While Yemen’s education system has expanded rapidly over the last 10 years, adult literacy is still at a low 44%, and the school-age population will continue to grow rapidly for the next 20 years.  The main issues in the education sector are:  (a) low participation rates and large disparities in access, with girls and rural areas at a disadvantage; (b) poor quality of education at all levels; and (c) a weak Government capacity which results in (d) inefficient resource use.  The Government of Yemen spends a high 8% of GDP on education and needs to accommodate any expansion of the system within this resource envelope to ensure financial sustainability. The Ministry of Education (MOE) is responsible for basic education (nine years) and secondary education (three years), while the Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research oversees higher education and the Ministry of Vocational &Technical Training is responsible for vocational education.

While the Government gives priority to basic education in its strategy, there has been pressure to expand higher education as well, and the result has been a gradual erosion of the budget share going to basic education.

The Government and the World Bank have agreed on a sector strategy, reflected in the Yemen Education Sector Assistance Strategy Note (September 1999), which gives highest priority to basic education.

The description of sector issues and Government strategy below focuses on basic education, where the needs and the poverty impact are greatest

(a)    Low and inequitable participation: Educational attainment in Yemen is among the lowest in the world: only 17% of the population age 10 and above have completed primary schooling. Social indicators, such as high rates of fertility, maternal and child mortality, and child malnutrition, reflect this low level of education.  Participation in basic education remains low, as only 50% of children age 6-14 are enrolled.  The net enrollment rate (NER) is 80% in urban areas (75% for girls and 84% for boys), but only 48% in rural areas, where 70% of the population reside, with a large gender gap: 28% NER for girls and 67% for boys. Distance is a key obstacle for parents in rural areas to send their daughters to school. 

(b)   Poor quality: Quality and outcomes of basic education remain poor, as evidenced by high dropout and repetition rates. Dropout rates are higher for girls and increase at an earlier age.

(c)    Weak governance: As in many sectors, capacity in the MOE is weak and there is little outreach to its clients. MOE administration is centralized, cumbersome and characterized by discretionary decision-making and lack of capacity to enforce regulations. Severe shortcomings exist in personnel management.

(d) Expenditure management: Weak expenditure management, in the aggregate, is reflected in the high share of GDP and budget expenditure allocated to education while Yemen’s GER in basic education is lower than that of comparable countries.

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1) The highest priority in the Government’s education strategy is to increase enrollment in basic education. The Government first aims at increasing the number of classrooms available in rural areas by: (a) using low-cost standardized designs for school construction; (b) involving communities in school construction as a way to reduce costs and retain students; (c) basing school location decisions on school mapping tools and on consultations with the communities; and (d) providing additional allowances for teachers in remote rural areas through the new Teacher Law of 1998. 

Second, MOE also aims at increasing girls’ enrollment by: (a) placing small schools closer to girls’ homes; (b) obtaining the community’s commitment to enrolling girls as a prerequisite for school construction; (c) changing the physical design of schools to include sanitary facilities and boundary walls; (d) providing separate classrooms for girls in grades 7–9; (e) building girls’ secondary schools to encourage parents to keep their daughters in basic education; and (f) providing more female teachers at the preparatory and secondary levels. 

2) Government is starting to more strongly align curriculum – including textbooks and instructional materials -, teacher training, and classroom instruction into a coherent system to improve the quality of basic education.

3) Government is aware that management capacity is crucial to improving the performance of the education sector and that strengthening capacity will be a long process.

 4) Community participation: MOE has adopted an approach of involving communities more actively

 5) Government is aware that it needs to increase the efficiency of education expenditure if the expansion and quality improvement envisaged for the basic education sub-sector are to be financially sustainable.

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The Basic Education Expansion Project (BEEP) has been developed between the Government of Yemen and the World Bank to support the MOE’s efforts within the overall framework of its strategies. The project will address the low participation of rural girls in the first six years of basic education as the most important sector issue.

Sector issues that addressed by the project:

The project will support the Government’s strategy for basic education and specifically address the low participation of rural girls in the first six years of basic education as the most important sector issue.

The project will address three issues related to the low participation of rural girls in basic education: (i) the lack of classrooms in rural areas, which prevents girls from enrolling; (ii) the poor quality of resources available at schools, which contributes to low enrollment and high drop-out rates, especially among girls; and (iii) the weak capacity of education management, which hampers the institutional and financial sustainability of programs that are intended to improve access and quality.

The project covers four main governorates; Sana’a, Mahweet, Amran and Al-Dala’a and has three main components as follows:

Component 1.  Expansion of Access  

The access component of BEEP will support the implementation of: (a) the new policy for school location, which is based on school mapping and community participation; (b) school construction standards that are cost-effective and take into account girls’ needs; and (c) policies for the efficient use of classrooms through the expansion of double shifts.

Component 2.  Quality Improvement

The quality component of BEEP will support: (a) new approaches to teaching and learning which are being introduced with the revised curricula for grades 1-6; (b) the associated introduction of in-service teacher training; (c) the continued improvement in the deployment of teachers to rural areas and link of remuneration to performance; and (d) an increase of O&M expenditure at the school level and a modified funding mechanism.

Component 3.  Capacity Building

The capacity building component is expected to strengthen the capacity of MOE to efficiently and sustainably implement the project and basic education reforms, especially in the four governorates. It will strengthen the capacity of MOE for:

• Increasing community participation,

• Preparing educational statistics and monitoring, and

• Project management in terms of regulatory frameworks, business guidelines, staffing, skills, management information, and management equipment and facilities.

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The project is adopting a new implementation approach where the MoE, at both its central and regional levels, is taking a more active role at both policy and implementation levels with a Credit Administration Unit (CAU) whose responsibility would be to administer IDA credits. The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Education under the leadership of the Minister of Education who would be responsible for overall orientation, and through the existing operational structure of the MOE. Each administrative entity in the MOE, at both the Central and Regional levels, will implement and monitor the activities that fall under its responsibilities. The responsibilities for project implementation would be shared as follows:

(a) the Sector of Projects and Equipment will be responsible for the access component;

(b) the Sector of General Education will be responsible for teacher deployment;

(c) the Sector of Curricula and Education Inspection will be responsible for the teacher training and supervision program;

(d) the Community Participation Unit will assist all the sectors with getting communities involved in their respective activities; and

(e) the Technical Office will be responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation.

In summary, the responsibilities for project implementation would be shared as follows:

· Central level:

At the Central level of the MOE, a Central Implementation Team (CIT), composed of Director Generals under the three MOE sectors, the Technical Office, and a representative of the CPU would be responsible for overall implementation of the project. The CIT will work closely with the CAU in coordinating project activities at the center and at the governorate level. The Minister would supervise the Central Implementation Team (CIT) and the Credit Administration Unit (CAU). 

· Governorate level:

Most of the project activities will be implemented at the Governorate level. An Implementation Team (IT) would be created within each Governorate Office under the chairmanship of the DG for Education. The IT will include three staff members from the three sectors, a representative from the community participation unit and the department of planning and statistics. The Governorate IT would be responsible for the implementation of activities at the Governorate (as described under each component) and would also be assisted by the District Education Offices in the districts where the project will be implemented.  The DG for Education would report to the Central Implementation Team and liaise with the CAU on project matters.

· District level:

The District Education Offices (DEOs), headed by the District Education officer, will follow project implementation progress and report to the Governorate Implementation Team.  The main tasks envisaged are: distribution of textbooks and materials; contribution to the selection of the teachers to be trained; and supporting community participation activities.  The District staffs have little or no facilities and have a weak capacity in management, but they are members of the community.  Therefore, the main role of the Districts in project implementation should be to help and support the involvement of the community in school construction and management.

· Community Level:

MOE staff from the Governorate and District levels will work with the communities regarding school location, construction and oversight.

· Steering Committee

The project will operate under the overall guidance and oversight of a Steering Committee (SC) chaired by H.E. the Minister of Education and membership of MOPD Deputies, Deputies of the Ministries of Finance, Civil Service and Administrative Reform and Education. The main task of the SC will be to set policy guidelines and direct BEEP to ensure the achievement of the project objectives. The SC will approve the annual work plans and budgets for the project. The SC will meet quarterly to discuss the project progress reports and take appropriate action for any deviations from the work plans. In its functions, the SC will be assisted by the Credit Administration Unit (CAU).

 The main task of the SC will be to set policy guidelines and direct BEEP to ensure the achievement of the project objectives.  The SC will approve the annual work plans and

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The Credit Administration Unit (CAU), whose responsibility would be to administer IDA credits. The main function of the CAU would be to facilitate project implementation for the MOE by managing the administrative aspects of procurement, management of the Special Account (SA), monitoring project progress, facilitating project audits and liaising with IDA. 

A full time director with overall responsibilities of planning, implementation and reporting heads the CAU.  Among the key staff of the CAU will be a Financial Officer assisted by an Accountant; a Procurement Officer; a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer; and an Administrative Assistant. Other support staff will be provided and financed by the MOE.

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