Additional Financing for Primary Education Equity in Learning Program

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1. Kenya has initiated difficult reforms to improve school participation and learning outcomes. As a result, Kenya has made impressive progress in basic education coverage at the national level. Net Enrollment Rate (NER) at the primary level was 92.5 percent in 2018. Transition rate from primary to secondary was 83 percent in 2018, while completion rate in secondary was 84 percent in 2018.2. Prevailing inequities in school participation and learning outcomes present the largest constraints to improvement in human capital formation and have contributed to wide variation in subnational Human Capital Index (HCI) in Kenya. Kenya is making progress on core and complex education challenges, which the World Bank has substantially contributed. However, children have been left behind by an education system that does not ensure ALL children participate in school and learn, particularly girls and acquisition of higher order competencies in foundational learning. Considering these challenges, the proposed operation would specifically address the inequities in primary education constraining improvement in the Quality Adjusted Years of School (QAYS) that is needed for closing the learning gap in Kenya. 3. For the Government to close this gap, the proposed operation builds on the success of Kenya’s reforms and initiatives, and will pivot its support to address inequities in school participation and learning in basic education by focusing on three areas: (i) mobilizing significant IDA to co-finance the trust funds (TFs ) in order to achieve results at scale; (ii) using schools as a platform to address the multiple and complex challenges in school participation, learning outcomes and girls education; (iii) strengthening systems capacity for sustainable impact- fully implement reforms and policies. 4. The proposed Project Development Objective (PDO) is to “reduce subnational disparities in learning outcomes, improve the retention of girls in upper primary education, and strengthen systems at the national level to assure learning for all". Prevailing inequities in school participation and learning outcomes present the largest constraints on human capital formation and have contributed to variations in subnational Human Capital Index (HCI) in Kenya. The lack of human capital formation amongst refugees, a growing segment of the schooling population, also limits their ability to build resilience during and after displacement. Considering the strong correlation observed between learning disparities across different groups (regional, gender) and variations in subnational HCI, reduction of these disparities would be critical for closing the learning gap impeding improvement in the country’s overall HCI needed for higher growth and productivity. 5. The proposed Program includes three Result Areas (RAs):a) RA 1: Equalize learning opportunities: improve learning outcomes in target counties and for refugee populations. Proposed key interventions include results based school grants; deployment of teachers in schools with highest pupil teacher ratios; and provision of school meals to vulnerable learners. b) RA 2: Improve girls’ participation in schooling, including in refugee hosting counties. Proposed key interventions includes scholarships and mentorship services, and reforms in the supply chain of sanitary towels to girls.c) RA 3: Strengthen reform implementation capacity. Key reforms needing adequate monitoring and implementation are: roll out of the Competency based curriculum and assessment (CBC); utilization of data management for better management of Primary education; school construction; reforms in the curriculum and assessment for Primary Teacher Training Colleges (PTTCs); establishment of a costed school infrastructure investment plan and implementation of the plan; establishment of standards and tools for quality assurance in preschool; and implementation of the newly established School based teacher support initiative (SBTS). 6. IPF Component :The Operation will include an IPF component to mainly support Program management; key technical assistance required for achieving key results in priority areas under the three RAs; and to facilitate ac hievement of results by minimizing technical, safeguards, and fiduciary risks. The IPF financing has the following key areas: a) Program management, policy dialogue, communication, monitoring and evaluation, safeguards and fiduciary, and verification. This sub-component will mainly finance the operational costs associated with coordination, implementation, communication, monitoring, and evaluation of Program-related activities at the national and county levels. b) Technical assistance and capacity building for adequate implementation of the initiated reforms. This sub-component will mainly support consultancy services for the following areas: Pre-school quality and Pre-primary children’s School readiness; school assessments and categorization (minimum essential schools’ inputs); strengthening of the supply chain for sanitary towels; data management including establishment of robust teacher management systems; implementation of the school-based teacher support (SBTS) initiative; and build capacity of teachers in primary schools to access and utilize the upcoming online based new item banking portal for learning assessments.The key implementing and beneficiary agencies for the IPF component are MoE and TSC. The Program Operations Manual (POM), to be developed before effectiveness of the Program, will include annual workplan and budgets for the IPF Component.