librarycontent.ie5

PROJECTINFORMATIONDOCUMENT(PID)CONCEPTSTAGEReportNo.
:AB3956ProjectNameHigherEducationProjectIIRegionMIDDLEEASTANDNORTHAFRICASectorTertiaryeducation(100%)ProjectIDP110733Borrower(s)REPUBLICOFYEMENGovernmentofYemenYemen,RepublicofImplementingAgencyMinistryofHigherEducationandScientificResearchYemen,RepublicofEnvironmentCategory[]A[]B[X]C[]FI[]TBD(tobedetermined)DatePIDPreparedJanuary13,2009EstimatedDateofAppraisalAuthorizationMay18,2009EstimatedDateofBoardApprovalSeptember23,2009KeydevelopmentissuesandrationaleforBankinvolvementWithintheeducationsector,themainfocusuntilrecentlyhasbeenonimprovingaccesstobasiceducation,throughthegovernment'sBasicEducationDevelopmentStrategywhichhasmulti-donorsupport.
Substantialgainshavebeenmadeoverthelastdecadeandthegrossenrollmentrateinbasiceducationhasreachedalmost70percentwithimprovementalsoingenderparity.
Thedemandforsecondaryandtertiaryeducationhasconsequentlyexpanded:between1996and2004,enrollmentsinsecondaryandtertiaryeducationincreasedbymorethan80percent,albeitfromaverylowbase.
Initseffortstomeettheincreaseddemandforpost-compulsoryeducation,thegovernmentisconfrontingthechallengesofimprovingtherelevanceofcurriculatochangingeconomicandsocialneeds,andincreasingtheefficiencyofpublicexpenditure.
TheMinistryofHigherEducationandScientificResearch(MHESR)overseesuniversityleveleducationwhichcurrentlycomprisessevenpublicuniversities,withatotalenrolmentof174,000(2005/6),and9privateuniversities,enrollingatotalof12,000students.
Yemen'shighereducationsystemisinurgentneedofrenewalandupdating.
AlthoughYemencomesoutrelativelywellintermsoftheshareofGDPdevotedtohighereducation,thereiswidespreadconcernthatstudentsarenottaughtappropriately,curriculaareoutdated,andunemploymentofgraduatesishigh.
Onlyabout13percentofstudentsstudyscience,engineeringandtechnology.
Inareverseofthenormalpattern,thegreatmajorityofYemen'spost-secondarystudentsareenrolledinuniversitydegreeprogramsratherthanshortertechnicalormoreappliedcourses.
Theissuescanbesummarizedasfollows:Qualityanddistributionofinputs:Despitetheoveralllevelofinvestment,unitcostsarelow,staff-studentratiosareunfavorableandplant,equipmentandlearningresourcesareverypoor.
Staffinglevelsareoftenexcessivelylow(1:96studentsforartsand1:15forsciencesinSana'aUniversityin1999).
AlthoughsalariesofprofessorsarerelativelyhighbythestandardsinYemen,teachingstaffcommonlyhaveoneormorejobsinadditiontotheiruniversitypositionandabsenteeismisaproblem.
Professorsenjoyprestigebutlackothernon-monetaryincentives,includingofficeandcommunicationsfacilitiesandopportunitiesforresearchandprofessionaldevelopment.
Thereisnosystematicprocessforreviewandupdatingofcurricula.
Thenumberofstudentsinscienceandengineeringisconstrainedbytheshortageoflaboratoriesandequipmentaswellasteachingstaff.
Resourceshavebeenmorereadilyavailablefornewbuildingsthanforstaff,equipmentorlibrarybooks.
Arecentstudyoflibraryresourcesfoundastonishinglyinadequatematerialsandusage,withanaverageofonlytwobooksperstudent.
Facilities,unitcostsandinstructionalinputsarehighlyvariablebetweentheuniversities.
Overseasscholarships:Scholarshipsabroadaccountforaveryhighshareofrecurrentspending(31percentinthe2005budget,comparedwith1.
4percentformaintenancecosts).
Althoughthissharehasbeendeclining(fromcloseto50percentin1997),theopportunitycosts(forthecountryandforhighereducationasawhole)ofmaintainingthisscholarshipprogramneedmoreattention.
AdministrationoftheprogramabsorbsahighshareofthecapacityoftheMinistryofHigherEducation.
Governanceandfinancing:Afundamentalreasonforthesub-optimaluseofresourcesanddisappointingoutcomesisthatthegovernanceandfinancingarrangementsareunsatisfactory.
UniversityexpendituresarecontrolleddirectlybytheMinistryofFinancethroughlineitembudgetsandMOFstaffineachuniversity,leavinglittleroomforplanningorfordecisionsontheuseoffundsattheinstitutionlevel.
Asaresult,thereisnegligibleincentiveforinnovationorforinteractionwithlocalcommunitiesoremployers,andabsenceofqualityresearch.
Thereisnonationalbodytooverseeorcoordinateresearch.
Stepsarebeingtakentoestablishanationalqualityassurancesystembutthisisnotyetoperational.
Policyandplanningfordevelopmentofthetertiarysectorasawholeisimpededbytheabsenceofasingleresponsiblecoordinatingagency.
TheMinistryofTechnicalEducationandVocationalTrainingisresponsibleforasmallbutrapidlygrowingnumberoftertiaryleveltechnicalinstitutionsandcommunitycolleges,uncoordinatedwiththeplansofuniversities(thatareaimingtodiversifyintoshorterandmoreappliedprograms)andwithnostudentpathwaysbetweenthem.
Theuniversityfacultiesofeducationdeterminethestudentnumbersandcurriculaforteachereducation,uncoordinatedwiththeprojectedrequirementsofthegeneraleducationsystemundertheMinistryofEducation.
Branch/teachercollegesoftheuniversities,manybasedinmoreremote/ruralareas,holdthepotentialtosignificantlyimproveequityinaccesstotertiaryeducationfortheruralpopulationandwomen.
However,atpresent,theyaretrainingmoreteachersthanthesystemcanemploy.
Effortstoplanforthesecolleges–toimprovethequalityandrelevanceofteachertrainingandofferothertertiarylevelprogramstomeetlocalneedsandpathwaystohigherlevelstudy–dependonimprovedmechanismsforinter-ministerialcoordination.
Committees/councilsestablishedsofartofacilitatecoordinationhavebeenineffective.
UndertheWorldBank-fundedHigherEducationProject(aUS$5millionLearningandInnovationCredit),theMHESRhasdevelopedaNationalStrategyfortheDevelopmentofHigherEducationaimingtoaddresstheseweaknesses.
Thestrategyhasfourpillars,orstrategicobjectives:1.
Governanceandmanagement:toestablishatthenationalandinstitutionallevels,agovernancesystemthatensuresaccountabilityandtransparencyindecisionmakingandimplementation.
2.
Diversityofinstitutionsandprograms:tolinkthehighereducationsectordevelopmentwiththelabormarketdemandforhighereducation,therebypromotingdiversificationofthestructuresandprogramsofhighereducationinstitutionsverticallyandhorizontally,andstimulatingequityofaccess.
3.
Resources:provideadditionalresources(governmentalandnon-governmental)withafocusonenhancingthecapacityofhighereducationtoincreaseselffinancingandcreatingpartnershipswiththeprivatesectortofinanceanddevelophighereducationinstitutions.
4.
Quality:toimprovethequalityofteachingandlearning,researchandservicestoenablehighereducationinstitutionstoproduce,adaptanddisseminateknowledgefortheresolutionofsocialandeconomicissues.
TheNationalStrategywasapprovedandadoptedbythegovernmentin2006,followingextensivestakeholderconsultation,andaplanofactivitiesfor2006to2011wasprepared.
ThesedocumentswerepublishedandfurtherdisseminatedatahighereducationconferenceinSana'ainMarch2008.
Thestrategyandsupportingactivitiesaresoundinthattheyreflectinternationalgoodpracticeinthesector;however,theyareambitiouslycomprehensiveinrelationtoavailableimplementingcapacityandmoreattentionwillbeneededtoprioritizingandsequencingoftheactivities.
Themajorchallengenowforimplementationofthestrategyistodefineandcoordinatethepiloting,capacitybuilding,legal/regulatoryandpolicyactionsthatareneededtoaccomplishthedifficultproposedreformsofuniversitygovernanceandfinance.
Thebenefitsoffurtherinvestmentinthesectorarelikelytodependonthesereformsandtheassociatedincentivestoimprovequalityandefficiency.
RationaleforBankInvolvementTheproposedprojectwouldsupporttwoofthefourpillarsofthecurrent(2006)CASforYemen:(i)diversifyinggrowththroughbettergovernanceandbetterdeliveryofpublicservices,and(ii)improvinghumandevelopmentthroughmoreefficientservicedeliveryandimprovedsafetynets.
ThissecondprojectforhighereducationisincludedintheouteryearsoftheCAS.
TheBankisengagedinalleducationsub-sectors,withlendingoperationsinbasic,secondary,vocationalandhighereducation,andon-goingsectorwork–attherequestoftheMinistryofPlanningandInternationalCooperation–tosupportcoordinationthroughanintegratedstrategyfortheeducationsectorasawhole.
Forbasicandsecondaryeducation,substantialprogresshasbeenmadeinharmonizingassistanceofthetraditionaldonorsthroughtheEducationforAllFastTrackInitiativeandthroughpre-SWAPoperations.
Atthetertiarylevel,thesituationismorecomplex.
AsidefromtheBank,onlytheNetherlandsisengagedinactivitiesrelatedtopolicydevelopmentsandthe"software"needsforbuildingcapacityandimprovingqualityinthehighereducationsystem.
However,anincreasingnumberofnewdonors–includingtheregionaldevelopmentbanks,GCCcountries,China,Korea–arefinancinginvestmentsininfrastructure.
Thereisadangerthattheseinvestmentsoutpacethecountry'scapacitytomakeeffectiveandsustainableuseofthenewfacilities.
ThegovernmentislookingtotheBanktosupportthenecessarypolicyreformsandsoftwareinvestments.
TheproposednewprojectwillbuildonthemomentumcreatedandlessonslearnedfromtheLearningandInnovationCredit,whichclosedonJune30,2008.
Proposedobjective(s)TheproposedobjectiveoftheprojectistoimprovethequalityandrelevanceofselectedprogramsinYemen'suniversitiesandtomaintainthemomentumonlongertermreformofuniversityfinanceandgovernance.
PreliminarydescriptionComponent1:DevelopQualityProgramsinPriorityAreasTheobjectiveofthiscomponentwouldbetoraisethequalityofselectedhighereducationprogramsinYemen'suniversitiesinfieldsthatareparticularlycriticaltothecountry'snationaldevelopmentandemploymentneeds.
Thecomponent,whichwouldaccountforsome75percentofprojectfunds,wouldfinancecapacitybuildingintheuniversitiesandprovidegrantsforneworupgradedprograms,basedoninternationalstandards,topreparegraduatesinidentifiedpriorityfieldscontributingtonationalorregionaleconomicprioritiesandtheneedsofprivateandpublicsectoremployers.
Grantswouldcoverthecostsofdevelopingandintroducingthenewprograms,includingTAandtrainingforprogramrenewalandfacultyupgrading,visitingprofessorships,equipmentandlearningresources,andrefurbishmentofexistingbuildingswherenecessary.
Newconstructionwouldnotbeincluded.
Component2:BuildCapacityforImplementationofReformsundertheNationalStrategyTheobjectivesofthiscomponentwouldbe:(a)tomaintainmomentumonlongerterminstitutionalreform;and(b)tostrengthencapacityforprojectmanagementandforcoordinationofdonorassistancetomeetpriorityneeds.
(a)Maintainmomentumonlongerterminstitutionalreform.
Basedonworkcarriedoutunderthefirstproject,activitieshavebeeninitiatedforreformofuniversitygovernanceandfinance,developmentofaqualityassurancemechanism,individualuniversitydevelopmentplans,andcentrally-drivenrestructuringplansfortheuniversitysectorasawhole.
Theneedatthisstageistofullydefinethepiloting,capacitybuilding,legal/regulatoryandpolicyactionsandtimeneededtoimplementthesechallengingreformseffectively.
ThissubcomponentwouldfinanceTA,trainingandworkshopsatcentralanduniversitylevelstohelpimplementpriorityelementsoftheNationalStrategyintheareasofgovernance,financeandqualityassuranceandtohelpintegratestructureandpolicyforthetertiarylevel.
(b)Strengthencapacityforprojectmanagementandcoordinationofdevelopmentassistance.
Learningfromtheexperienceofthefirstproject,moreattentionandresourceswouldbegiventoensuringthenecessarycapacityintheMinistryofHigherEducationanduniversitiesforallaspectsofprojectmanagement,andforcoordinationofdevelopmentassistance.
ThissubcomponentwouldfinancelocalandinternationalTAtostrengthenthiscapacityaswellasfundingessentialequipmentandoperatingcostsfortheunit.
Safeguardpoliciesthatmightapply[Guideline:Refertosection5ofthePCN.
WhichsafeguardpoliciesmightapplytotheprojectandinwhatwaysWhatactionsmightbeneededduringprojectpreparationtoassesssafeguardissuesandpreparetomitigatethem]Nosafeguardpoliciesareexpectedtobetriggeredbytheproject.
TentativefinancingSource:($m.
)BORROWER/RECIPIENT0InternationalDevelopmentAssociation(IDA)10Total10ContactpointContact:GillianM.
PerkinsTitle:Sr.
EducationSpecialistTel:(202)473-6697Fax:(202)477-0036Email:Gperkins@worldbank.
orgwb86262C:\DocumentsandSettings\wb86262\LocalSettings\TemporaryInternetFiles\Content.
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