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Pakistan: Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project (RRP PAK 51126-002) Project Administration Manual Project Number: 51126-002 Loan Number: xxxx October 2019 Islamic Republic of Pakistan: Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank AGP – Auditor General of Pakistan BISE – Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education EARF – environmental assessment review framework EMO – education management organizations EMP – environmental management plan FMA – financial management assessment FMIS – financial management information system GAP – gender action plan GER – gross enrolment ratio IEE – initial environmental examination NER – net enrolment rates PIU – project implementation unit PPP – public-private partnership RFP – request for proposals SDDR – social due diligence report SEF – Sindh Education Foundation SELD – School Education and Literacy Department SESP – Sindh Education Sector Plan SOE – statement of expenditures CONTENTS I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1 A. Impact and Outcome 4 B. Outputs 4 II. IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 5 C. Project Readiness Activities 5 D. Overall Project Implementation Plan 7 III. PROJECT MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS 10 A. Project Implementation Organizations: Roles and Responsibilities 10 B. Key Persons Involved in Implementation 12 C. Project Organization Structure 13 IV. COSTS AND FINANCING 14 A. Cost Estimates Preparation and Revisions 14 B. Key Assumptions 14 C. Detailed Cost Estimates by Expenditure Category 15 D. Allocation and Withdrawal of Loan Proceeds 16 E. Detailed Cost Estimates by Financier 17 F. Detailed Cost Estimates by Outputs and/or Components 18 G. Detailed Cost Estimates by Year 19 H. Contract and Disbursement S-Curve 20 I. Fund Flow Diagram 22 V. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 23 A. Financial Management Assessment 23 B. Disbursement 24 C. Accounting 26 D. Auditing and Public Disclosure 26 VI. PROCUREMENT AND CONSULTING SERVICES 27 A. Advance Contracting and Retroactive Financing 27 B. Procurement of Goods, Works, and Consulting Services 28 C. Procurement Plan 29 D. Consultant's Terms of Reference 35 VII. SAFEGUARDS 37 A. Environment 37 B. Involuntary Resettlement 38 C. Indigenous Peoples 40 D. Contract Award and Execution of Works 40 E. Safeguards Management Responsibility 40 VIII. GENDER AND SOCIAL DIMENSIONS 41 IX. PERFORMANCE MONITORING, EVALUATION, REPORTING, AND COMMUNICATION 44 A. Project Design and Monitoring Framework 44 B. Monitoring 46 C. Evaluation 48 D. Reporting 48 E. Stakeholder Communication Strategy 49 X. ANTICORRUPTION POLICY 51 XI. ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM 51 XII. RECORD OF CHANGES TO THE PROJECT ADMINISTRATION MANUAL 51 APPENDIXES 1. Terms of Reference 52 2. Semi-annual Environmental Monitoring Report 79 3. Procurement Risk Assessment Report 88 4. Financial Management Assessment Report 122 Project Administration Manual Purpose and Process 1. The project administration manual (PAM) describes the essential administrative and management requirements to implement the project on time, within budget, and in accordance with the policies and procedures of the government and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The PAM should include references to all available templates and instructions either through linkages to relevant URLs or directly incorporated in the PAM. The School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) is wholly responsible for the implementation of ADB-financed projects, as agreed jointly between the borrower and ADB, and in accordance with the policies and procedures of the government and ADB. ADB staff is responsible for supporting implementation including compliance by SELD and project implementation unit (PIU) of their obligations and responsibilities for project implementation in accordance with ADB’s policies and procedures. 2. At loan negotiations, the borrower and ADB shall agree to the PAM and ensure consistency with the loan agreement. Such agreement shall be reflected in the minutes of the loan negotiations. In the event of any discrepancy or contradiction between the PAM and the loan agreement, the provisions of the loan agreement shall prevail. 3. After ADB Board approval of the project's report and recommendations of the President (RRP), changes in implementation arrangements are subject to agreement and approval pursuant to relevant government and ADB administrative procedures (including the Project Administration Instructions) and upon such approval, they will be subsequently incorporated in the PAM. I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1. Economic context. From fiscal year (FY) 2013 to FY2016, the Sindh economy grew by an average of more than 4.0% and this rate accelerated to 5.3% in FY2017. The province benefits from a strategic location, a young and growing workforce, a wealth of resources, and an expanding services sector. These strengths, coupled with Karachi’s position as the financial center of Pakistan, provide the potential for Sindh to transform itself into a key driver of economic growth in the country. Despite these advantages, Sindh has yet to translate this potential into economic and social development.1 While a range of economic and institutional reforms is required to increase Sindh’s economic and social potential and generate inclusive growth, education reforms are critically important if the province’s education sector is to play its role in developing workers with 21st century skills. 2. Education sector context. The 18th Constitutional Amendment of 2010 devolved responsibility for 17 sectors, including education, to provincial governments. The reform ushered in a new education policy framework for provincial governments, including a requirement for the state to provide free and compulsory quality education to children aged 5–16 years, and responsibility for policy areas that were previously shared with the federal government, including education standards, curriculum, and policy and planning. The School Education and Literacy Department (SELD), which oversees school education in Sindh, has since introduced important policy reforms, including merit-based recruitment of teachers, standardized assessment of learning levels, and the expansion of public–private partnerships (PPPs).2 3. The SELD has also developed the Sindh Education Sector Plan (SESP), 2014−2018, which sets out strategies to improve the performance of the province’s education sector, including expanding educational access in underserved areas, recruiting qualified teachers, improving the public examination system, and developing better school infrastructure.3 The Government of Sindh (GOS) is preparing a follow-up SESP, 2019–2023. The GOS increased education spending by 39% between FY2015 and FY2018. This helped to lift the share of education in the GOS budget to 20%, or about 1.5% of provincial gross domestic product. 4. Education sector challenges. Despite these positive reforms, the education sector in Sindh continues to face significant challenges in terms of access to, and the quality of, education. The continuing poor performance of the province’s education system led the GOS to declare an education emergency in 2016. Of the 22.8 million out-of-school children in Pakistan, 28% are in Sindh.4 Sindh has the second-lowest gross enrollment ratios (GERs) and net enrollment rates (NERs) at all education levels, after Balochistan, among the four provinces, despite growing absolute enrollments.5 Progress in lifting enrollments has been uneven. From school year (SY) 2008/09 to SY2014/15, the GER in Sindh fell from 59% to 55% at the middle school level and rose from 47% to 51% at the high school level. NERs are lower than GERs because of the large 1 World Bank. 2017. Sindh: Public Expenditure Review. Washington, DC. 2 School Sector Governance in Sindh (accessible from the list of linked documents in Appendix 2). 3 Government of Sindh, School Education and Literacy Department (SELD). 2014. Sindh Education Sector Plan 2014– 2018. 4 Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training. 2017. Pakistan Education Statistics 2016/17. Islamabad. 5 The gross enrollment ratio measures all students who, whatever their age, are enrolled at a given level of education (e.g., secondary) divided by the number of children of the appropriate age for that level of education. The net enrollment ratio measures all students of the appropriate age for that level of education (e.g., secondary) divided by the number of children of the appropriate age for that level of education. 2 number of overage students in schools. This is due to low enrollments at the primary level and high dropout rates, especially after grade 5, when 31% of public school students drop out.6 5. Sector challenges are particularly acute at the secondary education level. The lack of secondary schools is a major constraint to increasing enrollments in Sindh, especially in rural areas, where there are fewer affordable private educational alternatives. Only about 10% of public schools in the province are secondary schools. In rural areas, this figure drops to just 7%. The lack of secondary schools can have a significant impact on girls’ enrollments because parents may not allow girls to attend distant schools. Poor learning environments also discourage continued enrollment. This is of concern given that, in SY2016/17, only 33% of public schools in Sindh had buildings rated satisfactory, while 55% lacked electricity, and 40% lacked basic facilities such as boundary walls, drinking water, and toilets. While the provision of basic facilities is better in secondary schools, these schools lack advanced facilities,
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