Niger Learning Improvement for Results in Education Project Additional Financing

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Building on the World Bank’s policy on human capital and especially on learning, and on the strong political commitment of the Government, the Niger LIRE Project has been supporting transformative interventions in the education sector of Niger since September 2020 when it became effective. The Niger LIRE AF has 6 components and 3 core ones which all have high digital transformation content and respectively aim to (1) promote improvements in teaching practices and pedagogy, (2) improve learning for all children and address the most critical learning deficits, (3) strengthen the overall management of the education system, by intensifying efforts to monitor and evaluate educational processes and outcomes, (4) supports project administration, (5) the "emergency response" component added to cushion unplanned emergencies and (6) the construction of school infrastructure.The proposed AF and restructuring of the Parent Project will reinforce actions for tackling the learning crisis in Niger. Given the big and huge challenges, resources will be channeled towards the most pressing needs as conveyed by the government primary axes of interventions, and therefore target the pervasive lack of adequate education infrastructures. The proposed changes to the original parent project under the AF include: (i) adding a new component for the construction of adequate school infrastructure for all students and boarding schools for girls; and (ii) scaling up selected high-impact activities for improved system governance and capacity building to support the success of the new school construction component. Through this initiative, the AF will extend the scope and reach of the parent project to support equitable access to education and ensure students and teachers are in safe conditions for learning and teaching. The approach envisaged takes into account the specific challenges faced by the different strata of the target population, including girls, who are particularly vulnerable. Further, it is expected that the construction of school infrastructures that are more resilient, will reduce climate vulnerabilities from more frequent adverse weather events (especially floods and droughts) and contribute to climate resilience and adaptation, thereby creating climate co-benefits. Changes under the proposed AF include, among others, the revision of the PDO and PDO level indicators to reflect the financing allocated to school infrastructures; and an addition of a new component 6: “Construction of school infrastructures” which includes three sub-components: 6.1) The construction and equipment of classrooms and related facilities in selected urban and rural areas of Niger, 6.2) Design, construction and equipment of boarding schools for girls to promote inclusion in access and her retention in the education system, and 6.3) Management and operation of boarding schools. For all construction related projects (sub-comp. 6.1, 6.2), the project will finance : (i) the full design phase (geotechnical and other site investigations, feasibility design studies, detailed architectural and engineering plans), (ii) the construction phase including annexes, landscaping and installation of solar panels, (iii) the supervision phase (construction supervision and quality assurance, monitoring of the contractors’ environmental and social management plans), and (vi) the purchase of teaching and learning materials, equipment and furniture for schools and boarding schools (including food in the three boarding schools).