of the FSSAP was that the project design did not, in fact, go far enough in improving the quality of education. Beyond the building of latrines and tubewells, FSSAP relied mainly on the requirement that girls in the stipend and tuition programs maintain a passing grade of 45 percent as an incentive for higher achievement. For those girls that dropped out, FSSAP provided occupational training in areas such as crafts and animal husbandry. In the design of FSSAP II, the occupational training component has been dropped -- it was felt that there were sufficient training programs of this -17 -

24 nature already being provided by NGOs, and the project did not want to run the risk of providing a perverse incentive for girls to drop out of school. Instead, more focus has been given to core educational issues - teacher training, and providing books and materials to schools through incentive programs. Teacher Training. As noted in the discussion of alternatives under the Project Rationale, the choice to focus on in-service courses for teachers is grounded in research on teacher effectiveness. Research has shown that application of learning in the near-term following training, with support, guidance, and feedback linked to the training received, is critical to the development of skills and practice. Finally, research also suggests that the most effective training is delivered in relatively short doses with an emphasis on mentored practice and supervision that reflects the principles and skills learned. These findings are being taken into account in the design of the proposed teacher training programs. Institutional Development. It has become a truism in development over the last twenty years that many of the potential benefits of projects - management skills, increased access to data - are lost at project closing if not integrated into the daily life of existing institutions. The design of FSSAP II reflects this lesson in the proposal to establish, in addition to the Project Olperations Unit, a Program Monitoring Unit (DSHE/PMU) as an institutional base for capacity building within the MOE/DHSE. The project's emphasis on a gradual transition of responsibilities from the previous FSSAP PIU, however, is also based on Bangladesh-specific project implementation lessons. Within the Bangladesh portfolio, the implementation record of FSSAP stands out as excellent; it would be risky to integrate project implementation functions too quickly given current capacity within the DSHE. Community Involvement Community involvement is essential for improving the quality and coverage of services in remote areas, as well as for program sustainability. Community awareness of the benefits of girls' education is already adequate in Bangladesh. Active community engagement with schools can now be promoted. International experience suggests that communities become actively engaged when they have meaningful responsibilities, control of resources, and accountability. These, along with good quality education for their children, are the incentives for community participation. FSSAP II reflects these lessons in seeking to improve the inclusiveness of SMCs (through requiring the participation of women members); providing local communities with training on school quality and management roles; and providing concrete incentives for community participation (school improvement proposals will have to involve parental participation). 4. Indications of borrower commitment and ownership: As discussed more fully under Section B.2 (Government Strategy), the Government has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to improving educational opportunities for girls and for more disadvantaged areas of the country. This commitment is reflected both in policy statements (such as the Fifth Five Year Plan ) and actions (such as the decision to expand the FSP program to all rural areas of Bangladesh in 1994 with substantial additional Government funding). Commitment to the FSSAP is evident in its good implementation record, and the fact that many of the implementation arrangements and monitoring instruments developed under the project have in fact been adopted by the Government and other donors for use in the FSP program overall. Support for a follow-on project (the proposed FSSAP II) has been one of the Government's top priorities in sectoral discussions with IDA. 5. Value added of Bank support in this project: The value added of Bank support for the proposed FSSAP II project is more technical than monetary. Ongoing support for stipend and tuition programs is currently being provided by the Government, ADB and NORAD in addition to IDA, although certainly the Government would have trouble making up the difference were IDA to discontinue financing. The real value of FSSAP, however, has been as a testing ground for innovations

25 This is the typical case of a "demonstration project". Approaches and instruments pioneered under FSSAP have tended to find their way into other Government and donor-funded programs and projects, including primary school initiatives. Given that it is unlikely that the Government will be able to continue to fund the stipend and tuition program in its current form indefinitely, FSSAP II will provide a very useful forum for exploring options for the future. Lessons learned here will also be applied elsewhere in Bank work, as the successes of FSSAP have spawned a second generation of stipend/scholarship projects that may face similar challenges as programs mature. In addition, the proposed FSSAP II includes not only support for the stipend and tuition programs but also attention to several quality and institutional issues. Here too, an attempt has been made to choose areas where innovative approaches will be tried and have the potential of influencing ongoing practice outside the project. Because the proposed FSSAP II straddles both supply and demand side issues, it places IDA in a good position to help bring various actors together --as the FSSAP II in fact tries to do in supporting better project coordination through helping to establish a Project Monitoring Unit within the DSHE. Moreover, as a lender with more than twenty years experience in the education sector in Bangladesh, it is important that IDA have a "seat at the table" in discussions of ongoing reform of secondary education. E. Summary Project Analysis (Detailed assessments are in the project file, see Annex 8) 1. Economic (see Annex 4): o Cost benefit NPV=US$ million; ERR = % (see Annex 4) o Cost effectiveness * Other (specify) The economic justification of the project rests on strong evidence that education, particularly for rural girls, substantially reduces poverty in Bangladesh. Analysis of poverty levels in Bangladesh shows that more than half the population lives below the (upper) poverty line. The incidence of poverty is higher among rural households, and those in which the head of household has no schooling. Among heads of the household who had completed secondary education, only 7 percent were very poor and 15 percent poor. Recent findings indicate that per capita consumption gains in rural areas range from 6 percent for households whose heads have completed some primary education to 17 percent for household heads who have completed secondary education. Consumption gains are augmented further with the educational attainment of the spouse: the higher the educational level the greater the gains in per capita consumption. For example, a rural household whose spouse has completed secondary school would gain 39 percent per capita consumption compared to only four percent per capita gain to a similar household whose spouse has only some primary schooling. The highest education attainment level of a population greatly depends on the education of parents, especially mothers. If both parents are educated, the probability that their children attain SSC/HSC and above increases substantially. Private retums to households to female secondary education are well established. In addition to monetary benefits to the families, investment in the education of girls yields social benefits especially in the areas of family health, education and population control. An analysis of the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey, 1996/97 and 1999/2000 (preliminary) data shows a strong positive relationship between women's education and quality of life indicators. The higher a woman climbs on the educational ladder, the better off she and her family score on most health and family welfare indicators. Women with no education have a fertility rate of 3.93, compared to 3.27 for women with some primary education, 3.0 for women who complete primary education, and 2.1 for women who complete secondary education or beyond. Education delays childbearing especially for young women between the ages of 15 and 19. For example, the percentage of young women without education who have begun childbearing is 54 percent compared to 39 percent for women with some or completed primary education, and 19 percent for women with secondary education or beyond. Similarly, the under five-mortality rate (per thousand - 19-

26 population) for children born to women with no education is almost twice (144) that of women with secondary education or more (78). The percentage of fully vaccinated children born to women with no education is 50 percent compared to 57 percent for children whose mothers have some primary education and 70 percent for children whose mothers have secondary or higher education. The percentage of women with no education who have ever heard of HIV/AIDS is 6 percent compared to 13 percent for women with some primary education, and 58 percent for women with secondary education or more. Social cost-benefit analysis represents an important tool for analyzing the desirability of social investments. The main computational difference between private and social rates of return is that, for a social rate of return calculation, the costs include the state's or society's at large spending on education. Hence, costs include the rental of buildings and professional salaries. Gross earnings (i.e. before taxes and other deductions) should be used in a social rate of return calculation, and such earnings should also include income in kind where this information is available. A key assumption in a social rate of return calculation is that observed wages are a good proxy for the marginal product of labor, especially in a competitive economy using data from the private sector of the economy. Civil service pay scales are irrelevant for a social rate of return calculation, although they may be used in a private one. The "social" attribute of the estimated rate of return refers to the inclusion of the full resource cost of the investment (direct cost and foregone earnings). Ideally, the social benefits should include non-monetary or external effects of education (e.g. lower fertility or lives saved because of improved sanitation conditions followed by a more educated women who never participates in the formal labor market). Since the costs are higher in a social rate of return calculation relative to the one from the private point of view, social rates of return are typically lower than private rates of return. The difference between private and social rate of return reflects the degree of public subsidization of education. The discounting of actual net earnings profiles is the most appropriate method of estimating the returns to education because it takes into account the most important part of the early earning history of the individual. However, this method requires comprehensive data --one must have a sufficient number of observations in a given age-educational level for constructing 'well behaved" age-earnings profiles (i.e. not intersecting each other). The major non-monetary benefits to be captured in the social cost benefit analysis for FSSAP II are: (a) reduction of dropouts and repetition rates; and (b) improved health and nutritional status due to delayed marriage and empowerment of women. In order to measure the effects of reduction in dropout rates, the flow students in different grades with and without the project could be estimated. Given these differences in flows, the out-of school benefits are calculated by using both the private rate of return to each grade of education. The monetary values of the improved health status could be calculated based on expert judged assumptions. 2. Financial (see Annex 4 and Annex 5): NPV=US$ million; FRR = % (see Annex 4) The main financial issues for the project relate to: (a) the adequacy of the overall Government expenditure in education, and within that, projected allocations to secondary and higher education and the stipend programs; (b) the equity of Government expenditure on education; (c) efficiency and wastage, particularly related to high dropouts and low SSC completion rates; (d) sustainability of recurrent costs of the stipend program; (e) the possibility of introducing targeting policies and mechanisms under the project; and (f) adequate accounting, financial and procurement staff in FSSAP II to ensure sound financial and procurement management systems, financial controls, and accountability for project finances

27 The project will significantly contribute to the sustainability of benefits from FSSAP activities by reducing dropouts, increasing SSC completion rate and improving the learning achievements. The project will also contribute to sustain the momentum gained in expanding the girls' enrollment at the secondary level. The present system provides free tuition and stipend to all secondary education girls eligible for the stipend. The stipend amount meets only a part of the direct cost and is the same for all. This scheme is simple and easy to implement, as it does not involve any selection of girls. It will be justified to continue the present system for some years on the assumption that it will help to sustain the momentum for girl's education in the country. Since this system does not take merit and need into consideration, it may not attract girls from the poorest families who cannot meet the partial cost of schooling. The most important issue relating to sustainability is of continuance of the stipend program after the completion of the project in There is a general consensus among both the donor community and government officials in Bangladesh that female stipend programs have been very beneficial, but are not sustainable in their present form. As the number of female students continues to increase with the improvement in primary education, there will be less government funds available to invest in efforts to improve the quality of education. The government would like to continue the program in its present form and review possible strategies for reducing the costs of the program during MTR. The feasibility of introducing the targeted interventions including the financial and management costs of such strategies will be analyzed during project implementation. Fiscal Impact: Projections of availability of resources to the secondary education subsector and its funding requirements are provided in Annex 4. GOB plans to restructure the education system and to improve access and quality of primary and secondary education will possibly lead to increased resource allocations to the primary and secondary subsectors in the years to come, particularly if the Government is successful in addressing the governance issues in the education sector. The fiscal impact and sustainability aspects of the female stipend program will be re-examined during the project Mid-Term Review, taking into account the reform steps contemplated by the Government and the availability of resources. 3. Technical: Technical issues relate to lack of information in a number of important areas and possible delays and difficulties in technical areas outside the scope of the project. With regard to the first issue, and as stipends are not sustainable in the longer-term, the project has been designed to ensure that research and monitoring and evaluation are specifically targeted to generate cost-effective and sustainable solutions. While supporting the stipends and tuition program to keep the momentum of girls enrollment for a while longer and sustain the level of awareness, research and monitoring and evaluation activities have been designed to find alternative solutions to get away from supply-driven behavior. As stated before (see D. 1 above), a large part of the project can be viewed as a "research laboratory". Indeed a full subcomponent (the Outreach Program) could be characterized as action research, since it will not only provide secondary education to those girls not enrolled, but will help schools in poor areas and draw lessons for future targeting. The activities under the subcomponent have been designed to answer questions such as: What are the factors that determine un-enrollment/existence of underserved girls? What are the determinants for the establishment of school in poor/remote areas? Why some schools do not participate in the program? How can SMCs/PTAs in existing schools encourage girls to attend? There are two main activities under this subcomponent: the Family Attractiveness Program (FAP) will pilot the identification of about 600 girls who are not in school, find out why, what needs they have and how can they be supported. The project will do a participatory evaluation of FAP before the Mid-Term Review towards identifying strategies for targeting individuals, communities and areas. The other

28 activity deals with New schools, and will be a living experiment which will support the establishment of 60 junior secondary schools where none exist. Finally, the project is designed to inform sectoral policy reform on girls education, teacher training and community participation. The project will support a new Program Monitoring Unit within the DSHE Planning and Development Wing designed to coordinate all secondary female education programs and work on monitoring and evaluation. Its terms of reference are to: share information; learn lessons; plan all female education programs; do periodic studies on female education issues; be a consultative/advisory body to DSHE; help with implementation of the Outreach Program; and be in charge of assessments and documentation for the Mid-Term Review. In sum, the lessons learned are to be channeled directly to policy decisions. With regard to issues outside the scope of the project, one of the most important concerns is curriculum and examination reform. Although the need for curriculum and examination reform is widely accepted, consensus on what should be done and why still appears elusive. Under the best of circumstances, curriculum and examination reforms are politically loaded and thus very difficult to achieve quickly and comprehensively. However, without them, and without better professional support for teachers, improvements of education and learning on a national scale are likely to be uneven at best. Although project activities could proceed in the absence of progress in this area, they would greatly benefit from such progress. Fortunately, the Government has issued and approved a new National Education Policy in 2000 which provides a reasonable framework for creating a plan to raise quality and efficiency at all levels, including the post-primary sector. 4. Institutional: 4.1 Executing agencies: The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education of the Ministry of Education will be the agency responsible for the execution of the project. 4.2 Project management: The project will support the strengthening of the management of the female secondary education assistance programs in Bangladesh. The establishment of the Program Monitoring Unit within the Planning and Development Wing is aimed at improving DSHE's capacity to provide the leadership and management needed to ensure adequate accountability and monitoring of the several female education projects, to coordinate project implementation units, and to address issues of sustainability of the female stipend program. As DSHE's capacity is strengthened, most of the operations activities will be the responsibility of a Project Operations Unit that will function as an integrated part of DSHE operations. The DSHE/POU will work closely with the rest of the DSHE wings and involve them in implementation with the goal of gradually shifting responsibilities (for example, the increased emphasis on quality and management accountability in participating schools necessitates improved coordination with the Training and Secondary Education wings within DSHE). This improved collaboration, in combination with the strengthening of the above Planning and Development Wing, is consistent with the Government's secondary education reform initiative that will strengthen DSHE and introduce performance management and monitoring to improve accountability. In particular, the DSHE/POU will work closely with the DSHE/PMU in order to ensure that coordinated efforts in planning and implementing monitoring and evaluation activities lead to better results in project operations. 4.3 Procurement issues: The Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR), broadly accepted by the Government, stated that procurement is a generic problem in Bangladesh. The CPAR identified a series of factors accounting for procurement problems in the country that include: absence of procurement law, poor advertisement, short bidding period, poor bidding documents, multiple evaluation committees, award of contract through lottery, negotiation, lack of professional competence, corrupt practices and pressure from special interest groups and collective

29 bargaining agencies. All procurement under the project will be handled by DSHE/POU, with support from DSHE. The procurement management capacity of DSHE/POU is not adequate although it has acquired some experience in IDA procurement procedures by implementing the IDA-financed FSSAP. There is no specific position in the DSHE/POU to deal with procurement. Based on the review, there are high risks associated with procurement. It needs strengthening. To mitigate these risks, DSHE has formed a Procurement Core Team (PCT) headed by the Project Director and charged with all procurement related tasks; designated a senior staff (Director Planning) to oversee all its procurement actions during preparation; have been using the services of a Procurement Consultant; conducted in collaboration with IDA a short training workshop on procurement (for goods and consultants' services) for the PCT and DSHE staff; and made provision under the project for one procurement position in DSHE/POU for the entire project period, and one Procurement Consultant for 12 person-months spreading over four years of the project. Annex 6 describes actions for strengthening the procurement management capacity. 4.4 Financial management issues: The FSSAP II will have a financial management system which is adequate to cater to minimum financial management requirements by Credit Effectiveness, after the appointment of a qualified Deputy Director (Finance) and an Assistant Director (Finance). The experience gathered from the previous project will greatly contribute to the implementation of the follow-on project under the DSHE. The DSHE has experience in managing FSSAP satisfactorily and has restructured implementation arrangements for FSSAP II for further improvements in the overall financial management system. The recently introduced Project Accounting Manual of the Government will also provide a framework for ensuring basic financial management system in FSSAP II. During the initial stages of project implementation, the key task is to further improve the financial management system in the project and the DSHE, and to address the current weaknesses. These tasks are: (a) appointment of a Chartered Accountant in the position of Financial Management consultant to facilitate the implementation of the computerized system; (b) finalization and adoption of the project Financial Management Manual; and (c) adoption of the computerized financial management system for the project. Although the project is already working on these three actions and expects to complete them soon, agreement has been reached that actions will be completed by August 31, The audit covenants of FSSAP have been complied with. Audit reports were received timely, and replies and remedial measures were taken on observations needing such actions. The MOE and the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) are in the process of resolving minor audit observations. The annual financial statement of FSSAP II will be audited by the C&AG and will be submitted to the Bank within six months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, a private audit firm will carry out annual audits of disbursement of stipends and tuition funds under terms of reference and selection method acceptable to IDA. The cost of such audits will be eligible for disbursement under the Credit. There is no substantial risk affecting the project financial management system. The risk is rated as medium/low and their mitigation measures are manageable and will be monitored closely during project supervision. 5. Environmental: Environmental Category: B (Partial Assessment) 5.1 Summarize the steps undertaken for environmental assessment and EMP preparation (including consultation and disclosure) and the significant issues and their treatment emerging from this analysis

30 The principal environmental concerns of the project relate to the need to ensure the provision of safe drinking water at schools, and the provision and maintenance of adequate sanitation. To address these issues, arrangements to guard against the arsenic contamination of drinking water have been agreed, and guidelines have been developed to inform the design, maintenance and use of latrines under FSSAP II. These arrangements and guidelines have been discussed with the Government and made publicly available prior to appraisal. 5.2 What are the main features of the EMP and are they adequate? 1. Provision of Arsenic-Safe Drinking Water Decisions regarding the installation of shallow tubewells (STW) will be governed by the protocol established by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE). Under this protocol, a STW can be installed in an area where less than 20 percent of STWs are arsenic-contaminated, provided there is no contaminated STW within 500 meters of the proposed site. Once installed, the STW must be tested for arsenic, and it can be used for drinking water only if the level is found to be below the national standard for drinking water (50 parts per billion -ppb). In areas where STWs cannot be installed under this protocol, or where an installed STW is found to be arsenic-contaminated, other options approved by the Government under the national arsenic mitigation program will be considered. These may include alternative sources such as deep tubewells, rain-water harvesting, dug-wells or pond-sand filters, or arsenic removal technologies. 2. Testing of Tubewells In addition to the testing at installation of new STWs, testing will be completed of the remaining untested tubewells installed under the first FSSAP, and all tubewells installed under both FSSAP projects will be tested twice yearly to safeguard against future arsenic contamination as a result of changing groundwater conditions. For quality assurance purposes, 5 percent of randomly selected samples will be analyzed in an independent laboratory with proven credentials. DSHE will be responsible for contracting all testing services, and UPOs will be responsible for coordinating the process locally, recording results and informing SMCs. SMCs will ensure that all arsenic-contaminated tubewells are painted red, following national practice, and will instruct students and staff not to use water from these tubewells for drinking or cooking. SMCs will be encouraged to assume responsibility for regular testing, using local NGO and private sector service providers. 3. Provision of latrines Latrines will provided based on designs agreed by the Facilities Department, MoE, and IDA. These designs will include the twin double-pit, six-ring latrines provided under FSSAP, but a broader menu of options will be developed, to include lower-cost alternatives. The Guidelines for Improvement of School Sanitation will be used to help develop the menu of design options, and to guide the maintenance and use of latrines supported by FSSAP II. In all cases, latrines for girls will be provided separate to those for boys. 4. Awareness Program The project will support a school awareness program in the management of arsenic risks, hygiene and sanitation. The concept of User Groups (UGs) to maintain the latrines and the tubewells introduced in FSSAP will be strengthened. UGs provide girls with leadership opportunities and help ensure that awareness of arsenic issues, proper use and maintenance of water and sanitation facilities, and other hygiene concerns are regularly presented and discussed at school, home, and in the community. Topics related to hygiene and sanitation, especially to arsenic problems, will also be integrated into in-service training for teachers and stakeholders

31 5.3 For Category A and B projects, timeline and status of EA: Date of receipt of final draft: 06/21/2001 An Environmental Analysis and Guidelines for Improvement of School Sanitation have been submitted on June 21, 2001, covering issues outlined under 5.2 above. 5.4 How have stakeholders been consulted at the stage of (a) environmental screening and (b) draft EA report on the environmental impacts and proposed environment management plan? Describe mechanisms of consultation that were used and which groups were consulted? SMCs were consulted during the preparation of the Guidelines for Improvement of School Sanitation, and DPHE was consulted in the development of procedures for provision of arsenic-safe water supplies. 5.5 What mechanisms have been established to monitor and evaluate the impact of the project on the environment? Do the indicators reflect the objectives and results of the EMP? Monitoring and evaluation activities under this sub-component will help ensure the quality of facilities installed, the quality of services delivered, their effective use, the functionality of tubewells/water systems and latrines, and the status of their operation and maintenance. Systematic leaming and adaptation (new technologies, lower cost inputs) as well as documentation of lessons will also be included. The SMC and its Project Implementation Committee (PIC) will supervise the construction works and maintenance of water supply and sanitation facilities, in conjunction with engineers from either the Facilities Department or DPHE. Communities will contribute 20 percent of the cost of water and sanitation facilities. In the case of deep tubewells, the communities' contribution will be 10 percent. On the basis of reports submitted by SMCs, UPOs will be responsible for recording the installation of new tubewells, the dates and outcomes of arsenic testing, the construction of latrines, and their operating and hygienic condition. DSHE will compile UPO records and will also contract annual audits of arsenic testing. The records compiled by DSHE and the independent verification of arsenic testing will be submitted for review by IDA during supervision missions. 6. Social: 6.1 Summarize key social issues relevant to the project objectives, and specify the project's social development outcomes. As described under the economic analysis section, education of rural girls contributes positively to increases in household income, decreased fertility, and better health and schooling outcomes for children. Education also helps to improve girls' and women's employment prospects and status in the community. The project will thus substantially contribute to reducing poverty in Bangladesh. Participation of the communities is a project goal expected to strengthen school quality, management and accountability, encourage girls to attend schools and support awareness and the maintenance of schools facilities. There are a number of locally-based school-specific actions that will be implemented to strengthen school quality, management and accountability. For example, School Management Committees are responsible for ensuring improved school management and accountability. The agreement to participate in the female stipend program signed by the SMCs has been revised and strengthened by specifying measures that further ensure accountability and that indicate steps to enforce these measures. Enforcement procedures were added as consequential action if irregularities and non-compliance are found and the agreement was made annually renewable. To increase female participation in the SMC, it was agreed that the MOE/DSHE will initiate the

32 necessary measures to issue a Notification that calls for SMCs to enhance female participation in school management by including at least two additional female guardians/parents on the SMC. This will be consistent with a similar Notification issued by the Primary and Mass Education Division (PMED) with reference to female members on primary schools SMCs. This Notification will be issued before the revised Cooperation Agreements with the schools are signed. Finally, to ensure better accountability and adherence to standards at the school level and for community management of schools, awareness raising programs (training, orientation, workshops) that focus on improving record maintenance, Head Teacher performance, and increased parents' participation in school management, have been agreed. In its effort to provide secondary education opportunity to secondary education age girls who are currently not enrolled, the project will support a program involving schools and community to encourage girls to attend school. The Family Attractiveness Program (FAP) will identify out-of-secondary-school girls from very poor families living in geographically remote and economically disadvantaged areas, identify the reasons why they are not in school, and address their needs for the five years of secondary school. A participatory evaluation of the FAP program will be conducted before the Mid-Term Review. In the case of remote and economically disadvantaged areas that do not have a secondary school for girls, the project will target some of the most depressed communities and assist in the establishment/recognition of a lower secondary school. An assessment of the implementation process and lessons leamed, supported by case study documentation, will be prepared by the DSHE/PMU for consideration at the Mid-Term Review. The project will also support an awareness program in hygiene and sanitation. User Groups will be involved in maintaining the latrines and the tubewells introduced by the project. User Groups will provide girls with leadership opportunities. User groups will ensure that awareness on arsenic issues, proper use and maintenance of water and sanitation facilities, and other hygiene concems are regularly presented and discussed at school, at home, and in the community. Topics related to hygiene and sanitation, especially to arsenic problems, will also be integrated into in-service training for teachers and stakeholders. All students, boys and girls, will benefit from these activities. 6.2 Participatory Approach: How are key stakeholders participating in the project? The primary beneficiaries of the project will be rural girls aged years. These beneficiaries will be involved primarily as learners. Additional beneficiaries include MOE/DSHE staff, headmasters, headmistresses and teachers. Some of these beneficiaries will get salary support, others training. Other key stakeholders include parents; upazilla, district, and division personnel; teacher training institutions; SMCs; parent-teacher associations, and other community members. These stakeholders will participate in the project through outreach and training opportunities, involvement in designing school quality improvement proposals, consultation on development of materials, maintenance activities, outreach programs and increased monitoring responsibilities. 6.3 How does the project involve consultations or collaboration with NGOs or other civil society organizations? The FSSAP II will support new, second generation-type information, education and communication activities designed to make communities buy in the issues of quality, accountability and sustainability. Some of the examples on how consultation and collaboration will be conducted are as follows: (a) FSSAP II will provide a grant to selected schools that have deficiencies and seek to make improvements based on proposals prepared by the institutions and endorsed by at least 75 percent of the parents of female students; (b) in addition to the maintenance of water and sanitation facilities described in 6.1 above, the SMCs will monitor and supervise the construction works in conjunction with trained engineers. The SMCs will be provided with adequate training and resources to effectively monitor and supervise construction works; (c) communities will contribute approximately 20 percent of the costs of water and sanitation facilities and in the case of deep tubewells, communities' contribution will be

33 percent; and (d) in the case of the outreach program that will assist in the establishment and recognition of new schools in remote areas, the final selection of potential participating villages will be a function of community commitment, i.e. parents signing agreements to send their daughters to school, establish an effective SMC, and provide resources to establish a school. In the case of the outreach program activities, a community mobilization specialist will be supported by the project to conduct surveys, and help design criteria and programs. 6.4 What institutional arrangements have been provided to ensure the project achieves its social development outcomes? Various institutional arrangements will secure the achievement of social development outcomes. Examples include: School Improvement Plans endorsed by parents; Cooperation Agreement signed annually by MOE and SMCs; Water Supply and Sanitation Agreement signed by the MOE and relevant SMCs; annual award ceremonies organized by the school community designed to encourage all parents to support greater achievement in school and to disseminate information regarding quality education to all community members. 6.5 How will the project monitor performance in terms of social development outcomes? Monitoring of performance of social development outcomes has been built into the project activities. In addition to the development and monitoring indicators (some of which relate directly to social development objectives), the Project will monitor as follows: - the Female Education Cell of the DSHE/PMU will be responsible for facilitating the sharing of information, lessons learned and planning of female education programs by conducting periodic studies of female education issues. - the Monitoring and Evaluation Cell of the DSHE/PMU, in coordination with the Data Processing Center at the DSHE/POU, will be responsible for (a) preparing annual statistical reports and comparative analyses of project performance supplemented by field research, and (b) providing third party oversight of the FSSAP II project stipend and tuition activities through the conduct of periodic random rapid studies (two per year), some of which will assess communities, parents and schools participation in improving school quality, management and accountability, girls enrollment and schools facilities. A team of international and national consultants will assist in the design of impact of program activities. - the Stipend and Tuition Cell of the DSHE/POU will conduct performance audits of 5 percent of schools, under contract to independent firms, to establish, inter alia, composition of the SMCs, activities of the parent-teacher organizations, and so on. These performance audits will be completed and analyzed before the Mid-Term Review, and will again be repeated just prior to the end of the project. - training activities for community and parents will monitor community responses and assess whether parents and local officials are well informed as to what to expect from the school and what their options are if the school does not meet these expectations. A program of orienting and training all concemed, including school officials, SMCs, head teachers, and parents, as well as union parishads and upazila officials will introduce some transparency and help re-establish community based accountability. - UPO and UAPOs will be more proactive in carrying out their monitoring responsibilities. With clear divisions of responsibilities and shared work burdens, a program of regular random visits to schools (ten or more per month) to review enrollment situation, follow up on agreed activities and discuss problems that concem schools, including community participation, will be introduced. - the project will complete a tracer study of girls participating in FSSAP to evaluate their overall educational, economic, and social outcomes

34 7. Safeguard Policies: 7.1 Do any of the following safeguard policies apply to the project? Policy Applicability Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01, BP 4.01, GP 4.01) * Yes 0 No Natural Habitats (OP 4.04, BP 4.04, GP 4.04) 0 Yes * No Forestry (OP 4.36, GP 4.36) C Yes * No Pest Management (OP 4.09) 0 Yes * No Cultural Property (OPN 11.03) 0 Yes * No Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20) 0 Yes * No Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) 0 Yes * No Safety of Dams (OP 4.37, BP 4.37) 0 Yes * No Projects in International Waters (OP 7.50, BP 7.50, GP 7.50) 0 Yes 0 No Projects in Disputed Areas (OP 7.60, BP 7.60, GP 7.60)* 0 Yes * No 7.2 Describe provisions made by the project to ensure compliance with applicable safeguard policies. No land acquisition is intended so OD 4.30 is complied with. OD 4.20 on Indigenous Peoples is not applicable since indigenous peoples will not be affected by the project. F. Sustainability and Risks 1. Sustainability: The proposed project will significantly contribute to the sustainability of benefits achieved during FSSAP by improving quality of teaching, increasing the participation of parents and communities, improving student learning, reducing dropouts, increasing SSC completion rates, and sustaining the momentum of girls' enrollment at the secondary level. An important sustainability issue is the continuity of the stipend program after the completion of the project in There is general consensus among both the donor community and Government officials in Bangladesh that female stipend programs have been very beneficial, but are not affordable and sustainable in their present form for the longer terrn. As the number of primary and secondary students increase, budget pressures will intensify. Government funds to expand schools and invest in improvements to the quality of education will be urgently needed. With this in mind, FSSAP II includes funds for additional research on the feasibility of targeting only the poorest students and/or the remote areas. Strategies for reducing the costs of stipend and tuition programs will be examined as part of the Mid-Term Review. 2. Critical Risks (reflecting the failure of critical assumptions found in the fourth column of Annex 1): Risk Risk Rating Risk Mitigation Measure From Outputs to Objective Teacher training proves ineffective N New teacher training programs will aim at proven in-service practice with feedback, extensive professional support and supervision. This will be further reinforced with head teachers training as well as other stakeholders training and awareness programs on the importance of quality secondary education

35 Improvements in facilities prove too M Research shows that school attendance and marginal to affect access and retention quality are positively correlated with the provision of safe water and sanitation facilities in the previous project. Stipend program fails to provide sufficient M The stipend program has proven extremely incentive for poorest girls and their effective in increasing girls' enrollment. The families outreach sub-component has been designed to address additional barriers for girls and schools in remote areas. Donor coordination among projects is M An additional impetus to donor coordination will ineffective be given through the DSHE/PMU. Also, EU, NORAD and ADB have been consulted during project preparation. The forthcoming NORAD-financed project will have similar quality enhancement and accountability components. DSHE lacks political support from MOE, S Accountability in secondary education is a Government, and/or communities for systemic problem. The FSSAP II design increased accountability measures provides for an incremental approach that will clarify contractual agreements, provide information and training to SMCs, broaden its membership and strengthen overall monitoring. Parallel programs to improve accountability are being supported by ADB's SESIP project. From Components to Outputs DSHE/MOE commitment to project N Both major political parties and Government wanes and there are problems with staff have shown to be fully behind secondary counterpart funds female education and have so far provided counterpart funds. In addition, GOB finances half of the country's upazilas on its own. Integration of project management M Project transfer of responsibilities in stages from activities into DSHE causes disruption of current PIU to DSHE units, backed by training project implementation support, implementation manual, technical assistance and effective financial management, procurement and M&E system, will alleviate this risk. There is insufficient interest on part of M Incentives and awards for schools and students schools and communities in incentive and will be widely publicized. Female SMC training programs members are expected to enhance communities' interest. Cash and school materials are considered adequate incentives. No agreement is reached among N GOB and donors are keenly aware of past participating stipend projects and banks delays in disbursement procedures. An

36 regarding streamlined procedures for stipend disbursement improved Participation Agreement with the Agrani Bank has been signed. Selection of candidates for overseas and N IDA will continue its practice of requiring in-country training is inappropriate no-objection for lists of staff undertaking overseas training and ensuring relevant and experienced agencies are involved. SMCs and local level elites do not support M Participation and community involvement outreach programs and attempt to block strategies change the distribution of power and efforts to broaden participation in school decision-making and thus, do face resistance. management and monitoring Increased awareness, stakeholders training and improved consultation, collaboration and responsibilities are recognized incentives to prevent irregularities and to balance undemocratic practices by local elites. DSHE/POU may not able to attract and M The network to hire qualified staff will be retain qualified financial staff expanded beyond Government source with attractive pay and job profile. PIP included TORs for key finance staff and support compensation package. Delay in timely submission of statement N Time bound action plan has been reached with of expenditure from Agrani Bank to Agrani Bank for timely submission of SOE. DSHE/POU, DSHE/POU to Chief Steps taken to improve Project Financial Accounts Officer (CAO)/MOE, which in management system for ensuring timely tum would delay the release of submission of SOE to CAO/MOE. counterpart fund; project implementation would suffer due to this problem Overall Risk Rating M Given the good implementation record of the FSSAP and GOB's strong support for a follow-on project, the overall risk rating can safely be assessed as "Modest". Risk Rating - H (High Risk), S (Substantial Risk), M (Modest Risk), N(Negligible or Low Risk) 3. Possible Controversial Aspects: G. Main Loan Conditions 1. Effectiveness Condition The following are conditions for Credit Effectiveness: 1. The Project Proforma (PP) for carrying out the project has been approved by GOB. 2. Key staff for the Project Operations Unit have been appointed, all with job descriptions and qualifications

37 satisfactory to the Association. Key staff are the: (1) Deputy Director for Finance and Administration; (2) Assistant Director for Financial Management; and (3) Procurement Officer. 2. Other [classify according to covenant types used in the Legal Agreements.] Disbursement Condition To be eligible for disbursements of stipends and tuition, DSHE/POU will: (a) by April 1st. of each year, commencing in 2002, carry out a comprehensive review of the progress of the project during the preceding academic year; and (b) promptly furnish IDA with the findings and recommendations of such review, as well as a work program for the ongoing academic year. Other agreements reached at Negotiations: The project will be carried out in accordance with the Implementation Program in Schedule 4 to the Development Credit Agreement. MOE will establish and maintain at the DSHE: (a) a Project Operations Unit (POU) responsible for implementing the Project, and to be headed by a Project Director who will be accountable to the Director General, DSHE; (b) a Program Monitoring Unit (PMU) responsible for coordinating female education projects and related secondary education activities, as well as maintaining an integrated MIS database and monitoring and evaluation of the Project. GOB has appointed Agrani Bank to be responsible for Project-related banking activities. DSHE entered into a Participation Agreement with Agrani Bank satisfactory to IDA, which includes procedures for stipends distribution, Agrani's Bank's responsibilities for maintaining records, and auditing of Agrani Bank activities under the Project. DSHE will maintain a financial management system, including records and accounts, and financial statements, adequate to reflect the operations, resources and expenditures related to the Project, prepared in a format acceptable to IDA. DSHEIPOU will maintain throughout the Project's implementation period a computerized financial management system acceptable to IDA. DSHE will, by August 31, 2002: (a) have completed, installed, tested and implemented the computerized financial management system, and related training of staff; (b) have completed and implemented a financial management manual; and (c) have appointed a financial management expert consultant to facilitate the implementation of the computerized system. DSHE will no later than October 31, 2002, start preparing and submitting to IDA quarterly Project Management Reports. DSHE will furnish to IDA no later than six months from the end of the fiscal year, audited financial statements from an independent auditor acceptable to IDA. DSHE will appoint private audit firms to audit annually the disbursement of stipends and tuition funds under the Project. DSHE will carry out two performance audits of the Project through appointed auditors, the first one, covering two and half years from the Effective Date, and the second one, covering the following period ending December 31,

38 DSHE will open and maintain a separate Convertible Taka Special Account. DSHE/POU will handle procurement under the Project. For procurement of goods, financed in part or in whole from IDA funds, the Bank's Procurement Guidelines will apply. For consultants' services financed in part or in whole from IDA funds, the Consultants Guidelines will apply. DSHE will maintain adequate policies and procedures to enable the project to be monitored on an ongoing basis, in accordance with indicators satisfactory to IDA, the carrying out of the Project and the achievement of its objectives. DSHE will implement the Project in accordance with the Project Implementation Plan and the Stipends Operations Resource Manual, as revised and agreed with IDA. DSHE will cause every Project Educational Institution to establish and maintain until the completion of the Project, a School Management Committee, with tenns of reference acceptable to IDA. DSHE will enter into an annually renewable Cooperation Agreement with each Project Educational Institution satisfactory to IDA. The Cooperation Agreement will specify the purposes, major activities and expected duties to be carried out by DSHE and the Project Educational Institution and the eligibility criteria for participating under the Project. The Cooperation Agreement will be signed by each Project Educational Institution by December 31 for that Project Educational Institution to be eligible for the subsequent Academic Year. Prior to carrying out the Improved School Facilities Sub-component under Component One of the Project, DSHE/POU will enter into a Water Supply and Sanitation Facilities Agreement with each Project Educational Institution satisfactory to IDA. The Water Supply and Sanitation Facilities Agreement will specify the purposes, major activities, and financing mechanisms of the activities to be carried out by the Project Educational Institution. DSHE will maintain a Management Information System (MIS) under terms and conditions satisfactory to IDA. DSHE will use the MIS for, inter alia, tracking key Project indicators relative to the stipend program, and for monitoring and evaluating the progress of Project implementation. MOE/DSHE will maintain Upazila Project Offices in the Upazilas in the Project Area, and adequately staff them with personnel having qualifications and experience satisfactory to IDA. DSHE will: (a) prepare, under terms of reference satisfactory to IDA, and fumish to IDA, on or about May 31, 2004, a report integrating the results of the monitoring and evaluation activities on the progress achieved in the carrying out of the Project; and (b) carry out a Mid-Term Review with IDA, by July 1, 2004, or such later date as IDA will request. H. Readiness for Implementation D 1. a) The engineering design documents for the first year's activities are complete and ready for the start of project implementation. 1 I. b) Not applicable The procurement documents for the first year's activities are complete and ready for the start of project implementation The Project Implementation Plan has been appraised and found to be realistic and of satisfactory

39 quality. C: 4. The following items are lacking and are discussed under loan conditions (Section G): 1. Compliance with Bank Policies Z1 1. This project complies with all applicable Bank policies. D 2. The following exceptions to Bank policies are recommended for approval. The project complies with all other applicable Bank policies. Ana Mara Jeria Charles C. Griffin rederick Tho s Temple Team Leade J Sector Manager/Director Country Manager/Director

40 Annex 1: Project Design Summary BANGLADESH: Female Secondary School Assistance Project-lI Key Performance Data Collection Strategy Hierarchy of Objectives Indicators Critical Assumptions Sector-related CAS Goal: Sector Indicators: Sectorl country reports: (from Goal to Bank Mission) Consolidate gains in Improvements in gross and * Educational statistics 0 GOB commitment to educational access and net enrollment rates, and from BANBEIS improvements in equity and support efforts to educational attainment: * Household surveys education and equity improve educational quality overall, and considering remains high equity improvements by 0 Macroeconomic gender, by region and by performance does not income quintiles. deteriorate 0 Investments in education are well chosen and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction Project Development Outcome / Impact Project reports: (from Objective to Goal) Objective: Indicators: Improve the quality of, and 0 Increase in * Education Statistics * Government girls access to, secondary percentages of girls based on BANBEIS effectively implements education in rural areas of and boys taking and and project data secondary education Bangladesh. passing SSC exam * Annual project reports sector reforms and * Increase in percentage * Mid-Term Review projects of teachers who evaluation * Budgetary allocations receive in-service * Periodic program to secondary education training audits and special do not fall * Increase in number of studies * Community support schools qualifying for * Implementation for girls' education incentive awards Completion Report deepens, and pressure * Increase in net for quality enrollment rates for improvements builds girls in classes VI-X * Relevance and market * Increase in transition value of secondary rates for girls between education and classes V and VI and certification improves VII and IX

41 Key Performance Data Collection Strategy Hierarchy of Objectives Indicators _Critical Assumptions Output from each Output Indicators: Project reports: (from Outputs to Objective) Component: Quality of education *Number of teachers * MOE/DSHE report on * Training provided improved receiving in-service results of training results improves teacher practice training (26,800) under the (at Mid-Term Review) project *Number of * Training plans and * Even small improvements latrines/tubewells (4,000) outcome reports in school facilities will constructed in and schools *Annual project progress attract more girls to reports school, encourage school retention, and higher achievement Access and retention of girls * Simplified procedures for * Revised stipend operations *Stipends combined with increased stipend and tuition manual; including other measures will authorization and agreement for schools and continue to spur demand disbursement implemented for Agrani Bank for girls' education *Increases in girls' * Financial and performance enrollment (to 1,450,000) audits * Girls supported by Family * MOE/DSHE report on Attractiveness Program effectiveness of procedures (2,400) implemented and recommendations for targeting stipend (at Mid-Term Review) * Supervision mission observation and reports * Program Monitoring Unit * MOE/DSHE reports a DSHE has political in DSHE created and staff * Annual Progress Reports support from GOB as well trained as communities for increased accountability measures *Cooperation agreements * Mid-Term Review * Donor coordination is for education institutions * Random rapid studies effective to ensure clearly state conditions and * School performance audits complementarity between outcome objectives and * Cooperation Agreements projects and policies penalties *Number of SMCs receiving training (23,310)

42 Key Performnance Data Collection Strategll Hierarchy of Objectives Indicators Do Critical Assumptions Project Components I Inputs: (budget for each Project reports: (from Components to Sub-components: component) Outputs) 1. Improving the Quality $12.67 million For all sub-components: For all components: of Secondary Education *Annual Project Progress (i) Teacher Education, Reports * MOE/DSHE commitment Training and Support Supervision Mission to project remains strong observation and reports and counterpart funds are (ii) Incentive Awards for * Government and adequate and timely School Performance and Independent Evaluation of *Project management Improvement progress (at midterm continues to be effective (iii) Incentive Awards for review) with gradual transfer of Student Achievement responsibilities to DSHE (iv) Improved School Facilities 2. Increasing Access and $ million Component-specific Retention of Girls assumptions: (i) Stipends and Tuition (ii) Outreach Program 3. Strengthening $13.23 million *Incentive and school Management, management training Accountability and programs are well Monitoring publicized and there is (i) DSHE Program Management (ii) DSHE Project Operations (iii) School Management andi) Scchooluantagemen (iv) Staff Development sufficient interest on the part of schools and communities *Agreement is reached among all participating stipend projects and banks regarding streamlined procedures for stipend disbursement * Appropriate candidates area selected for overseas and in-country training. * SMCs and local elites support outreach strategies and can be persuaded not to block attempts to broaden participation in school management and monitoring

43 Annex 2: Detailed Project Description BANGLADESH: Female Secondary School Assistance Project-l1 The main development objective of the project is to improve the quality of, and girls access to, secondary education in rural areas of Bangladesh. The FSSAP II project sustains improved gender equity, and adds activities and incentives to improve the quality of education in participating schools and to improve both the management capacity of the Ministry of Education and monitoring and accountability mechanisms at the community level. FSSAP II extends the focus beyond access to quality by linking quality outcomes with stipends and tuition support. By Component: Project Component 1 - US$12.67 million Project Component 1: Improving the Quality of Secondary Education FSSAP II will support activities to improve the quality of education in classes VI to X. Goals and expected outcomes are improving student learning, attracting more girls to school, and increasing junior secondary school completion and SSC pass rates. The project will support teacher education, training and professional support, as well as community mobilization activities aimed at improving quality and classroom effectiveness of secondary teachers. The project will also provide incentives to schools and students for quality outcomes, and assist schools to improve their facilities. Sub-components are: (1.1) Teacher education, training and support for stakeholders; (1.2) Incentive awards for schools' performance and improvement; (1.3) Incentive awards for student achievement; and (1.4) Improved school facilities. Sub-component 1.1: Teacher Education, Training and Supportfor Stakeholders The FSSAP II project will support a more extensive system of in-service training for secondary school teachers. The project will provide: a) in-service training for teachers on lesson development, student-centered pedagogy, and gender awareness; (b) academic supervision and management training for head teachers to support the improved effectiveness of secondary teachers and a gender sensitive school environment; and (c) sustained in-service training for select schools and professional development opportunities for a group of expert teachers through the development of Mobile Training Resource Teams (MTRTs). The management and supervision training for head teachers will be developed and implemented by DSHE, adapting the modules currently under development in the Secondary Education Sector Improvement Program (SESIP), if possible. FSSAP II will also pilot and develop an in-service training program for all practicing teachers. The aim of all teacher education will be to develop a professional cadre of teachers who can skillfully reflect on their teaching practice and capably discuss pedagogy, content, assessment and learners' needs with fellow professionals. To further advance a collaborative and collegial model of professional development that has proven to increase student achievement, several upazilas will pilot the concept of the MTRT. Four master teachers of the MTRT will provide additional support to teachers in two area schools in four subjects in which girls are reported to have done poorly (and are weighted most heavily) on the SSC: Bengali, English, Mathematics, and science. If the innovative concepts make a demonstrable impact on educational quality, they will be scaled up after the Mid-Term Review. Other FSSAP II training will involve quality awareness training for: (a) Upazila Program Officers and Assistant Program Officers (UAPOs), who will be responsible for facilitating quality education

44 programs; (b) government officials at the field level who can influence quality improvement, such as the Upazila Nirbahi Officer, the District Education Officer and the Assistant District Education Officer; and (c) School Management Committees/Parent-Teachers Associations (SMC/PTA) members in FSSAP II participating institutions who can directly support improved school quality. FSSAP II will also award fellowships to continue their education to FSSAP II graduates who commit to becoming primary or secondary school teachers in rural areas. Sub-component 1.2: Incentive Awards for Schools' Performance and Improvement An excellence award will be introduced for schools that strive diligently to improve educational quality. It will be presented annually to one school in each "cluster" (clusters in this project are groups of approximately 35 schools in the larger upazilas) that demonstrates the greatest improvement in SSC pass rates and retention rates in classes VI through X. These indicators of quality are objective and verifiable at the central level and upazila level. Based on a proposal from the high achieving school, the school will receive an award that will benefit the entire school, e.g. a computer, science kits, library books, or other materials. A second award to schools that have deficiencies and seek to make quality improvements will be supported through the process of a School Improvement Planning (SIP) exercise. The SIP grant will be awarded to one institution in each training cluster over the life of the project. FSSAP II will provide the grant to the selected institution based on the proposal prepared by the institution and endorsed by at least 75 percent of the parents (mother or father) of female students eligible for stipends. Half of the grant will be disbursed on approval of the SIP plan and the other half when the school has achieved its SIP goals. Sub-component 1.3: Incentive Awards for Student Achievement FSSAP II will provide annual incentive awards to four girls in each school to encourage greater levels of student achievement. Girls in class VIII and class X who achieve the highest scores and whose end-of-year marks show the most improvement overall, will receive special recognition and a prize. The school PTA will organize an annual award ceremony, and will encourage all parents to participate in the function. This will provide the opportunity to disseminate information regarding quality education to all community members. Sub-component 1.4: Improved school facilities This sub-component will provide safe drinking water and twin latrine facilities to ensure that all students in FSSAP schools have access to clean drinking water and all girls to safe, private sanitation facilities. To this end, actions designed under FSSAP II will address the following: (a) testing of FSSAP and FSSAP II tubewells for arsenic contamination; (b) provision of safe drinking water at schools without tubewells; (c) provision of alternative safe drinking water at schools with arsenic contaminated tubewells; and (d) provision of latrines. The project will support a school awareness program and monitoring and evaluation activities. Project Component 2 - US$ million Component 2: Increasing Access and Retention of Girls FSSAP II will support activities to increase access and retention of female students in secondary education. The stipend and tuition program has proved to be an effective incentive to attract girls to

45 secondary schooling and therefore FSSAP II will continue providing stipend and tuition assistance to all eligible girls in 119 rural upazilas of Bangladesh. This program will be re-examined for possible modifications, including targeting, during the project's Mid-Term Review. The expected outcomes of this component are increased enrolment of girls in secondary schools, increased retention, SSC pass and secondary education completion rate, and reduction of early marriage. There are two sub-components that focus on access and retention: (2.1) Stipends and Tuition, and (2.2) Outreach. Sub-component 2.1: Stipends and Tuition The project will support about 6.3 million girl-years of education in classes VI - X during the project period, which covers 5 academic years starting from the year It is estimated that the number of girls to be supported by the project will increase from almost 1.0 million in 2000 to 1.4 million by More than 667,000 girls will complete class X and sit for the SSC examination during the project period. FSSAP II will continue to provide stipends and tuition to girls and schools at the existing rates twice a year, by the months of May (Jan-June semester) and November (July-Dec semester) of each year. Stipends and tuition consist of small grants, with extra funds to partially cover books in class IX and part of the costs for the preparation of SSC examination after completion of class X tests. The eligibility criteria for participation of girls and institutions in the program currently being used in the FSSAP will be enhanced. The eligibility criteria for the participation of institutions will be extended to include the past financial performance/record of the school and the commitment to recruit female teachers in the vacant posts. FSSAP II additional conditions will include: (a) the eligibility for new entry will be limited to classes VI and IX; (b) the inclusion in the eligibility criteria of the registration at the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) or the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board (BMEB) for girls studying in class X; and (c) the 45 percent mark criterion will be based on the trimester/half-yearly examinations. In order to further ensure accountability, FSSAP II will introduce a system of random sampling inspection or performance auditing by surveying at least 5% of the institutions and assess to what extent the stipulated eligibility criteria are met by the FSSAP institutions. The modality of processing information and disbursing stipends by old and new cohorts will be continued. The stipends and tuition amounts will be disbursed to girls and schools through a revised Participatory Agreement with Agrani Bank. A unified student ID coding system will be followed to reduce the burden on data collection and processing, and to minimize irregularities. Sub-component 2.2: Outreach The objective of this sub-component will be to provide secondary education opportunity to secondary education age girls who are currently not enrolled. The process of implementing activities in this sub-component will be documented and evaluated in order to develop guidelines that the Goverunent might use for future targeting of unserved/underserved youth, both in areas where there are schools, and in economically depressed remote areas. There will be two main activities in this sub-component: (i) extending support to unserved girls in existing school catchment areas, and (ii) providing help towards the establishment/recognition of new schools (lower secondary schools with classes VI to VIII) in areas where there is no secondary education facility for girls. Existing Schools: Despite the high level of awareness of the value of girls' education in Bangladesh, there is a substantial number of girls in FSSAP II catchment areas that are not attending schools. A program involving schools and comrnmunities will encourage girls to attend school. Girls from

46 poor families who pass the class V exam but do not enroll in class VI stay away from secondary school for a variety of reasons. The project will support a Family Attractiveness Program (FAP) to: identify out-of-secondary-school girls from very poor families living in geographically remote and economically disadvantaged areas, identify the reasons why they are not in school, and address their needs for the five years of secondary school. Support for girls identified to participate in the program will aim at meeting the direct costs of schooling and may include: (a) individual student support, such as, textbooks and learning aids, workbooks, school dress, and tiffin (food); and/or (b) transportation support to individual students. A participatory evaluation of the FAP program will be conducted before the Mid-Term Review. This small pilot program will test strategies for targeting individuals and underserved areas during the initial two years of the project and will provide useful experience and data to help Government focus on the stipends and tuition program at the Mid-Term Review. New Schools: There are a number of remote, economically disadvantaged unions that do not have a secondary school facility for girls. Disadvantaged union parishads in selected project upazilas will become the focal points for new schools entering the program. An outreach program, with limited one time financial assistance, will target up to 60 of the most depressed communities and assist in the establishment/recognition of a junior secondary school. Villages in the participating upazilas will be identified based upon having sufficient number of secondary school age girls and existence of a primary school, but no secondary school facility for girls. Final selection of the villages will be a function of community commitment. An assessment of the lessons learned will be considered at the MTR. Project Component 3 - US$ million Component 3: Strengthening Management, Accountability and Monitoring The FSSAP II will support activities to strengthen management, accountability and monitoring of the female secondary education assistance programs in Bangladesh. The expected outcomes of this component are improved capacity to plan, manage and monitor quality female education programs, reduced irregularities and wastage, and decreased fragmentation of donor assistance. This component has four sub-components: (3.1) DSHE Program Management, (3.2) DSHE Project Operations, (3.3) School Management and Accountability, and (3.4) Staff Development. Sub-component 3.1: DSHE Program Management The FSSAP II will help improve DSHE's capacity to provide the leadership and management needed to ensure adequate accountability and monitoring of the several female education projects, to coordinate project implementation units, and to address issues of sustainability of the female stipend program. The proposed project will help improve accountability and monitoring through the Program Monitoring Unit (DSHE/PMU) within the Planning and Development Wing (PDW). The proposed DSHE/PMU will have two operational sections: (i) one that will focus on coordination of female education programs, and (ii) one that will undertake monitoring and evaluation functions for DSHE. Thus the DSHE/PMUfemale education cell will be responsible for facilitating the sharing of information, lessons learned and planning of female education programs, including all female stipend projects, in order to minimize duplication of investment efforts and to help ensure that outcomes of one project benefit another. This cell will also conduct periodic studies of female education issues and could also serve as part of the consultative body to the Director General DSHE for planning future investments in female education. The DSHE/PMU monitoring and evaluation cell will be responsible for establishing an integrated MIS database which includes all female education programs, conducting periodic

47 comparative analyses based upon the information in the database, supplemented as needed by field research, and providing oversight of the FSSAP II project (and possibly others) stipend and tuition activities through the conduct of periodic independent program audits (two per year). Sub-component 3.2: DSHE Project Operations Under FSSAP II, most of the operations will be the responsibility of the DSHE/POU that will function as an integrated part of DSHE. The DSHE/POU will work closely with other DSHE wings and involve them in implementation. This improved collaboration, in combination with the strengthening of the Planning and Development Wing, is consistent with the Government's secondary education reform initiative that will strengthen DSHE and introduce performance management and monitoring to improve accountability. In particular, the DSHE/POU will work closely with the DSHE/PMU in order to ensure that coordinated efforts in planning and implementing monitoring and evaluation activities lead to better results in project operations. The DSHE Project Operations Unit (DSHE/POU) will have the following three sections: (i) the Operations Section; (ii) the Finance and Administration Section (FAS); and (iii) the Data Processing Center (DPC). The Operations Section will be responsible for overseeing the quality, stipends and tuition, and the outreach activities, and will also have administrative responsibility for overseeing UPO operations. The FAS will be responsible for financial management, procurement and quality assurance through monitoring and evaluation. The DPC will be responsible for processing and disseminating FSSAP II data, as well as informing about the process of disbursement of stipends and tuition. The DPC will also work closely with the DSHE/PMU on establishing and maintaining the integrated female education MIS database. The Upazila Program Offices will be improved through implementation of a better ratio of professional staff to schools (which will result in improved monitoring in large upazilas), provision of computers (to improve accountability monitoring, timely processing of forms and reports and coordination with Agrani branch offices), increased number of female professional and support staff. Sub-component 3.3: School Management and Accountability Quality assurance and financial accountability begins at the school level. The Project will support improved monitoring by DSHE, as well the following specific actions to strengthen school management and accountability: (i) Monitoring of the school as per the SMC/Head Teacher responsibilities agreed to in the annually renewable Cooperation Agreement between the school and the Project. The UPO will be primarily responsible for ensuring that standards and accountability, including accurate maintenance of school records, are maintained at the school level through regular field/school visits; (ii) Training of SMCs/PTAs/others in School Management, Standards, and Accountability. To ensure better accountability and adherence to standards at the school level and for community management of schools, awareness training for that focuses on improving record maintenance, head teacher performance, and increased participation of parents in school management will be organized at the national, divisional, upazila and school levels. These trainings will have a strong emphasis on ensuring better performance at the school level, both by promoting SMC participation in management and by overseeing Head Master's performance in keeping accurate records;

48 (iii) Improving the monitoring responsibilities of UPOs. UPOs will be held accountable for timely and accurate school reports. A program of regular random visits to schools to review the enrollment situation, follow up on agreed activities and discuss problems that concem school management will be established, together with a monthly report to be submitted by the UPOs. The UPOs will publish locally the number of FSSAP II participating girls for each school to improve monitoring by PTA and others concerned; and (iv) Increasing awareness among field level government officers about the status of schools participating in the program. Since it may be a difficult task for the UPOs to deal with management and accountability issues that involve schools, a transparent and regular process of informing the upazila administration and local union parishad government about the program and status of school participation will broaden awareness and facilitate relationships that could be useful if there is a problem with an SMC or school. Sub-component 3.4: Staff Development Staff Development will be an essential part of capacity-building, especially for a project that has many new and innovative initiatives that require careful monitoring for program learning. The objective of this component will be to improve accountability and monitoring; as well as quality, by providing target training to key personnel in MOE/DSHE, including the DSHE/PMU and DSHE/POU. Several types of training, both domestic and international will be supported by the project. International training will take place at established institutions recognized institutions and universities. Domestic training may be provided by NAEM and/or other private sector organizations with demonstrated specialized expertise, or on the job at DSHE by qualified expert technical assistance. A staff development/training plan will be prepared, with the assistance of a staff development consultant, during the first six months of the Project to ensure thorough training needs assessment and matching them with appropriate learning and exposure opportunities. In addition to a plan that consists of domestic and international training, staff development also includes on-the-job-learning and skills transfer from the technical assistance in the Project

49 Annex 3: Estimated Project Costs BANGLADESH: Female Secondary School Assistance Project-Il Project Cost Summary % % Total (Local Million) (US$ Million) Foreign Base Local Foreign Total Local Foreign Total Exchange Costs A. Improving Quality of Secondary Education Teacher Education, Training and Support School Performance Awards Student Achievement Awards I Water & Sanitation Facilities Sub-total B. Increasing Access and Girls' Retention Tuition 1, , Stipend 4, , Outreach Sub-total 5, , C. Strengthening Management, Accountability and Monitoring DSHE Program Management DSHE Project Operations School Management & Accountability Staff Development Sub-total Total Base Costs 7, , Physical Contingencies Price Contingencies , TOTAL PROJECT COSTS 8, ,

50 Disbursement by Financiers (US$ Million) Govt. of Community Local Bangladesh IDA Participation Total Foreign (Excl. Duties & Amount % Amount % Amount % Amount % Exchange Taxes) Taxes 1. Civil Works Vehicles Equipment Furniture Books and Materials Local Training International Consultants National Consultants Awards Int'l Fellowships I 1. Grant facility Stipends and Tuition Incremental Salaries TADA Allowances OperationalCosts Total

51 Annex 4 Financial and Economic Impact BANGLADESH: Female Secondary School Assistance Project-lf I. Introduction This assessment of the financial and economic impact of FSSAP II examines economic and fiscal trends, education expenditure trends and allocation of government education expenditure by sub-sectors. It also provides an estimate of the resource envelope for the female stipend programs and an overall financial feasibility assessment of FSSAP II. In addition, private and social rates of return are estimated under different assumptions. II. Economic and Fiscal Trends The performance of the Bangladesh's economy remained satisfactory in the 1990s with generally sound macroeconomic management and significant economic liberalization. The average annual real GDP growth rate rose to 5 % during the last half of the 1990s and inflation remained modest throughout. GDP in constant price grew at the rate of 6% in 2000/01. During the last 5 years, per capita income in constant price grew at the rate of Tk.48 per month. During the last 5 years, agriculture registered a growth rate of 4.2% per annum and Bangladesh made a remarkable success in raising food grain production. Food production is expected to reach another record level of 26.4 million tons in 2000/01. The GDP was Tk.2413 billion in 1999/00. The per capita income was US$386 in 1999/00. An analysis of the distribution of GDP by sectors indicates a gradual shift of the economy from the agriculture sector to the manufacturing and service sectors. For example, the share of agriculture declined from 49.7% in 1972/73 to 26.8% in 1999/2000 and the services sector accounted for nearly 49 of GDP. Similarly, the Labor Force Survey 1995/96 indicates a slight decline in the share of agricultural employment in economically active population from 68.5% to 63.2% during 1990/91 to 1995/96. Sharp fluctuations in the agriculture annual growth rate are not uncommon in Bangladesh. Natural hazards, droughts, floods and cyclones usually generate pronounced fluctuations in Bangladesh. Investment in Bangladesh has increased over the last few years. In 1990/91, Bangladesh invested 18.7% of GDP (private: 12% and public: 6.7%). In 1999/2000 the percentage had increased to 22.4 % (private: 15.7% and public: 6.7%). With the opening of Bangladesh economy to global competition in recent years, the merchandise trade sector has shown an increasing trend. The share of merchandise trade in GDP increased from 17.6% in 1990 to 30% in Foreign direct investments (FDI) also increased substantially from US$30 million in 1993 to US$320 million during The sub-sectors that have attracted the bulk of foreign investment in Bangladesh are gas, power and telecommunication. In the 1990s, the size of government expenditure as a proportion of GDP remained between 13% and 14% of GDP. The share of the ADP and revenue budget in GDP was 7.7% and 6.4% respectively in 1998 and Of the total government expenditure, the share of ADP was 37% in 1990/91. Bangladesh's current debt-to-gdp ratio is moderate. Total external debt in December 1998 was US$15.9 billion. The extemal and internal debt as a ratio of GDP is estimated at 38% and 12% respectively. Since 1998/99, there has been deterioration in macroeconomic management with significant increases in fiscal deficits, rising domestic financing of the fiscal deficit and its magnetization; and inadequate administered price and exchange rate adjustments

52 The overall budget deficit averaged around 4.7 % of GDP during , with domestic financing averaging a modest 1.1 % of GDP during the same period. Since 1998/99, fiscal expansion has picked up pace, while donor assistance has leveled off and the tax effort has continued to be very low at around 7 % of GDP. The Government revised upwards the size of the FY2000/01 ADP, from the original Tk. 175 billion to Tk. 182 billion. The ratio of Government expenditure in GDP rose from 14.7 % in FYl999/00 to 15.4 % in FY2000/0 1. The ratio of government expenditure-in GDP is estimated to decline from 15.5% in 2000/01 to 15.2% in 2001/02. Domestic deficit financing has increased from less than 2.5% of GDP in 1998/99 and 3.7% in 1999/00 to further (3.5%) in 2000/01. In the FY2001/02 Budget, the overall central government fiscal deficit is targeted to decline to 5.4 % of GDP and domestic financing to 2.6 % of GDP. FY2001/02 revenue growth assumed is about 13 %, which could be achieved with revenue enhancing measures and decent nominal GDP growth. The Real Effective Exchange Rate remains appreciated (over 5 % relative to 1997). Gross official foreign exchange reserves were at a historic low of $1.3-$1.4 billion level (less than two months import cover) through the third week of March III. Education Expenditure Trends GOB's commitment to education is reflected in the increasing allocations of budgetary resources to education. The ratio of government education expenditure to GDP increased from 0.9% in to 2.1% in 1998/99 and remained at this level since then. The share of education in total government expenditure has increased from 8.8% in 1990/91 to almost 15% in 1999/00. Of the total government expenditure in education, ADP accounted 37.8% in 1999/00. Foreign assistance financed 12.7% of total education expenditure and 50% of ADP education expenditure in 1998/99. The share of education in total expenditure declined from 15.3% in 1998/99 to 14.7% in 1999/00. The budgeted share of education is estimated to be 14.9% for 2000/01 and 14.7 % for 2001/02. Total 2000/01 allocation to education constitutes 2.1 % of the estimated GDP-still low by developing country standards. Moreover, the proportion proposed to be spent for improving the quality of education (teaching-learning inputs for schools), relative to amounts proposed to be spent for expansion of salary subventions and new school constructions (both at the primary and secondary level) is relatively low (World Bank, 2000). IV. Household Expenditure on Education Apart from the opportunity cost, households contribute to education spending through payment of school fees, students' subsistence expenses, and purchase of textbooks, stationary and uniforms. Household expenditure on education is significant in Bangladesh. According to the Bangladesh Household Expenditure Survey 1995/96 (BHES), it is estimated that households spend Tk billion on primary and secondary education-the equivalent to about 2.1% of GDP. Since government primary schools and registered non-governmental schools do not charge tuition and provide free textbooks, per student household expenditure at this level is lower than at other levels (Tk.502 for males and Tk.540 for females). Household expenditure increases as students reach higher levels of education. For example, at the junior secondary level households spend twice that of primary level (Tk for males and Tk for females) and at the senior secondary level it is more than 4.5 times (Tk for males and Tk for females) that of the primary level. The cost items on which households spend for education are uniforms, books, exam fees, tuition, transport, private tutoring, hostel and others (Table 1). Spending on private tutoring accounts for the bulk of household spending

53 irrespective of the level of education. Table 1: Annual per student household expenditure (Tk.) Primary Junior Secondary Secondary Higher secondary Boys Girls Source: World Bank (2000), Education Sector Review V. Government Education Expenditure by Sub-sectors Primary and Mass Education (PME) and secondary education have been receiving priority in the allocation of resources. In 1998/99 almost 90% of government education expenditure was allocated to PME and secondary education leaving less than 10% to TEVT, higher education and other activities. The PME sub-sector received the top most priority in the allocation of resources within the education sector showing government commitment in providing primary education and adult literacy. Most of the revenue expenditure in primary education is used to finance staff salaries. Salaries account for over 96% of primary education expenditure. Government salary support accounted 64% of total school expenditure at the secondary level. The share of secondary sub-sector remained around 41 % in 1999/00. Most of the revenue expenditure in secondary is used to finance staff salaries. Staff compensation account for over 79% of revenue expenditure. VI. Expenditure in Female Stipend Program (FSP) Government expenditure on stipend programs is financed through the ADP budget. Government expenditure for stipend program including donor supports accounted for 14.5% of secondary budget and 6.0% of total education budget in 1998/99. Of the total amount spent on the stipend and tuition programs (Tk million) in 1998/99, GOB funded stipend project (FSSP) accounted for 59% indicating its strong commitment and ownership to the stipend program (Table 2). Table 2: Allocation to fem le stipend projects (in. million) Programs 19994/ / / / / / /01 FSSAP (IDA) FSSP (GOB) FESP (Norad) SEDP (ADB) Total Source: DSHE records and ADP VII. Access to Education and Equity of Public Spending At the primary level, the distribution of public spending on education is fairly equitable with a Gini coefficient of This is more equitable than the distribution of public spending on adult literacy, which has a Gini coefficient of The even distribution of benefits at the primary level demonstrates the effort that GOB has placed in primary education over the last decade. It is clear that primary education is reaching most children

54 Most children are not reaching higher educational levels, especially the poor. As students move up the educational ladder the distribution of benefits becomes inequitable. For exarnple, the Gini coefficient is 0.30 at the secondary level and 0.49 at the tertiary level. Secondary students who are at the top 50% of the income distribution receive 73% of the education benefits, and the top 20% of higher education students receives almost 50% of the benefits. Cost recovery at tertiary level is low and declining. It is estimated that poor households who make up 54% of total households receive only 15% of public spending in higher education, the remaining 85% being allocated to the non-poor household. The overall Gini coefficient for the distribution of public spending between different levels of education system is estimated to be 0.42, which is higher than for the overall income distribution in Bangladesh (0.31). VIII. Financial and Economic Impact Financial sustainability of the expenditure in female secondary education stipend programs depends on the capacity of the government to allocate required resources to the secondary education sub-sector, which in turn depends on the performance of the economy as a whole. In order to analyze financial sustainability of the proposed project during and after the project, the availability of resources to education, secondary education and female stipend programs (FSP) have been estimated. Incremental recurrent costs of the current and proposed projects except the stipend program are analyzed. The feasibility of allocating the required budget to the proposed project by the Government has been assessed. IX. Recurrent cost implications The ongoing FSSAP project financed the salary of the PIU personnel (72), UOPM staff (7 persons in each of 118 upazila) and salary of new teachers (800) and operating costs. The annual recurrent cost of the FSSAP is estimated to be Tk million (Table 3): Table 3: Recurrent cost estimate of the current FSSAP (Tk. million Cost item Description Annual liability 1. PIU salary 72 posts UPO staff salary 826 posts Fuel and maintenance Office accommodation 118 upazila project offices , Union office consumables TA/DA supervision Teachers salary 800 secondary teachers Miscellaneous/contingencies 2.50 Total Source: Project Pro-forma (third revision) The FSSAP ended on June 30, The 800 new teachers hired under the project are to be financed under the regular subvention system of the government. DSHE/MOE has shown its commitment to transfer the new teacher under the revenue budget and regularize the upazila level staff hired under the ongoing FSSAP. However, a strategic plan for the regularization of FSSAP staff is not available. The cost of stipends and tuition is also a kind of recurrent cost if the GOB is unwilling to phase out or introduce some targeting strategies. This component is planned to be financed under the FSSAP II on the assumption that GOB will introduce some kind of targeting measures to make the program sustainable after Generally it is difficult to include recurrent expenditures of development programs in the revenue budget since the Resource Committee headed by the Minister of Finance scrutinizes the need for regularization

55 As shown in Table 4, the recurrent cost liability of FSSAP II is estimated to be Tk million, which accounts 7.4% of the preliminary project cost (Tk million). This amount represents a negligible proportion of education budget (0.11 %) or total government expenditure or GDP. Table 4: Recurrent cost estimate of the FSSAP II (Tk. million) Cost item Description Total 2005/06 1. Incremental salaries a PMU 12 post b. POU 60 posts c. UPO 833 posts Other recurrent costs Total recurrent cost % of FSSAP II Total Education 579, ,979 expenditure Liability % Source: Project Pro-forma (third revision) X. Government Expenditure Required for Education More public resources will be required to increase the quality and efficiency of education at all levels. A long run perspective study (Bangladesh 2020) conducted by the World Bank and the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (1998) recognized the need for increasing public spending on schooling to a level of 3% of GDP by The Report of the National Education Policy Committee recommended to raise the proportion of government education expenditure in GDP to 5% by 2000 and 7% by Between the National Education Policy Committee's recommendation of 5% and the actual allocation level of about 2.0 %, public expenditure on education faces a gap of 3 % of GDP. The Bangladesh Education Sector Review (World Bank, 2000) identified public resources requirements for expanding coverage and improving quality under 8 alternative scenarios: V/ Scenario 1: Current coverage and Quality v Scenario 2: Universal five years at existing quality by 2003 V/ Scenario 3: Universal 8 years by 2008 at existing quality and trends / Scenario 4: Universal five years by 2008 with investment in improving primary quality / Scenario 5: Universal 8 years by 2008 with investment in primary quality / Scenario 6: Universal 8 years by 2008 with investment in primary and lower secondary quality V/ Scenario 7: Universal 8 years and 50% coverage of secondary age cohort by 2008 with investment in primary and lower secondary quality $ Scenario 8: Universal 8 years and 50% coverage of secondary age cohort by 2008 with investment in primary and lower secondary quality, and trend growth of other sectors The review pointed out that there is no need to increase the share of government education expenditure in GDP to maintain the existing coverage with low quality of education system (Scenario-I); universal 5 years or 8 years with existing quality level (Scenario 2 and 3); and universal five years of primary education with investments in improving primary quality (Scenario 4). However, in order to improve the quality of primary education with universal 8 years by 2008 and maintain existing enrollment rates at other levels (Scenario 5), the proportion of expenditure has to be raised to 2.9% of GDP or 18.6% of total government expenditure by Government budget allocation to education has to be increased to 4.1% of GDP or 27% of total government expenditure by 2008 to improve quality as well as expand

56 the coverage of secondary, higher secondary, TEVT and tertiary levels (Scenario 8). XI. Government Expenditure Requirement for Female Stipend Program It is estimated that female stipend projects would require US$539 million during (six fiscal years) or US$90 million per annum on average. (Table 5). Table 5: Estimates of Resources Required for FSP ( ) (Tk. Million) 1998/ 1999/ / 2002/ 2003/ 12004/0S 2005/ 2006/ /a Total Total requirement for FSP FSSAP cost estimates % of FSSAP Source: Mission estimates a! Project start up year Assumptions made to estimate financial requirements for female stipend programs, are given in Table 6: Table 6: Assumptions used for Projection of FSP budget requirements 1998/ /07 1. Secondary GER 50% 70% 2. Share of Girls in secondary enrollment 50% 54% 3. Percentage of secondary girls receiving stipend 87% 87% 4. Average stipend/tuition costs (US$) per girl Total secondary education girls (Million) Number of secondary education girls who receive stipend As shown in Table 6, girls' secondary education enrollment will increase from 4.38 million in 1998/99 to 5.48 million in 2006/07 as both the GER at the secondary level and the proportion of girls in secondary enrollment are assumed to increase during the project period. The average unit cost of stipend/tuition per girl is expected to increase, as all female stipend programs would focus on quality during the project period. XII. Availability of Resources to Secondary Educafion Sub-sector The availability of Government resources for the female secondary stipend projects is estimated under alternative scenarios based on the assumptions regarding growth of GDP and revenue, proportion of foreign assistance and internal borrowing in GDP, government expenditure allocation to education and its sub-sectors. Table 7 presents a summary of the assumptions used for the estimation of budget availability for education sector and secondary sub-sector including FSP under three scenarios (base case, optimistic case and plausible case). The base case assumptions are based on the existing situation where as plausible case assumptions denote what would possibly happen during the project period. The assumptions used under the plausible scenario are: nominal GDP will grow at a rate of 11.0% per annum and real GDP by 6% per annum, GOB revenue will grow at the same rate as GDP, the proportion of GOB expenditure to be financed from foreign assistance and domestic borrowing will be 3.2% and 3.0% of GDP, the overall size of the education budget will be 16.5% of GOB's expenditure, allocations to secondary education sector will be 45% of GOB's education expenditure, and the FSP will receive, on average, 6.2% of GOB's education expenditure

57 Table 7: Summary of Assumptions Base Case Optimistic Case Plausible Case 1. GDP growth rate % Constant price Current price Revenue growth rate % % of GDP Foreign assistance Internal borrowing % of Ed in total Govt. Exp % Secondary in Ed. Exp % of FSP in Govt. Ed. Exp The projections of budget availability are given in Table 8. Under the plausible scenario, it is estimated that during , the education sector could receive US$10.9 billion of which the share of secondary sub-sector would be US$4.9 billion (FSP: US$0.7 billion and others: US$4.2 billion). Table 8: Availability of Budget for FSP ( ) Tk. million Scenario 1 Base Case / / / / / / / / I. GDP(Takabillion) Total us mil 2. Govt Expenditure Govt Ed Expenditure Govt Secondary 3714 Expenditure Govt FSP Expenditure Scenario 2: Optimistic Case 1998/ / / / / / / / / GDP (Taka billion) Total US $ mil 2. Govt Expenditure Govt Ed Expenditure Govt Secondary 5614 Expenditure Govt FSP Expenditure Scenario 3: Plausible Case 1998/ / / / / / / / / GDP (Taka billion) Total US S mil 2. Govt Expenditure GovtEdExpenditure Govt Secondary 4567 Expenditure _ 6. Govt FSP Expenditure Source: Mission estimates XIII. Overall Feasibility Assessment Based on the projection of availability of resources for FSP (under plausible scenario), the resource envelope for FSP during the project period ( ) is estimated to be Tk. 35,878 million (US$628 million). The funding requirement of the FSP sub-sector is estimated at US$539 million, which falls within the projected limits. The size of the proposed project (US$144.6 million) is about 27% of the estimated available budget for the sub-sector. If the economy grows at an annual rate of 6% in real terms and

58 government allocates 16.5% of the total government expenditure, including those funded via external donors, to education and 6.2% of education allocations to FSP, the overall sustainability of the sub-sector will be ensured. However, resource requirements for the secondary sub-sector would increase if the government implements the policy of universal access at the lower secondary level (class VI-VIII) without allocating additional resources and this would have adverse implications for resource availability for the FSP. The stipend and tuition unit cost per girl takes account of the need to spend additional funds for enhancing quality, but any efforts to implement aggressive quality improvement programs without additional funds for the secondary sub-sector would have adverse effects on the proposed quality enhancements. On the other hand, GOB plans to restructure the education system and to improve access and quality of primary and secondary education may possibly lead to increased resource allocations to the primary and secondary subsectors in the years to come, particularly if the Government is successful in addressing the governance issues in the education sector. The overall feasibility, fiscal impact and sustainability aspects of the female stipend program will be re-examined during the project Mid-Term Review, taking into account the reform steps contemplated by the Govermment and the availability of resources. XIV. Sustainability of FSSAP II The project will significantly contribute to the sustainability of benefits from FSSAP activities by reducing dropouts, increasing SSC completion rate and improving the learning achievements. The project will also contribute to sustain the momentum gained in expanding the girls' enrollment at the secondary level. The present system provides tuition and stipends assistance to all eligible secondary education girls in rural upazilas. The stipends amount meets only a part of the direct cost and is the same for all. This scheme is simple and easy to implement, as it does not involve any targeting of girls in the locality. It would be justified to continue the present system for some years on the assumption that it would help to sustain the momentum for girl's education in the country. Since this system does not take merit and need into consideration, it may not attract girls from the poorest families who cannot meet the partial cost of schooling. The most important issue relating to sustainability is of continuance of the stipend program after the completion of the project in There is a general consensus among both the donor community and government officials in Bangladesh that female stipend programs have been very beneficial, but are not sustainable in their present form. As the number of female students continues to increase with the improvement in primary education, there would be less government funds available to invest in efforts to improve the quality of education. The government would like to continue the program in its present form and review possible strategies for reducing the costs of the program during MTR. The feasibility of introducing the targeted interventions including the financial and management costs of such strategies will be analyzed during project implementation. XV. Private Rate of Return The standard rate of return analysis was applied to the 1995/96 Household Expenditure Survey data to estimate the private returns to schooling in Bangladesh. Findings showed that each additional year of schooling yields about a 10 % return on the earnings forgone by the household (Table 9)

59 Table 9: Annual Rate of Retum by Level of Education (%) a/ Additional year Primary Junior Sec Secondary Higher Higher of schooling b/ Secondary Male Female Rural Urban T Total Source: World Bank (2000), Volume I (pp 88-94), Bangladesh Education Sector Review, Dhaka Notes: a' Based on extended Mincerian Regressions b/ Based on standard Mincerian Human Capital Function Regressions The estimated private rate of return is much higher for the female household heads (16.5 %) than the male heads (9.2 %). The rate of return for the household heads in the rural area was 9.5 %, whereas the rate for those in urban areas was 10 %. The earnings of a primary school completer is on average 52.6 % higher (annual rate of return of 10.5 %) than those who have no schooling and those who have some primary schooling but did not complete it. The additional annual rate of return after completing junior secondary and secondary education is 7.4 % and 10.8 % respectively. The marginal annual rate of return drops to a meager 4.9 % for the higher secondary school completers and increases to 16.2 % for the bachelor's degree holders. XVI. Social Rate of Return The private returns based on estimated Mincerian regressions, take into account only the forgone earnings (indirect costs) as the cost of education. Estimates of high cost private rates of retum, social rates of return and public subsidy index take into account the individual and government cost of educational investment associated with moving an individual from one education category to the next (Table 10). The estimates were obtained using a short-cut method given by the formula below. Alain Mingat and Jee-Peng Tan (1988, ppl ) have argued that the short-cut method can be a useful tool for estimating the rates of return in situations where only limited information is available, as this method provides estimates of the same order of magnitude as those obtained using the complete method: R=(Ess - Eps)/(n*Eps + n*css) where R = rate of return; Ess = average earnings of secondary school graduate; Eps = average earnings of primary school graduate; n = duration of secondary education; Css = average annual cost of secondary education (direct cost); and n*eps = earnings forgone due to secondary schooling. The numerator estimates net earnings due to secondary schooling, that is average earnings of secondary school graduates minus earnings forgone because of secondary schooling. The denominator estimates total cost which equals forgone earnings plus direct cost. The first three rows in Table 10 are estimates of private rates of return: the first based on the Mincerian regressions, the second measuring costs as forgone earnings only, and the third, adding the household expenditures on fees and other school related items (for example, transportation, books and required school uniforms). The fourth row is based on the estimates of the full resource costs (equivalent to private costs and all subsidized costs) and reports social rates of return. The estimates suggest that the social rate of

60 return for secondary education for females was 16.2 %, which is almost double the estimated returns for males (8.6 %). The returns to junior secondary and secondary education for females in Bangladesh are not only positive but also are above the good investment threshold. Table 10: Private and Social Returns (Low Benefit Scenario) a/ In annual percent Junior Secondary Secondary 1. Private Rate of Return Male Female Total Male Female Total Mincerian estimate b/ * Low cost estimate c/ High cost estimate d/ L2.Social Rate of return e/ Public Subsidy Index f/ a/ Only monetary benefits measured in terns of increased earnings are considered. It is assumed that an average student requires 3.8 years to complete a 3-year cycle of junior secondary level and 2.6 years to complete a 2-year secondary cycle. b/ Costs = forgone earnings only (Mincerian) c/ Costs = forgone earnings only (short cut method) d/ Costs = forgone earnings plus household expenditures e/ Costs = full resource costs including public expenditures fl Public Subsidy Index is the % by which high cost private return exceeds social return Since the costs are higher in a social rate of return calculation relative to the one from the private point of view, social rates of return are typically lower than private rates of return if non-monetary private gains and external benefits are ignored. The difference between private and social rate of return reflects the degree of public subsidization of education. The estimates of public subsidy index show that Government subsidy to junior secondary and secondary education is low (around 3 %) and it is higher for females than for males, which reflects the high priority given to female education through the implementation of female stipends program in rural Bangladesh. XVII. Social Rate of Return with non-monetary benefits The estimates in Table 10 were obtained by ignoring non-monetary gains and external benefits and hence the social returns are lower than private returns. Theoretically, the social rate of return should include non-monetary benefits or other external benefits - benefits not captured by the individual student or if education is treated as a family investment, by the individual student and his/her family. Non-monetary benefits that are considered while estimating social rates of return with non-monetary benefits are (a) gains due to improvements in family and health indicators and (b) reductions of wastage in terms of dropouts and repetitions, thereby increasing the internal efficiency of the education system. Improvements infamily and health indicators: In addition to monetary benefits to the families, investment in the education of girls yields social benefits especially in the areas of family health, education and population control. Education can play a substantial role in improving quality of life of the population. An analysis of the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey, 1996/97 and 1999/2000 (preliminary) data shows a strong positive relationship between women's education and quality of life indicators (Table 11). Table 11: Family and health indicators by level of women's education

61 No Primary Primary Junior Secondary Weight education incomplete complete sec a/ + b/ Total fertility rate Ideal number of children Under 5 mortality (per 1000 population) Children not receiving full set of vaccines (percent) Children malnourished- height/age (percent) Children malnourished -weight (percent) Family and health Index Percent decrease Source: Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 1996/97 a/ estimated b/ assumed The higher a woman goes in the educational ladder, the better off she and her family scores in most health and family welfare indicators. A weighted index has been prepared to assess the contribution of each level of education in improving the health and family indicators. Based on the weighted index, it can be observed that junior secondary and secondary education of females contributes to improvements in the family and health index by 16 % and 13 % respectively. Increase in efficiency of the system: The FSSAP II aims at increasing the quality of secondary education with emphasis on retention of girls in schools. This would contribute to reductions in educational wastage in terms of dropouts and repetitions. These reductions of wastage are reflected in terms of decreased average number of years required to complete the junior secondary and secondary education cycle. This means that both the opportunity cost of forgone eamings and direct cost of schooling will be reduced leading to positive contributions in increasing both the private and social rates of return estimates. Table 12 presents the numbers of years required to complete the cycle in 2001 and the proposed target for 2006 for both males and females. Table 12: Numbers of years required to complete thecycle Junior Secondary Secondary Table 13 shows the estimates of rates of return taking into account both monetary and non-monetary benefits. In order to quantify non-monetary benefits of junior secondary and secondary education, it is assumed that improvements in family, health and other social indicators account for an increase in the net monetary earnings of 25 % (junior secondary) and 20 % (secondary) for females and 15 % (junior secondary) and 10 % (secondary) for males. It is also assumed that an average student requires 3.6 years to complete a 3-year cycle of junior secondary level and 2.4 years to complete a 2-year secondary cycle. Since these assumptions are best judgments based on the observed socio-economic indicators, the results have to be interpreted with caution. The results given in Table 13 again confirm that social rates of return for both junior secondary (10.5 %) and secondary (I I %) education are high to justify government investment in the sub-sector. In particular, secondary education for females is the best investment from both the individual and society's point of view as shown by the private and social rate of return of about 22 % and 21 %

62 respectively. Table 13: Private and Social Returns High Benefit Scenario) in annual % Alternative I a/ Junior Secondar Secondary 1. Private Rate of Return Male Female Total Male Female Total * Mincerian estimate b/ * Low cost estimate c/ * Highcostestimated/ Social Rate of Return e/ a/ It is assumed that due to improvements in family and health indicators, net monetary earnings will increase by 15 % (junior secondary) and 10 % (secondary) for males, and by 25 % (junior secondary) and 20 % (secondary education) for females. It is assumed that an average student requires 3.6 years to complete a 3-year cycle of junior secondary level and 2.4 years to complete a 2-year secondary cycle b/ Costs = forgone earnings only (Mincerian) c/ Costs = forgone earnings only (short cut method) d/ Costs = forgone earnings plus household expenditures e/ Costs = full resource costs including public expenditures Private and social rate of return estimates have also been calculated under alternative assumptions (pessimistic) regarding the percentage increase in the net monetary benefits of junior secondary and secondary education when the monetary values of non-monetary benefits are included. The estimates given in Table 14 show that the social rate of return for female education was high for both junior secondary (above 11 %) and secondary (20 %) levels. Table 14: Private and Social Returns (High Be nefit Scenario) in annual % Altemative 2 a/ Junior Second Second 1. Private Rate of Return Male Female Total Male Female Total * Mincerian estimate * Low cost estimate * High cost estimate Social Rate of Return a/ It is assumed that due to improvements in family and health indicators, net monetary eamings will increase by 10 % (junior secondary) and 5 % (secondary) for males and by 15 % (junior secondary) and 10 % (secondary education) for females. The other assumptions are the same as in Table 5. XVIII. Social Rate of Return with external benefits The social rate of return estimated in the previous sections considered mainly the monetary and non-monetary benefits accruing to the individual households. The external benefits of female education, particularly in terms of a better society for all is not easily measurable but has potentially tremendous impact on social transformation. Some education economists have therefore argued that adding external benefits to estimates of social rates of return would result in estimates about twice as large as those measured according to the standard method (World Bank, 1997)

63 Annex 5: Financial Summary BANGLADESH: Female Secondary School Assistance Project-lI Years Ending -I. - W L.MEN-FA JJPERl-O Year I Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Total Financing Required Project Costs Investment Costs Recurrent Costs Total Project Costs Total Financing Financing IBRDIIDA Government Central Provincial Co-financiers User FeesiBeneficiaries Others Total Project Financing Main assumptions: (a) Disbursements of Retroactive Financing in Year 1 of about US$13.5 million equivalent. (b) Others - Community participation (US$ 235,000 total); annual breakdown differs due to rounding

64 STIPENDS AND TUITION - IDA FINANCING BY FISCAL AND ACADEMIC YEAR (US$ '000) IDA Financing (Fiscal Year) 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 Total A. First Semester (Jan-Jun) Grade 6 1, , , , , ,392.5 Grade 7 1, , , , , ,542.6 Grade , , , , ,327.4 Grade 9 2, , , , , ,887.0 Grade 10 1, , , , , ,537.8 Subtotal First Semester (Jan-Jun) 6, , , , , ,687.3 B. Second Semester (Jul-Dec) Grade 6-1, , , , , ,422.0 Grade 7 1, , , , , ,621.1 Grade , , , , ,284.2 Grade 9-1, , , , , ,904.2 Grade 10-1, , , , , ,403.8 Grade 10 Pass ,832.2 Subtotal Second Semester (Jul-Dec) 6, , , , , ,467.5 C.SSCBoardExamfee , , , , ,490.5 D. Retro. Fin - First Sem. (Jan-Jun) Grade Grade Grade 8 1, ,018.3 Grade 9 2, ,227.6 Grade Subtotal Retro. Fin -First Sem. (Jan-Jun) 6, ,153.6 E. Retro. Fin -2nd Sem. (Jul-Dec) Grade Grade Grade Grade 9 1, ,341.7 Grade Grade 10 Pass Subtotal Retro. Fin - 2nd Sem. (Jul-Dec) 5, ,331.3 Total Investment Costs 18, , , , , , ,130.2 IDA Financing (Academic Year) CY2002 CY2003 CY2004 CY2005 CY2006 Total Academic Year 2002 (incl. Retroactive Fin.) 25, ,079.3 Academic Year , ,894.2 Academic Year , ,479.9 Academic Year , ,894.9 Academic Year , , ,

65 Annex 6: Procurement and Disbursement Arrangements BANGLADESH: Female Secondary School Assistance Project-lI Procurement General Description 1. The total value of the Project is US$ million, of which the IDA Credit will finance US$ million equivalent. Procurement under the project will involve small quantities of goods, some civil works at the community level and consultants' services. Civil works for sanitation facilities at the community level under the "Improving Quality of Secondary education" component will be small and spread over widely dispersed geographical areas throughout the country. Services will include, among others, firms and individual consultants' services for selected innovative sub-components, as well as for project management, operations, monitoring and impact evaluations. 2. All IDA-financed procurement of goods and works will follow procedures outlined in the Bank's "Guidelines for Procurement under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits ", published in January 1995, and revised in January and August 1996, September 1997, and January Consulting services and training will be procured in accordance with the Bank's "Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers, " published in January 1997, and revised in September 1997 and January Procurement of goods, works and services will follow the Bank's approved/standard documents. Goods (US$2.15 million) 3. Goods to be financed under the Credit include: computers, vehicles, fumiture, audio-visual equipment, office equipment, off-the-shelf software, training material, photocopiers, air coolers, etc. Most procurement, except a few, under the project is expected to involve small contracts. The nature of such small contracts is unlikely to attract the interest of foreign bidders. (i) International Competitive Bidding (ICB): Goods and equipment contracts estimated to cost US$200,000 equivalent or more, with a cumulative value of approximately US$1.5 million equivalent, will be procured using ICB. Procurement of vehicles and computers will follow ICB. (ii) National Competitive Bidding (NCB): Goods and equipment contracts estimated to cost less than US$200,000 equivalent, up to an aggregate limit of US$500,000 equivalent, may be procured using NCB. Procurement of fumiture, air coolers, digital photocopiers, program management manuals, etc. will follow NCB. (iii) National/International Shopping (NS/IS): Individual of off-the-shelf items with an estimated value less than US$20,000 equivalent per contract, up to an aggregate limit of US$500,000 equivalent, may be procured through shopping procedures by soliciting three price quotations from eligible suppliers. Procurement of teaching kits, training materials, audio-visual equipment, office equipment, computer desks, etc. will follow NS/IS. (iv) Direct Contracting (DC): Computer software, books, materials with individual contract costs of less than US$2,000 equivalent, up to an aggregate limit of US$100,000 equivalent, may be procured following DC

66 Works (US$2.20 million) 4. All works to be financed under the Credit are water and sanitation facilities, involving deep tube-wells, shallow tube-wells and latrines at the community level to ensure that all students in FSSAP schools have access to clean drinking water and all girls to safe, private sanitation facilities. These works will be spread over widely dispersed geographical areas across the country and will be implemented throughout the project period through Community Participation (CP). Similar to FSSAP (Credit 2469-BD), the sanitation works with individual contract of very small amount, estimated to cost less than US$2,000 equivalent, will be carried out by the community through a School Managing Committee (SMC) in accordance with agreement between the Project Authority and the SMC, described in Attachment 1. A Project Committee at the community level will plan and implement the actual construction works under the overall supervision and monitoring by SMC. Communities will contribute 20 percent of the cost of water and sanitation facilities. In the case of deep tube-wells, communities' contribution will be 10 percent. Consultants' Services and Training (US$10.24 million) 5. Major consulting services include: monitoring and evaluation program management studies, training and materials development, outreach/family attractiveness program (FAP), community mobilization, arsenic awareness program, project management and operations, school management training, system management and audits. The aggregate value of consulting services to be procured is estimated to US$2.25 million. (i) Quality- and Cost- Based Selecton (QCBS): Consulting services through firms estimated to cost US$200,000 or more per contract will be procured following QCBS. Contracts include: monitoring and evaluation program management studies and school management training. (i) Fixed Budget Selection (FBS): Services through firms estimated to cost less than US$200,000 per contract may be procured following FBS. Contracts include: outreach (FAP), community mobilization, project management, arsenic awareness, and audits contracts. (iii) Single Source Selecton (SSS): Services for assigmuents that meet the requirement of paragraph 3.9 of the Consultants Guidelines may be procured following SSS, subject to IDA's prior agreement. Contracts include: mid-term review, random rapid and tracer studies, impact studies, external evaluation for outreach, testing of tube-wells and quality assurance of arsenic test. (iv) Individual Consultants (IC): Services for assignments for which teams of personnel are not required and the experience and qualifications of the individual are the paramount requirement will be procured through individuals in accordance with Section V of the Consultants Guidelines. Individuals will be selected on the basis of their qualifications for the assignment. Contracts for specialists include: system management, training materials development, school improvement, and female education. 6. FSSAP II will provide: a short management training to Head Teachers; pre-service teacher training on gender awareness; an in-service teacher training; and a sustained in-service training and professional support to teachers at selected FSSAP schools. Local training focusing on improving record maintenance, Head Teacher performance, and increased participation of parents in school management will be organized to ensure better accountability and adherence to standards at the school level and for community management of schools. Such training will be in different phases, starting with national level workshops down to the divisional, upazila and school levels. Also, training will include staff development by providing targeted training to key personnel in the Ministry of Education, Directorate of Secondary and

67 Higher Education, including the Program Monitoring Unit (DSHE/PMU) and Project Operations Unit (DSHE/POU). This staff development training will be at selected international and domestic institutions with demonstrated specialized expertise. All training activities will be through single source selection. Local training, estimated to cost US$7 million, will be provided by Government institutions, for instance, Teachers Training College (TTC), National Academy for Education and Management (NAEM), etc. The aggregate value of training and fellowship activities is estimated at US$7.98 million. Awards, Stipends and Tuition (US$ million) 7. The project will support about 6.3 million girl-years of education in classes VI-X during the project period. FSSAP-II will continue to provide stipends and tuition to girls and schools at the existing rates, following the eligibility criteria being used in the FSSAP. Also, there will be provision for excellence award to schools and annual incentive awards to girls. This component does not entail procurement. Incremental Operating Costs (US$8.12 million) 8. The incremental operating costs of the implementing agencies, including staff salaries, rent, utilities, etc. will be covered under the project on a declining basis. Procurement and Selection Planning 9. The final draft Procurement Plan for goods and works and the Selection Plan for services have been prepared and attached to the PIP. Prior to issuance of any invitation for bids for procurement of goods and works and selection of services, the proposed Plan shall be furnished to IDA for its review and approval, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph I of Appendix I to the respective Guidelines. Procurement of goods and selection of all consultants will be undertaken in accordance with Plans approved by IDA and with the provisions of said paragraph 1 of Appendix I of the respective Guidelines. Use of Standard Documents 10. For ICB procurement of goods, the use of IDA's Standard Bidding Documents (SBD) is mandatory. For NCB procurement, DSHE/POU will use the SBDs for Goods approved by IDA. For small sanitation works undertaken by the community, the contract formnat in Attachment 1 will be used. For selection of consulting firms, the Bank's Standard Request for Proposals (RFP) including standard contract form will be used. The Bank's Standard Bid Evaluation Form for goods and Sample Form of Evaluation for consultants' services will be followed for submission of evaluation reports to IDA. Prior Review Thresholds 11. Goods and Works: IDA will carry out prior review of the following contracts: all contracts estimated to cost US$200,000 equivalent or more irrespective of procedures and the first one contract for procurement under NCB regardless of value. All other contracts including small works contracts to be implemented by the communities will be subject to selective post review by IDA. 12. Consultants' Services: IDA's prior review will be required for consultants' services contracts estimated to cost US$100,000 equivalent or more for firms and US$50,000 equivalent or more for individuals. All single source contracts will be subject to prior review by IDA. Training activities on single source basis will be with IDA's prior agreement

68 Post Review 13. For compliance with the Bank's procurement procedures, IDA will carry out sample post review of contracts that are below its prior review threshold. Such post review of contracts below the thresholds will be carried out for approximately up to twenty percent of the contracts awarded, using a three-pronged approach: (a) desk reviews of selected contracts forwarded by the borrower to IDA at its request; (b) on-site reviews during the supervision missions; and (c) reviews by external consultants. Review of Procurement Performance 14. IDA will monitor the compliance with the requirements of Bank's different procurement methods and performance standards on a continuous basis. As part of the project's planned Mid-Term Review, a comprehensive assessment of procurement performance will also be carried out. Based on the review, in consultation with the Government, IDA may revise the prior review threshold including the procurement and selection methods. Acceptability of NCB 15. In order to ensure economy, efficiency, transparency and broad consistency with the provisions of Section I of the Procurement Guidelines: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) standard bidding documents approved by the Association shall be used; invitations to bids shall be advertised in at least one widely circulated national daily newspaper and bidding documents shall be made available to prospective bidders, at least 28 days prior to the deadline for the submission of bids; bids shall not be invited on the basis of percentage premium or discount over the estimated cost; bidding documents shall be made available, by mail or in person, to all who are willing to pay the required fee; foreign bidders shall not be precluded from bidding and no preference of any kind shall be given to national bidders; qualification criteria (in case pre-qualifications were not carried out) shall be stated in the bidding documents, and if a registration process is required, a foreign firm determined to be the lowest evaluated bidder shall be given reasonable opportunity of registering, without any let or hindrance; bidders may deliver bids, at their option, either in person or by courier service or by mail; (viii) all bidders shall provide bid security as indicated in the bidding documents. A bidder's bid security shall apply only to a specific bid; (ix) bids shall be opened in public in one place immediately, but no later than one hour, after the deadline for submission of bids;

69 (x) (xi) (xii) evaluation of bids shall be made in strict adherence to the criteria disclosed in the bidding documents, in a format and specified period agreed with the Association; bid shall not be rejected merely on the basis of a comparison with an official estimate without the prior concurrence of the Association; split award or lottery in award of contracts shall not be carried out. When two or more bidders quote the same lowest price, an investigation shall be made to determine any evidence of collusion, following which (A) if collusion is determined, the parties involved shall be disqualified and the award shall then be made to the next lowest evaluated and qualified bidder and (B) if no evidence of collusion can be confirmed, then fresh bids shall be invited after receiving the concurrence of the Association; (xiii) contracts shall be awarded to the lowest evaluated bidders within the initial period of bid validity so that extensions are not necessary. Extension of bid validity may be sought only under exceptional circumstances; (xiv) extension of bid validity shall not be allowed without the prior concurrence of the Association (A) for the first request for extension if it is longer than eight weeks and (B) for all subsequent requests for extensions irrespective of the period; (xv) negotiations shall not be allowed with the lowest evaluated or any other bidders; Reporting (xvi) re-bidding shall not be carried out without the Association's prior concurrence; and (xvii) all contractors or suppliers shall provide performance security as indicated in the contract documents. A contractor's or a supplier's performance security shall apply to a specific contract under which it was furnished. 16. The DSHE/POU will prepare quarterly Procurement Monitoring Report (PROCMOR) as per specific formats agreed with GOB. Procurement Management Capacity 17. Procurement Issues: The Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR), broadly accepted by the Government in February 2001, stated procurement as a generic problem in Bangladesh. The CPAR identified a series of factors accounting for procurement problems in the country that, among others, include absence of procurement law, poor advertisement, short bidding period, poor bidding documents, multiple evaluation committees, award of contract through lottery, negotiations, lack of professional competence, corrupt practices, political influence and pressure from special interest groups and collective bargaining agencies. In order to implement the CPAR recommendations, the Government is preparing a technical assistance project "Public Procurement Reform Project ' to be financed by IDA. 18. Procurement Capacity: Carrying out of procurement in a timely and efficient manner is the essence of prudent project implementation. As a part of comprehensive and tightened project preparation, all procurement arrangements will be well defined and sufficient progress be made so that disbursement can start immediately upon Effectiveness. This implies that, for at least the first year's procurement program,

70 the bidding documents for goods and works will be issued, and the consultants' selection process sufficiently advanced so as to permit contract signature immediately after Credit Effectiveness. 19. Capacity Review and Risk Assessment: As the project will involve small quantity of procurement, the team reviewed the procurement management capacity of the implementing agency (DSHE/POU) with a view to: evaluate the capability of the implementing agency and of the adequacy of procurement systems in place to administer Bank-financed procurement, assess the risks that may negatively affect ability of the agency to carry out the procurement process and develop an action plan to be implemented as part of the project to address the deficiencies. The assessment included organizational aspects, skills of staff, and suitability of rules and regulations applicable to the agency. For assessment the team used the Bank's questionnaire partly and reviewed the record of the institution in handling procurement with specific relevance to the application of the Bank's written rules and procedures in practice. At that stage, the team shared views with the agency personnel. 20. The procurement management capacity of DSHE is inadequate, although it has some experience in IDA procurement procedures. For the IDA-financed FSSAP, a PIU, under the Director General of DSHE within MOE, was responsible for procurement. The amount of procurement in FSSAP was insignificant and so there was no specific position in the PIU to deal with procurement. The Assistant Director (Field Administration) had this responsibility, and he has some knowledge of the Bank's procurement procedures. However, specific experience and skills in using Bank's Procurement Guidelines, Bidding Documents, etc. and executing actual procurement following the Bank's procedure are lacking. Based on the review, there are high risks associated with procurement. 21. Strengthening Procurement Capacity: To mitigate the procurement associated risks and to strengthen procurement management capacity, the Government has taken following actions in agreement with IDA: (i) formed a Procurement Core Team (PCT) comprising five members with the DSHE/POU Project Director as head, including a mid-level procurement position with technical, financial and commercial capability. The TOR of the PCT include: preparation of procurement plan, bidding documents for goods, request for proposals for consultants, inviting bids, short-listing consultants, evaluating bids/proposals and awarding contracts; (ii) designated a senior staff (Director, Planning) to oversee all its procurement actions during the preparation of the project; (iii) used the services of a Procurement Consultant under PHRD grant who assisted DSHE in project preparation work related to procurement; (iv) conducted, in collaboration with IDA, a short training workshop on procurement (for goods and Consultants' services) for the PCT and DSHE staff; (v) prepared the procurement plan, issued general procurement notice, invited bids for the first year procurement (vehicles), and is preparing a shortlist of individual consultants; and (vi) made provision under the project for one procurement position in DSHE/POU for the entire project period, and one Procurement Consultant for 12 person-months spreading over four years of the project. 22. Action Plan: In addition to the above, the following time-bound action plan for strengthening management capacity and for completing tasks as readiness for implementation of the project has been agreed with IDA: Time Bound Action Plan

71 Actions Time Bound (a) Procurement Capacity Improvement: 1. Appoint Procurement Officer Before Credit Effectiveness 2. Appoint Procurement Consultant Immediately after Credit Effectiveness (b) Goods: Contract Packages for First Year (Vehicles) 1. Send bid evaluation reports to IDA February 20, IDA clears bid evaluation reports March 7, Issue notification of awards March 10, Sign contracts April 10, 2002 or Credit Effectiveness, whichever is later. (c) Consultants Service (First Year - individual consultants) 1. Finalize selection of individuals March 20, Obtain clearance of IDA (if US$50,000 or more) April 21, Sign contracts with individual consultants May 8, 2002 or Credit Effectiveness, whichever comes later

72 Procurement methods (Table A) 1. WORKS Procurement Arrangements (US$ o000) Procurement Method International National Competitive Competitive Bidding Bidding Other/a Total Civil Works - - 2, , (1,713.32) (1,713.32) 2. GOODS A. Vehicles 1, , (771.27) (771.27) B. Equipment (340.71) (76.49) (278.13) (695.33) C. Furniture (35.13) (35.13) D. Books and Materials (50.67) (94.09) (144.76) 3. SERVICES A. Consultants - 2, , (2,259.50) (2,259.50) B. Training & Fellowships - - 7, , (7,975.70) (7,975.70) 4. AWARDS, GRANTS, STIPENDS & TUITION A. Awards and Grants - - 4, , (4,983.83) (4,983.83) B. Stipends and Tuition , , (97,130.19) (97,130.19) 5. OPERATIONAL COSTS A. Incremental Salaries - - 5, , (3,714.64) (3,714.64) B. Operating Costs - - 2, , (1,477.18) (1,477.18) Total 1, , , (1,111.98) (162.28) (119,626.58) (120,900.85) Note: Figures in parenthesis are the respective amounts financed by IDA. All costs include contingencies. a/ Includes: (i) civil works to be procured through community participation; (ii) goods to be procured through international and national shopping and direct contracting; (iii) consultants' services to be procured through quality- and cost- based selection, fixed-budget selection, single source selection and individual selection; (iv) training to be provided by selected organizations; and (v) operational costs for the implementing agency. N.B.F. - Not Bank-Financed

73 Table Al: Consultant Selection Arrangements (Optional) (US$ thousand) Consultant Services Selection Method Total Cost' Expenditure Category QCBS FBS sss IC N.B.F. A. Firms , ~~~~~~~~~~(...) ( (...)()()() B. Individuals (.) I\ Including contingencies Total , ( ) () L: ) i W )f(. ).(.) Note: QCBS = Quality - and Cost - Based Selection FBS = Selection under a Fixed Budget IC - Individual Consultant N.B.F. = Not Bank-Financed Figures in parenthesis are the amounts to be financed by the Bank Credit Prior review thresholds (Table B) Table B: Thresholds for Procurement Methods and Prior Review Expenditure Contract Value (Threshold) Procurement Method Contracts Subject to Prior Review Category Goods (a) Vehicles US$200,000 or more ICB Prior review (b) Equipment US$200,000 or more ICB Prior review Less than US$200,000 NCB First one contract regardless of value. Less than US$20,000 NS/IS Post review (c) Furniture Less than $200,000 NCB Post review Less than US$20,000 NS/IS Post review (d) Books, Less than US$200,000 NCB Post review materials and software Less than US$20,000 NS/IS Post review Less than US$2,000 DC Post review Works Less than US$2,000 CP Post review Services Consultants' US$200,000 or more Quality- and Prior review

74 Services (firms) Cost-Based Selection Less than US$200,000 but US$ 100,000 Fixed Budget Prior review or more Less than US$100,000 Fixed Budget Post review Less than US$50,000 Single Source Prior review Selection Individual US$50,000 or more Qualifications Prior review Consultants Training & Single Source Prior agreement fellowships Overall Procurement Risk Assessment 23. Overall procurement risk assessment and mitigation measures are described in Paragraphs High Average Low X 24. Frequency of procurement supervision missions proposed: One in every six months. Besides, as part of the fiduciary control, post review of contracts will be carried out by Bank's staff, and auditors if required

75 Disbursement Allocation of credit proceeds (Table C) 25. Table C shows the allocation of IDA proceeds and the financing for the various categories of expenditures. DSHE/POU will be responsible for preparing withdrawal applications. To be eligible for disbursements of stipends and tuition, DSHE/POU will: (a) by April 1st. of each year, commencing in CY2002, carry out a comprehensive review of the progress of the project during the preceding academic year; and (b) promptly fumish IDA with the findings and recommendations of such review, as well as a work program for the ongoing academic year. The closing date of the proposed project is December 31, Table C: Allocation of Credit Proceeds Amount of the IDA Credit Allocated Category (Expressed % of Expenditures in US Dollars) to be Financed 1. Works 1,540,000 80% 2. Goods 1,480, % of foreign expenditures 100% of local expenditures (ex-factory cost) and 70% of local expenditures for other items procured locally 3. Consultants Services and Training 9,200, % 4. Awards and Grants 4,480, % 5. Stipends and Tuition 85% (a) Until the end of Academic Year ,570,000 (b) Academic Year ,400,000 (c) Academic Year ,840,000 (d) Academic Year ,000,000 (e) Academic Year ,600, Incremental Staff Salaries and 4,680, % for FY2002 and FY2003 Operating Costs 65% for FY2004 and FY2005, and 35% thereafter 7. Unallocated 12,110,894 Total 120,900,

76 Statement of Expenditures (SOEs) 26. Until PMR-based disbursement is agreed upon, the traditional disbursement procedures will be applicable for withdrawal of funds from the Credit. With each withdrawal application, IDA will require full documentation where contracts for: (i) goods exceed US$200,000 equivalent, (ii) consulting firms exceed US$100,000 equivalent, and (iii) individual consultant exceed US$50,000. Expenditures below the above thresholds and expenditures for stipend, tuition, local training carried out through TTC and NAEM, awards and grants, staff salaries and maintenance and operating costs will be claimed through SOEs. Special Account (SA) 27. To ensure timely payment to project girls, project institutions, suppliers, contractors, consultants, a Convertible Taka Special Account (SA), will be established in the Agrani Bank Principal Branch in accordance with the Participation Agreement dated August 23, 2001 between MOE and Agrani Bank, on terms and conditions acceptable to IDA. The DSHE/POU will be responsible for accessing the Special Account, including submitting withdrawal applications to IDA. The authorized allocation of the Special Account will be equivalent to six-month estimated expenditures, which is estimated to be Tk.627 million. If agreement is reached on PMR-based disbursement the authorized allocations to the Special Account will remain the same since, as an exception, IDA has already agreed to provide six months advance. The six months estimated advance is required considering the fact about 80 percent of IDA Credit is for stipend and tuition and the disbursement of this component is on a semi-anual basis. Retroactive Financing 28. The project will finance expenditures incurred in the stipends and tuition program during academic year 2001 through retroactive financing. The estimated project cost at appraisal, includes the costs required to finance IDA share of the tuition and stipends expenditure for the Academic Year The retroactive financing is estimated at US$11.49 million (see Annex 5). Documentation requirements for retroactive financing will be the same as those needed for disbursement against payments made under the proposed FSSAP II Credit. IDA agreement to provide retroactive financing was confirmed at Negotiations based on the progress made in the disbursement of stipends to girls. Financial Management 29. Country Issues: Timely release of Government counterpart funds is an issue relevant to this project. Delays releasing Government counterpart funds are commonly experienced by IDA-assisted projects, which in tum, slow down project implementation. To overcome this problem and ensure timely disbursement of stipends and tuition to girls and institutions, an agreement has been reached between MOE and MOF that will ensure timely submission of SOE from DSHE/POU to MOE and from concerned agencies to DSHE/POU. 30. Strengths: The project has the following strengths in the area of financial management: (a) the project is a follow on project and hence key staff who will be retained in the project have adequate skills in Bank's disbursement procedures; (b) a generic Project Accounting Manual is in place that provides a Government control framework for donor assisted projects; (c) a Project Financial Management Manual which will include an integrated framework on the project intemal control system will be used; (d) a computerized accounting system replacing the existing manual system will be ready soon after Credit Effectiveness (the manual system is adequate until the computerized system is in place); and (e) a system of flow of information from various cost centers to DSHE/POU and at central level exits

77 31. Weaknesses and Resolutions: Weaknesses Resolutions Accounting System: The current accounting The DSHE/POU, with the help of consultants is system in the FSSAP is not computerized and is not developing a financial management manual supported by a comprehensive manual of policies incorporating existing and new accounting and procedures. The GOB chart of accounts is policies/procedures. This manual will be followed to prepare financial statements, which completed and implemented by August 31, 2002 does not allow effective monitoring and reporting by disbursement categories or project components. The project will appoint a Chartered Accountant as a short-tern consultant to facilitate the Hand-written accounting books and loose sheets implementation of the computerized system; this are commonly used for record keeping. There is person will be appointed no later than August 31, little use of computers Staffing: Some key positions in the FSSAP will be retained in FSSAP 11. Key staff do not possess the required qualifications and skills to operate a computerized financial management system efficiently and effectively. Reporting and Monitoring: The reporting and monitoring system is weak. The disbursement of project funds on tuition and stipend activities, their accounting and monitoring are currently split among three units: Finance, Tuition and Stipend and MIS units. As a result, no effectivc monitoring of actual disbursement against target and the corresponding adjustment to fund or Bank balance in the field exist. The current manual system will be replaced by a computerized system by August 31, Agreement has been reached on appointment of Chartered Accountants or other professionally qualified staff in the positions of DD and AD; the appointrnent of the individuals for these positions is a Credit Effectiveness condition. Finance and Administration Section (FAS) has been made responsible for financial reporting and monitoring with adequate co-ordination with other sections, so that there is no un-reconciled financial data in the DSHE/POU. Implementing Entity 32. The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education under the overall supervision of the Ministry of Education will have the overall responsibility for implementation of the project. The DSHE has extensive experience in implementing FSSAP through a PIU. To implement FSSAP II, DSHE is establishing the DSHE/POU and the DSHE/PMU, one being responsible for project implementation and the other for developing institutional capacity at DSHE. Funds Flow 33. The Agrani Bank through a Participation Agreement with MOE will execute the stipend and tuition funds of the project. The funds flow process for the project will be as follows: * IDA funds will be channeled through a convertible taka special account. * The GOB will allocate counterpart funds for the project on the basis of annual development plan (ADP) and the Ministry of Finance will release funds to MOE in four tranches against approved project proforma (PP). The CAO/MOE will reimburse actual project expenditure upon receiving

78 statement of expenditure. * The DSHE/POU head will be the authorized person for issuing payments through checks, payment request to CAO for counterpart funds and withdrawal of funds from the IDA Credit. * Agrani Bank will disburse stipend and tuition to student and schools through its branches on the basis of instruction received from the DSHE/POU. Accounting policies and procedures 34. The overall accounting framework will be as follows: * The financial management system will cover all project related transactions i.e. all sources and uses of funds will be accounted for and reflected in the financial statements. * A Chart of Accounts has been developed which enables expenditure data to be captured and classified by project activities, component and disbursement categories. It also conforms to GOB expenditure heads/categories. * A Computerized Accounting System will be installed and operated at the Finance Unit of DSHE/POU by August 31, The system will provide information on the receipts and use of funds and will be able to produce financial reports comparing budget with actual expenditure at any given time. The system will be able to provide financial data to measure performance when linked to the outputs of the project. * As per standard practice, books of accounts will be maintained on a cash basis and using double-entry bookkeeping principles. Standard books/records (cash and bank-book, ledger, trial balance, etc.) will be maintained at the DSHE/POU using an integrated computerized accounting system. * A Financial Management Manual incorporating applicable accounting policies and procedures and a Software Operational Manual will be implemented by August 31, The DSHE/POU is preparing the Manuals and the computerization of the current manual system. Staffing 35. A new project organigram in FSSAP II has been drawn up indicating new finance positions and reporting mechanisms, which is adequate for the project. Job descriptions of key positions are clearly indicated in the PIP. There is adequate segregation of duties within and outside the Finance Unit. The new positions are designed to: (i) meet new organizational structure under FSSAP II; (ii) avoid a large number of short term staff doing financial management work; and (iii) carry out improved FM activities efficiently and effectively. A Deputy Director will head the Finance and Administration section with overall responsibilities relating to Administration, Financial Management and Monitoring and Evaluation units, while three Assistant Directors will be in charge of Administration, Financial Management and Monitoring & Evaluation units, respectively. It has been agreed that finance staff at senior levels (DD and AD) will have professional qualifications and sufficient information technology background. The support staff will have commerce and accounting background as well as computer literacy. In addition, a consultant will be appointed (Financial Management Expert) for a period of six months and will be responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the computerized financial management system and developing the financial management capacity. The PIP includes TORs and the requisite qualifications for the position. The consultant will report functionally and administratively to the DD (FAS) and Project Director. Training on the operation of computerized financial management system to the finance and accounting staff will be imparted by the consultants appointed for design and development of the computerized financial management system in the project. Internal Audit

79 36. Staff responsible for reporting and monitoring will carry periodic intemal audit function under specific audit plan and submit reports to the DSHE/POU. External Audit 37. The audit covenants of FSSAP, Cr BD have been complied with. Replies have been given and necessary actions taken on observations which needed clarifications from the Bank's perspective. The MOE and the C&AG are in the process of resolving audit observations relating to Government policy and procedures through an action plan covering year-wise number of unsettled observations and tripartite meeting schedules with FAPAD. The annual financial statement of FSSAP II will be audited by the C&AG and will be submitted to IDA within six months of the end of each fiscal year. The audit report will include a separate opinion on Project Financial Statements, the Special Account and SOE. Audit opinion will be given on PMRs in case of PMRs-based disbursements. In addition, private audit firms will carry out annual audits of disbursement of stipends and tuition funds and two performance audits (the first covering two and a half years from the Effectiveness date, and the second one, covering the following period ending December 31, 2005), with TORs and selection methods acceptable to IDA. The cost of such audits will be eligible for disbursement under the Credit. Thus, the following audit report will be monitored in the Audit Report Compliance system (ARCS): Implementing Agency Audit Auditors DHSE Project Account/SOE C & AG DSHE Special Account C & AG Financial Reporting and Monitoring 38. The mechanism for reporting and monitoring will be as follows: * The Finance and Administration Section will be responsible for consolidation of financial information from various cost centers and preparing timely consolidated Financial Statements on a monthly basis. * Financial Reporting from Agrani Bank to DSHE/POU will be on the basis of benchmarks set out in the Participation Agreement. * FAS is also responsible for preparing Project Management Reports (PMRs) on a quarterly basis, monitoring actual expenditure against forecast, co-coordinating with other units to reconcile timely financial information and preparing the annual financial statements. A set of customized formats of PMRs and the annual financial statement is included in the PIP and is part of Financial Management Manual. Quarterly PMRs will be submitted to the Bank regardless of traditional or PMR-based Disbursement Procedures. Information System 39. DSHE is developing an integrated computerized Financial Management System for the project. The finalization of the software is being completed and the installation, testing on live data and training of project staff will be completed by August 31, Through the proposed integrated system in FSSAP II, the monitoring system in various units will be further strengthened. The system will provide timely and reliable financial management information to IDA and the DSHE/POU, as well as other stakeholders of MOE for monitoring financial and physical progress of project implementation and taking appropriate

80 decisions. Action Plan 40. Actions Responsible Completion Date person/agency Actions requiredfor adequate financial management:. - Appointment of key staff (AD and DD).as MOE Appointment before Credit per qualification and job description Effectiveness indicated in the Staffing Plan (PIP). Actions requiredfor enhancement of financial management: - Appointment of a Financial Management MOE August 31, 2002 Consultant - Completion and installation of software, training of staff, testing and implementation of computerized financial MOE August 31, 2002 management system - Completion and implementation of financial management manual MOE August 31, 2002 Supervision Plan 41. The project will need intensive supervision which will be conducted twice a year. The initial supervision focus will be on the implementation progress of agreed actions and the operation of the computerized financial management system

81 Attachment I Sample Water Supply and Sanitation Agreement Second Female Secondary School Assistance Project On Behalf of Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh and School/Madrasah Address: Village Upazila Post District

82 Water Supply and Sanitation Facilities Agreement Agreement Dated 200_ between the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh represented by the Project Director, Female Secondary School Assistance Project II (here in after represented by the Project Director as the First Party). The School Managing Committee for a Non-government School or Headmaster for a Government School of the Upazila District, Division (herein after referred to as the School of the Second Party). and Where as the Government of Bangladesh is desirous of implementing the project in 119 upazilas throughout the country under Second Female Secondary School Assistance Project (FSSAP II) which will have the following Component: Water Supply and Sanitation Facilities (WSSF); And whereas the School Managing Committee/Authority has expressed willingness to cooperate and render necessary services and assistance for implementing the project mentioned above and the Government here agrees to provide necessary financial and implementation assistance subjected to the following conditions and stipulations herein. General Definitions ARTICLE I Section Wherever used in this agreement, unless otherwise stated, the terms shall have the following meanings: a) Users Group means a unit formed by the fixed number of students, teacher of institution and related local people, who (i) are responsible for proper utilization, maintenance and repairing of tube-well and twin latrine; (ii) formr a fund by the institution for maintenance and repairing of the tube-well and latrine; (iii) create awareness among students of the institutions, parents and family members along with local people about necessity and utility of having pure water and using latrine. b) UPO means Upazila Project Officer of the FSSAP II. c) Project Committee means a committee consisting of 5 (five) members formed by the managing committee of the project institution, who initiate plan and implement the construction of twin latrine and installation of tube-well;

83 d) Managing Committee means the regular or Adhoc Committee of the Secondary level educational institutions. e) DSHE/POU means the Project Operations Unit of FSSAP II, Dhaka. Section Service means imparting service and Assistance means confer assistance by the Second party for proper implementation of the Program. Obligation of the First Party ARTICLE II Section The First Party will be responsible for overall implementation of the WSSF program under the project and in this respect will: a) bear 80% (90% in the case of deep tube-wells) of the total estimated cost for installation of tube-wells and constructing twine latrines and installing tub-well according to the actual demand, necessity and agreement of the project institution. b) supply the design for construction to the institution. c) allot estimated cost (by govt.) in two installments according to the demand of requirement of the project institution. d) be the caretaker, through UPO, in all respects to guide and advice the institution Authority/Managing Committee, local branch of Agrani Bank, Project Committee of institutions and Users Group. e) pay the 80% (90% in the case of deep tube-wells) of the total estimated cost, which is Tk. in two installments: 1st installment- 50% as advance; and 2nd installment- 50% upon completion of construction and installation work (after sending the report with Statement of Expenditure (SoE) to DSHE/POU through UPO). Obligation of the Second Party Section The Institution Authority shall cooperate fully with Managing Committee members and students, teachers and their parents in project activities and in particular, shall: a) submit the statement of action and accepted approval after addressing meeting about utility of tube-well and twine latrine according to the conditions of the project. b) arrange 20% (IO% in the case of deep tube-wells) of the total estimated cost of constructing latrine/tube-well. That 20% (10% in the case of deep tube-wells) cost may be paid by cash or supplying materials or by physical labor. c) form a Project Committee of 5 members for proper implementation of the program. That committee will complete the construction work and hand over to the institution authority and SoE along with report will be submitted to the Managing Committee. d) arrange arsenic testing of tube-wells by the Department of Public Health Engineering or other suitable institution acceptable to the First Party. The test report willform part of the completion report. e) form a Users Group by the students, teachers and related people in order to ensure proper utilization, maintenance and repairing. The Users Group will create awareness among students, family members and local people about drinking pure and safe water and using latrine. Furthermore, the group will make its own fund for maintenance and repairing

84 f) provide all assistance to the UPO/APO, officials of Facilities Department, Officials of World Bank and Officials of DSHE/POU during their visit for inspection of WSSF Program. Duration and Termination of the Agreement ARTICLE III Section This Agreement shall come into force on the date it is signed by both the parties and shall remain valid until completion of the Project. Section Should the Second party fail to perform any of the obligations specified herein, the first party shall have the option, after giving 30 days written notice of terminating this Agreement. (Name and Signature) Project Director Second Female Secondary School Assistance Project Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Name and Signature) 1. Chairperson School Managing Committee School 2. Head teacher School Managing Committee Date School Date Name and Signature Witness Name and Signature Witness

85 Attachment II PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Female Secondary School Assistance Project (FSSAP-II) Directorate of Secondary & Higher Education Ministry of Education PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Represented by FEMALE SECONDARY SCHOOL ASSISTANCE PROJECT ( FSSAP -II) AND AGRANI BANK

86 PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Represented by FEMALE SECONDARY SCHOOL ASSISTANCE PROJECT ( FSSAP -11) AND AGRANI BANK This PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT dated between the GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH, acting through its Ministry of Education (hereinafter called MOE) or the Government as one part and AGRANI BANK, a banking company established by the Bangladesh Bank's (Nationalization) Order, 1972, having its Head Office at Agrani Bank Bhaban 9-D, Dilkusha Commercial Area, Dhaka (hereinafter called "Agrani Bank" ) which expression shall include its successors or assignees of the other part. WHEREAS by a Development Credit Agreement ( hereinafter called "the DCA") between the International Development Association ( hereinafter called " the Association " ) and the Government, the Association has agreed to provide a credit to support the Government's efforts in the implementation of the Female Secondary School Assistance Project - 11 (hereafter called "The Project") starting from 01 July 2001 ending in 30 June 2007, or such other date when the Project closes. WHEREAS the Project will provide a package of incentives addressing constraints at the household and school level which will include stipends for girls in Grade 6-10 and tuition subsidy to the institutions against stipend recipient girls payable semi-annually, WHEREAS AGRANI BANK has agreed to handle all project-related banking activities for which purpose a Convertible Taka Special Account ( CONTASA) (hereinafter called "Special Account") will be opened with the AGRANI BANK. Project-related banking activities will include: disbursement of stipends to girls, tuition subsidy to Project institutions and other project related disbursement functions through its branches and units in Project Upazilas (in Upazilas without Agrani Bank branches disbursement will be made through nearest branches). The disbursement of stipends to girls will be carried out in accordance with special operational procedures mentioned in Article-Il of this Agreement. A time schedule of the flow of fund and disbursement (Annex-4(i) will be the part of this Agreement. AND WHEREAS the parties hereto have agreed to enter This Agreement, which will be referred to Participation Agreement in the DCA. Now THEREFORE the parties hereto hereby agree as follows: ARTICLE I: DEFINITIONS Section Wherever used in this Agreement, unless the context shall otherwise require, the several terms to be

87 defined in the DCA shall have the respective meanings therein set forth. Section Head of the institution shall mean Head Master/Head Mistress of schools and Principal/Superintendent of Madrashas. Section The term "IBCA" shall mean the Inter Branch Credit Advice. Section The term "DSHE/POU" shall mean the Project Operation Unit. Section The term "PD" shall mean the Project Director of the FSSAP-II. Section The term "tag list" shall mean the names of schools attached to each upazila bank branch. Section The SMC shall mean School/Madrasah Management Committee. Section The term " Account Number" means Bank Account Number. Section The term "ID Number" means Identification Numbers of girls. ARTICLE 11: OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES Section The Project Director will open a Convertible Taka Special Account (CONTASA) with Agrani Bank, Principal Branch, Dhaka. Section Girls will be allowed to open/operate a special type of Account of their own at the time of admission. The DSHE/POU will provide Roster Books containing ID and Account Numbers of girls before admission. Section The Head of the concerned participating institution will introduce the girls with their official seal and signature. Section The Agrani Bank will supply two specimen signature (SS) cards to every student. The SS cards duly filled in and signed by the girls along with their two photographs will have to be submitted to the concerned Agrani Bank branches. The SS cards and Photographs must be duly attested by the Head of the concerned Institution. Agrani Bank will also supply Withdrawal Slip/Cheque Book to the girls to withdraw stipend money from their accounts. One copy of the photograph will be affixed to one of the specimen signature card to be maintained in the Agrani Bank branch and the second one to the specimen signature card for record in the Upazila Project Office(UPO). Section The Agrani Bank will ensure timely supply of account opening/operating materials(e.g. SS card, cheque book, withdrawal slip etc.) to bank branches by December of each year. Section The PD will send payment advice to Agrani Bank, Principal Branch, Dhaka and Award Statement to Head Office, as per Annex-4(ii) of this Agreement Section On receiving the above payment advice, Agrani Bank, Principal Branch, will remit the funds to the concerned branches by means of IBCA. The IBCA along with the Award must be sent by Agrani Bank, Head Office to the concerned branches within the shortest possible time but not exceeding 07 (seven) working days from the date of receipt of the advice from PD. Section On receiving the above IBCA and Award Statement, the receiving bank branch will credit the amount to girls account and inform the participating institutions and the Project Office within 07 (seven) working days. Section For withdrawal of money from the accounts, each girl will go to the bank branch on the scheduled date with cheque book/withdrawal slip if the bank branch is within 5 (five) km of the institution. In case, the distance is more than 5 (five) km, the bank will open temporary booths at a pre-determined date in the institution premises to disburse stipends among the girls. Section On presentation of the cheque/withdrawal slip by a girl student, the bank officials will verify the same

88 and on full satisfaction will make payment to her in cash. Section In the case of the Project Upazila without branches of Agrani Bank, arrangements will be made to disburse stipends through the nearest branch of Agrani Bank in the adjoining Upazila. Agrani Bank officials will make necessary arrangements in consultation with the participating institutions and the Project Office, taking into account the provisions of Section 2.07 to Section 2.10 of this Agreement. Section The Agrani Bank branch shall complete stipend disbursement within 25 (twenty five) working days on receipt of IBCA from Principal Branch. DSHE/POU, in consultation with Agrani Bank Head Office will prepare a disbursement schedule for each upazila which will be communicated to the Agrani Bank branches by UPO and DSHE/POU. Section The participating institution shall open a Current Deposit (CD) Account following normal banking formalities to receive tuition money against stipend recipients. Section The CD Account should be operated by joint signatures of concemed Head Master and Chairman of SMC. The resolution of the SMC in this regard should be submitted to the bank branch at the time of opening of bank account. In case of Government institutions the Head teacher will operate the Account. Section In upazilas where there is no Agrani Bank Branch the institutions shall open CD account in the nearest Agrani Bank branch in the neighboring upazila. Section A Sundry Creditors Account shall be maintained as a stopgap arrangement in the Agrani Bank, Principal Branch at Dhaka as well as local branches. Undisbursed money in a local bank branch shall be refunded to the Principal Branch which will be kept in the Sundry Creditors Account for a maximum of 7 (seven) days. Thereafter this money shall be transferred proportionately to the respective Project Accounts (CONTASA & GOB). Agrani Bank shall inform the Project Director immediately after each refund. Section Agrani Bank will arrange additional staff for quick remittance of funds from its Principal Branch, Dhaka, to the concemed payee branches. The concemed payee branches will also be provided with sufficient number of additional staff, transport and security arrangements will be made for cash remittance. Section Should at subsequent stages any material change, additions or alterations be deemed necessary which will improve these special operational procedures, such changes will be considered during the project's biennial review conducted by the Association and if agreed, by MOE, Agrani Bank and the Association, the Participation Agreement will be amended accordingly. Section Inter-branch transfer of girl students' accounts will only be allowed in the special circumstances, approved by the Project Director. ARTICLE III: REPORTING Section Agrani bank shall prepare a progress report of disbursement in FSP-6 form and send it to DSHE/POU at the end of each disbursement within 60 days after the last disbursement date. Section All supporting documents relating to the disbursement of stipends to students and tuition to participating institutions, salaries to teachers and other activities related to the Project will be retained at Agrani Bank, Principal Branch, as well as local branches for review by IDA supervision missions and Project auditors. Section The audit of the Project will be carried out by the Foreign Aided Project Audit Directorate of the Accountant General's Office, Govemment of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. In addition annual audit of stipends, tuition subsidy and teachers salaries accounts will be audited by reputed Chartered Accountant Firm acceptable to the Association. This audit report shall be submitted to the Govemment and to the Association within six months after the closing of each calendar year

89 ARTICLE IV: SERVICE CHARGE AND INTEREST PAYMENTS Section Agrani Bank will render these services mentioned in the Article II of this agreement against service charges to be paid at the rate of 2.50% on actual disbursement by concerned upazila bank branches. However, Agrani Bank will be allowed to take advance for the service charge at the rate of 2.50% at source from the GOB account. The advance shall be adjusted at the time of final accounting of each semester stipend and tuition disbursement. The Agrani Bank, Principal Branch, will provide 80% of the share of service charge to the concerned upazila bank branches.the Agrani Bank, Principal Branch, will send the service charge amount along with the IBCA to respective upazila branches. Section CONTASA will earn interest as per the rule of the Bangladesh Bank. The interest earned in CONTASA shall be deposited to Government's account as per circular of the Ministry of Finance dated ARTICLE V MISCELLANEOUS Section This Agreement shall come into force and effect from I July Section This Agreement and all obligations thereunder shall terminate if the entire amount allocated for the Project has been disbursed or earlier in the event of any situation necessitating such termination agreed upon by the association and MOE or upon the Project closing date. Section (a) Any notice, demand or request required or permitted to be given under this Agreement shall be written at least 60 days prior to the event and shall be deemed to have been duly given or made when it shall be delivered, in the case of Government at its Ministry of Education, and in the case of the Agrani Bank at its Principal Branch at Dhaka or at such other addresses which the Government or Agrani Bank may from time to time specify in writing to the other party. (b) Any action required or permitted to be taken and any document required or permitted to be executed under this Agreement on behalf of the Government may be taken or executed by the Secretary, Ministry of Education, or such person or persons, as he/she shall be designated in writing. (c) Any action required or permitted to be taken and document required or permitted to be executed under this Agreement on behalf of Agrani Bank may be taken or executed by the Managing Director or such person or persons as he/she shall be designated in writing. Section This Agreement shall be binding on all successors of Agrani Bank and MOE. Section This Agreement may be executed in several original versions

90 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto, action through their representatives hereunto duly authorized, have caused this Agreement to be signed in their respective names and delivered in Dhaka as of the day and year first above written. WITNESSES: PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH 1. B y Joint Secretary Ministry of Education Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. 2. B y Managing Director Agrani Bank

91 Annex (i) Female Secondary School Assistance Project -II Time Schedule for Stipend and Tuition Disbursement Si Steps Duration July-Dec Jan.-Jun No Semester Semester I PD/FSSAP writes to MOE for Advance 01 day September 14 March 12 2 MOE writes to MOF budget section-3(dev) 05 Days September 19 March 17 3 MOF approves 05 Days September 24 March 22 4 MOF approval letter comes to MOE 01 Days September 25 March 23 5 MOE writes to MOF for endorsement of Govemment order for advance 02 Days September 27 March 25 withdrawal 6 MOF endorses 02 Days September 29 March 27 7 CAO/MOE receives MOF endorsement 01 Days September 30 March 28 8 CAO/MOE sends the letter to MOE/bill section 01 Days October I March 29 9 Bill section/moe approves the bill 03 Days October 4 April 2 10 Bill section/moe issuse the check of advance to PD/FSSAP 01 Days October 5 April 3 1 IPD, FSSAP receives the check 01 Days October 6 April 4 12 PD/FSSAP deposits the check in Agrani Bank 01 Day October 7 April 5 13 FSSAP hands over the Award list of girls to Agrani Bank Including 01 Day October 8 April 22 Payment Authorization 14 Agrani Bank collects fund from Bangladesh Bank against GOB cheques 02 Days October 10 April RPA and GOB fund are put together in Sundry account 01 Day October 11 April DSHE/POU & Agrani Bank Head Office prepare disbursement schedule 05 days October 12 April 30 for each Upazila 17 Agrani bank sends IBCA and disbursement schedule to regional bank 03 Days October 14 May 3 branch 18 Agrani Bank regional branch sends IBCA and disbursement schedule to 02 Days October 16 May 5 local branch 19 Local branch informs UPOs 01 Day October 17 May 6 20 UPOs organize meeting to prepare for disbursement as per schedule 03 Days October 20 May 9 21 Local branch/upos disburse stipend to girls 35 Days November 25 June Local branches allow girls to draw undisbursed stipend 15 Days December 10 June Local branch disburse tuition fund to institutions 05 Days December 15 July 3 24 Local branch prepare actual disbursement statement to be signed by both 30 Days January 15 August 2 bank and UPO after last disbursement 25 Head Office prepares the actual disbursement statement 25 Days February 10 August PD, FSSAP receives the actual disbursement statement 05 Days February 15 September 1 27 PD, FSSAP sends the statement to CAO/MOE for adjustment 05 Days March 2 September 6 28 CAO / MOE recommends for the advance withdrawal 05 Days March 7 September

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