ROMANIA Public Disclosure Authorized Administration Agreement between the European Commission on behalf of the European Union and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development concerning the Part II Europe 2020 Programmatic Single-Donor Trust Fund (Trust Fund (No. TF073208) (EC Contract No SRSS/S2018/063) Public Disclosure Authorized OUTPUT 1 A Proposed Early Warning Mechanism for Early School Leaving Public Disclosure Authorized Prevention and Proposed Action Plan for Implementation Main Document October 2019 Public Disclosure Authorized Funded by the EU via the Structural Reform Support Programme Acknowledgements This report has been delivered under the Administration Agreement SRSS/S2018/063 between the European Commission - Structural Reform Support Service (SRSS) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for Developing an early warning system for the prevention of early school leaving in Romania. It corresponds to Output 1 of the above-mentioned agreement. The implementation of this activity is coordinated by Mariana Doina Moarcăs (Task Team Leader, Sr. Education Specialist, and Alina Sava, (Co-Task Team Leader, Education Specialist), under the overall guidance of Harry Patrinos (Practice Manager), and Tatiana Proskuryakova (Country Manager for Romania and Hungary). A team of six local experts led by Manuela Sofia Stănculescu, Sr. Researcher, were directly involved in the preparation of this document and in organizing interviews and focus groups at central and local level. Significant contributions were also made by Walid Madhoun (International Expert), Ioana Raluca Ciucanu (Local Education Expert), and Anca Tîrca (Sr. Education Expert). Camelia Gușescu (Program Assistant), also provided implementation support. The World Bank team highly appreciates the excellent cooperation, guidance and feedback received from Florin Popa, SRSS counterpart, as well as from the representatives of the Ministry of National Education (MONE), especially Tania Irimia, General Director, as well as Simona Tănase, Gabriela Droc, and Cecilia Iuga. The team would also like to express its gratitude to all the participants in interviews and focus groups for their time and contributions to the refinement of the proposed Early Warning Mechanism and Action Plan. Comments and suggestions received during the process, as well as feedback from the MONE were reflected in this document. Disclaimer This report is a product of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / the World Bank. The findings, interpretation, and conclusions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank Group does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. This report does not necessarily represent the position of the European Union or the Government of Romania. Copyright Statement © 2020 The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. All queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail: [email protected]. 2 Content Executive Summary 5 Introduction 6 1 Early School Leaving (ESL) 9 1.1 Definition and Measurement 9 1.2 ESL Factors and Triggers 12 1.3 Review of Current Practices in EU Countries Implementing ESL Prevention Mechanisms 16 1.4 Strategies, Policies and Measures to Reduce ESL in Romania 18 2 The Proposed Early Warning Mechanism (EWM) in Romania 22 2.1 EWM Approach 22 2.2 EWM Target Groups 25 2.3 EWM Description 27 2.4 EWM Institutional Support Structure 28 2.5 Consultation Process 34 3 EWM Implementation 35 3.1 EWM Prevention Component 37 3.1.1 Identification of Students at Risk of ESL 37 3.1.2 ESL Prevention Measures 40 3.2 EWM Intervention Component for Students at Risk of ESL 44 3.2.1 Identification of Students at Risk of Dropout 45 3.2.2 Intervention Measures to Address ESL 46 3.3 EWM Compensation Component for (Re)Integrating Out-of-School Children and Youth 52 3.3.1 Identifying Out-of-School Children and Youth 53 3.3.2 Compensation Measures for Out-of-School Children and Youth 57 4 Monitoring and Reporting 61 5 Implementation Challenges and Recommendations 64 6 EWM Action Plan 72 6.1 Action Plan for EWM Implementation 74 References 77 Appendix 1. List of Participants in Consultations - Central Level 81 3 Acronyms ACoR Association of Communes of Romania EWM Early Warning Mechanism AJOFM County Agency for Employment FTR Family-type residence AJPIS County Agency for Payments and Social HCOP Human Capital Operational Inspection Program AMR Romanian Association of Municipalities INS National Institute for Statistics ANA Romanian Anti-Drug Agency ISCED International Standard Classification of Education ANC National Authority for Qualifications ISE Institute of Education Sciences ANOFM National Agency for Employment IVET Initial Vocational Education and Training ANPDCA National Authority for the Protection of M&E Monitoring and Evaluation the Rights of the Child and Adoption ANR National Agency for Roma MFE Ministry of European Funds AOR Association of Romanian Towns MMJS Ministry of Labor and Social Justice MOH Ministry of Health APL Local Public Authority MONE Ministry of National Education ARACIP Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in NEET Not in Education, Employment or Pre-university Education Training BSI Bucharest School Inspectorate POCU Human Capital Operation Program PFP Professional Foster Parent CC County Council SAS School after School CCD Teachers’ House SC Second Chance CCS Community Consultative Structure SEN Special Educational Needs CJRAE County Center for Educational Resources SIIIR Romanian Education Integrated IT and Assistance System CN Community Nurse SOPHRD Sectoral Operational Program for Human Resources Development CNDIPT National Centre for the Development of SPAS Social Assistance Public Service Vocational Education and Training CNE National Council of Primary and Secondary SRSS Structural Reform Support System School Students CNEE National Council for Evaluation and TAU Territorial-Administrative Unit Examination CPECA Anti-Drug Prevention, Assessment and TG Target Group Counselling Center CSE Student School Council UMATE Unit for Monitoring and Technical Assistance for EWM CSI County School Inspectorate UNCJR National Union of Romanian County Councils DGASPC Directorate General for Social Assistance VET Vocational Education and Training and Child Protection ESF European Social Fund WB World Bank ESL Early School Leaving 4 Executive Summary Early school leaving (ESL) refers to people aged 18 to 24 who leave education and training without attaining lower secondary education. Early school leavers have difficulty finding stable jobs and are, therefore, at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Reducing the number of early leavers from education and training is one of the key objectives of the EU 2020 Strategy. Romania is one of the EU outliers with the ESL rate of 16.4 percent in 2018. 1 While the ESL rate in big cities is below EU average and well within the 2020 national target set at 11.3 percent, the ESL rate in rural areas is considerably higher at 26 percent and shows a growth tendency. Romania’s National Strategy to Reduce Early School Leaving envisages the adoption of an Early Warning Mechanism (EWM) for addressing ESL. This EWM was developed by the WB under the Administration Agreement SRSS/S2018/063 between the European Commission - Structural Reform Support Service - and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. While contributing to a reduction in the level of early school leaving in Romania, this EWM will also contribute to enhancing cohesion, competitiveness, sustainable growth and job creation in Romania. The proposed EWM addresses two gaps that have been identified in the current Romanian policy framework for preventing and reducing ESL: (i) there are no clear and mandatory procedures for collecting data on groups at risk of ESL, and (ii) there is no comprehensive intervention mechanism involving School Inspectorates and schools that would ensure coordinated implementation of ESL reduction measures at national level. Having analyzed the best practice from European countries that have successfully prevented and reduced ESL, as well as the Romanian experience, the proposed EWM is based on a multilevel and multidisciplinary approach to ESL through prevention, intervention and compensation measures and collaboration among institutions from different sectors and levels. While the proposed EWM addresses the school, county inspectorate, and central level, the school has been identified as the key level and focus of interventions. Given the key role of the school in the proposed EWM, but also of all other levels, this document also highlights the need for human and financial resources and training. Importantly, based on this EWM, a national program for addressing ESL is promoted. The proposed EWM includes a coherent methodological framework for detection/identification and intervention measures and, an institutional architecture of specialized human