UNICEF Republic of Guinea February 2012 THIRD INTERIM UTILIZATION REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATION SECRETARIAT UNICEF/ GUINEA / 2011 Global Partnership for Education (ex- Education for All Fast Track Initiative): Guinea’s Education Sector Plan Activities PBA : SC/2010/0648-00 Reporting Period: September 2011- February 2012 Interim Utilization Report No.3 Contribution Summary Country/ Region Guinea/ WCARO Programme Name Global Partnership for Education (ex- Education for All Fast Track Initiative): Guinea’s Education Sector Plan Activities PBA Reference SC/2010/0648-00 Total Contribution US$ 24,000,000 Recovery Cost US$ 1,569,600 Programmable Amount US$ 22,430,400 Total Funds used to date US$ 9.378,014 (41.8% of total programmable amount) Balance US$ 13,052,986 Project Period September 2010 - December 2012 Report Due Date 29 February 2012 Reporting Period From 1 September 2011 to 29 February 2012 To contribute to the implementation of the Education Sector Programme with the goal of reaching universal primary education through enhanced access Project Objectives and quality in the education sector, and in particular through immediate actions to combat against the declining education indicators observed since 2007. Primary beneficiaries At least 44,000 pupils in 991 newly constructed classrooms of 311 primary schools; At least 2,400 pre-school children at 30 Community Education Centres; At least 80 ECD educators ; Target Population 8 Regional Inspections of Education; 38 Prefectural Directions of Education; and 416 Delegations for Primary Education (at sub-prefecture level); 25,000 adolescents and adults through literacy program. Secondary beneficiaries 100% of primary and secondary school students in Guinea; Local communities and authorities. Geographic Focus area National Main implementing partners are the: Ministry of Pre-University Education; Ministry of Social Affairs and Promotion of Women and Childhood (in charge Project Partners of pre-school education); Ministry of Literacy and the Promotion of National Languages; and national and international NGOs such as Plan Guinea. Collaborating partners are technical and financial partners such as GiZ, KfW, AFD and the World Bank. Mr. Julien Harneis, Representative Email: [email protected] Telephone: +224 62 66 34 52 Mr. Felix Ackebo, Deputy Representative Email: [email protected] Telephone: +224 68 68 78 12 UNICEF Contact(s) Mr. Gervais Havyarimana, Chief, Education Programme Email: [email protected] Telephone: +224 62 35 02 95 Ms. Ikuko Shimizu, GPE Project Manager Email: [email protected] Telephone: +224 62 35 02 98 UNICEF Guinea, BP 222, Conakry, Guinea Tel : + 224 62 66 34 10 1 Table of Content Contribution Summary Executive Summary List of Acronyms 1. COUNTRY AND EDUCATION SECTOR CONTEXT……………………………...5 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION…………………………………………………………….6 3. RESULTS……………………………………………………………………………..…7 4. IMPLEMENTATION CONSTRAINTS…………………………………………..…17 5. LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………..18 6. PARTNERSHIP………………………………………………………………………..18 7. COMMUNICATION AND VISIBILITY…………………………………………….19 8. FUTURE WORK PLAN………………………………………………………………19 9. FINANCIAL UTILIZATION…………………………………………………………20 10. EXPRESSION OF THANKS……………………………………………...……….....20 ANNEX 1. Consolidated PAAB results of six Regions …………………………………….…..21 2. (a) Subventions to Schools: Utilization by type of expenditure……………….…..24 (b) Subventions to DSEE: Utilization by type of expenditure………………….….25 (c) Subventions to DSEE for in-service teacher training: Number of teachers by type of training received…………………………………………………………..….26 3. Implementation Plan, Construction activities (Revised)…………………….….….28 4. Financial Utilization Report, 1 September 2011- 29 February 2012………………29 Cover photo: School children in front of the newly constructed classrooms in Lola Prefecure, N’zerekore Region. November 2011. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Guinea today, 43 per cent of the people live below the poverty line (US$1.25 per day), a majority of which lives in the rural areas where access to basic social service in particular education and health is unavailable or limited, and its quality inadequate. During the past two years of political instability, all social sectors including education suffered from declining quantity and quality of services, resulting in the deterioration of education indicators on almost every fronts—access, quality and management capacity. This decline was sharper again in rural areas. The political context in the recent past did not play in favor of the execution of the Education Sector Programme (PSE) 2008-2015. The original amount of US$117.8 million from the Fast Track Initiative (FTI)’s Catalytic Fund to support the PSE was reduced to US$ 64 million. The restructured FTI Fund was partially transferred to UNICEF as a Supervising Entity (US$24 million) in September 2010 for the implementation of five components of activities defined in the PSE through December 2012. In the meantime, the pooled fund to support the PSE was reactivated. UNICEF, along with other Technical and Financial Partners (TFPs), supports the Government of Guinea to implement priority activities of the PSE to tackle above challenges. Key progresses made during the reporting period are: Decentralized offices of the Ministry of Education (IRE and DPE/DCE) implemented 264 activity proposals during the school year 2010/2011 to improve education quality and management, using 95.5 per cent of planned amount that totals US$627,567; 416 Sub-prefectural education delegation (DSEE) and 6,129 public schools across the country implemented annual plans to improve their working/ teaching and learning conditions with the subventions, and the immediate results are consolidated for six out of eight regions; Nine-month literacy program began at 595 centres targeting 25,000 adults and youth; The construction of 78 schools (240 classrooms) is at 60 per cent completion level , and to be completed during the first quarter of 2012; The training strategy for community educators refined. To date, 41.8 per cent or US$9,378,014 of the programmable amount of US$ 22,430,400 was utilized, leaving the balance of US$13,052,986. Into its second year since the agreement signed in late September 2010, the Catalytic Fund of the FTI, now the Global Partnership for Education Fund (GPE Fund), has shown a solid support to Guinea’s PSE through the execution of priority activities managed by UNICEF. 3 LIST OF ACRONYMS ADC Agents du Développement Communautaire (Community Development Workers) AFD Agence Française de Développement CEC Centre d’Encadrement Communautaire (Community Education Centre) CRD Communauté Rural du Développement (Rural Development Community) DCE Direction Communal de l’Enseignement (Communal Direction of Education, equivalent of DPE for the urban communes of Conakry) DNAF Direction Nationale de l’Alphabétisation Fonctionnelle (National Direction of Functional Literacy) DNEPPE Direction Nationale de l’Education Préscolaire et de la Protection de l’Enfance (National Direction of Pre-school Education and the Protection of Childhood) DPE Direction Préfectoral de l’Enseignement (Prefectural Direction of Education) DSEE Délégué Scolaire de l’Enseignement Elémentaire (School Delegation for Elementary Education) EFA Education For All FTI Fast Track Initiative GiZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Technical Cooperation) GPE Global Partnership for Education IRE Inspection Régionale de l’Education (Regional Inspection of Education) KfW Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (German Development Bank) PAAB Plan d’Action Annuel Budgétisé (Annual Budget Action Plan) PAE Plan d’Amélioration d’Ecole (School Improvement Plan) PSE Programme Sectoriel Education (Education Sector Programme) SNAPE Service National d’Adduction des Points d’Eau (National Service for Supply of Water Points) SNIES Service National des Infrastructures et des Equipments Scolaires (National Service for School Infrastructure and Equipment) TFP Technical and Financial Partners 4 1. COUNRY AND EDUCATION SECTOR CONTEXT 1.1 Country Profile Guinea, a West African country, is inhibited by ten and half million of people in 2010, 65 per cent of whom live in the rural areas and 35 per cent in urban centres. Illiteracy rate is at 39 per cent, and the life expectancy is estimated at 54 years old.1 Guinea is divided into eight administrative Regions; 38 Prefectures of which five in Conakry (called Communes Urbaines); and 304 Rural Development Communities (CRD) at sub- prefectural level. On the economical level, Guinea remains among the bottom poor despite its enormous agricultural and mineral potential. Guinea hosts some of the largest global resources of bauxite and iron ore in addition to sizable gold and diamond deposits, and a potential for oil and gas development. However, in 2011, 43 per cent of the population lived below the poverty line (US$1.25 per day). On the political front, the new President and the Government was installed in December 2010. Thirty-seven new Ministers were nominated among which five for the formal and non- formal education sectors. In September 2011, nomination of key education personnel including Prefectural Directors of Education (DPEs) took place. More than half of the 38 DPEs today are new to education administration. Some donors are withholding or shrinking the aid disbursement until the legislative election, which has been delayed since the last quarter of 2011 and now is planned for May 2012. 1.2 Education Sector in