AF for COVID-19 Response under the Free Education Project

active

Prospective

The Sierra Leone Free Education (FREE) Project (P167897) in the amount of US$50 million was approved on June 29, 2020, signed by the Government of Sierra Leone on July 13, 2020 and became effective on August 10, 2020. The project development objectives of the parent project are to improve the management of the education system, teaching practices, and learning conditions. The proposed Additional Financing for COVID-19 Response under the Free Education Project is being prepared as an Additional Financing (AF) to the FREE Project. An exception to the requirement of 12 months of satisfactory project implementation of the parent project is being sought from the Africa Regional Vice President. Also, in response to the pandemic and the need for a rapid response, it is proposed to apply Paragraph 12 of Section III of the IPF Policy to the AF, and to process it using Condensed Procedures, within the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The AF would be financed by a grant in the amount of US$6.85 million from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) over a one-year period. On March 31, 2020 the GPE Board voted to create a US$250 million COVID-19 Accelerated Funding Window under the GPE Fund (for which the Bank is the Trustee). This window will provide allocations to address the pandemic’s impact on education systems in 67 eligible-to-apply countries. The GPE approved Sierra Leone’s proposal in the amount of US$7 million (including Grant Agency supervision fees in the amount of US$150,000) on June 15, 2020. The World Bank has been selected as the Grant Agent by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) and the Local Education Group (LEG) for the Sierra Leone GPE COVID-19 grant.The AF is well aligned with the Government’s education priorities and strategies including those outlined in the COVID-19 Education Emergency Response Plan. Other development partners, including the European Union, U.K. the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Irish Aid, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are expected to contribute to the funding of this Plan. The World Bank will ensure alignment with partners’ activities and involvement of key stakeholders as appropriate to leverage resources. Also, the focus of the AF is aligned with the emphasis of the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Republic of Sierra Leone, specifically with its emphasis on the importance of investing in human development.Under the AF, the PDO will remain unchanged. The FREE Project consists of the following components: (i) System Administration, Governance and Accountability which aims to strengthen the education system in areas of policy, governance, accountability, and administration for enhanced quality of education services; (ii) Teacher Management and Professional Development which seeks to address the critical teacher quality and workforce management issues in the country; (iii) School-Level Education Development which aims to improve the quality of education and the teaching and learning environment by addressing school-level needs; (iv) Project Management, Coordination, and Monitoring and Evaluation which will support the management of the project, as well as coordination and monitoring and evaluation aspects; and (v) Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) which aims to allow for rapid reallocation of project proceeds in the event of a natural or artificial disaster or crisis that has caused or is likely to imminently cause a major adverse economic and/or social impact.Under the proposed AF, a sixth component—COVID-19 Education Response–will be added. Component 6 will comprise the following sub-components: (6a) Strategic Communications; (6b) Continuous Distance Education Service Delivery; (6c) Safe School Reopening, and Health and Safety of Students; and (6d) Effective Operations, Planning and Policy during and after the COVID-19 Crisis. The design of Component 6 is responsive to strategies articulated in the MBSSE’s Education Sector COVID-19 Response Plan. The proposed project will ensure strategic communications and strengthen continuous distance education service delivery. It will also support safe school reopening, and health and safety of students including the most vulnerable. Lastly, the proposed project will support sustaining effective Government’s operations, planning and policy during and after the COVID-19 Crisis.

FY17 - Education

World Bank Group

Project

Commercial, Government, Education, Residential