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	Objectives and Justification Scope and Coverage Summary of Main Activities Program Management and Monitoring Financing Plan

Objectives and Justification » Up

The long-term strategic objective of this program is to increase enrolment, retention and progression of students from the poorest families in secondary education. This will contribute to the achievement of ESP goals and targets, including doubling the current enrolment to 1 million lower secondary students and 300,000 upper secondary students by 2008.

The program strategy is to offset the direct costs of attending secondary school and the perceived and real opportunity cost for poor families. The main objective is to ensure increased participation of students with high academic merit and from the poorest and disadvantaged families especially girls and ethnic minorities through a gradual increase in the number of targeted scholarships for the poor. A second objective is to strengthen the capacity of MoEYS and provincial authorities in planning and monitoring poverty targeted interventions and programs and budget allocations. A related capacity building objective will be to enhance the capacity of school/community organizations in operational planning and implementation of the scholarship program.

Scope and Coverage » Up

School selection is based on WFP poverty index, targeting the poorest communes. The program was introduced in 215 lower secondary schools in 17 provinces in 2003/04. The program will be expanded to upper secondary level in 2005, covering all model upper secondary schools and selected rural upper secondary schools. MoEYS will review the financial feasibility of broadening the coverage to include donor-supported scholarship schools (e.g., JFPR, BETT) after project completion.

The program will provide cash incentives for selected scholarship students. Student selection criteria for grades 7 to 9 scholarships will continue to focus on children from the poorest families and various other disadvantaged groups, including girls and ethnic minorities. Student selection criteria for grades 10 to 12 scholarships will be mainly merit-driven, based on grade 9 examination scores and other selection criteria. There will be different stipend levels for students enrolling in model schools and rural secondary schools. In order to achieve gender equity in secondary education, girls will represent a minimum of 60% of all scholarships students in the selected schools.

Against agreed allocations and criteria, school/community organizations and village councils will be required to undertake final selection of beneficiaries. This program will be linked to the lower secondary and upper secondary expansion and model schools investment programs.

Summary of Main Activities » Up

The main activities of the program consist of:

1. Lower Secondary Scholarships aim to provide cash incentives to the poorest students in grades 7-9, especially girls and other disadvantaged groups.

2. Upper Secondary Scholarships: This activity will also provide poverty-indexed and merit-based scholarships for students attending in both model and rural upper secondary schools with possible higher stipends for model school students.

3. School Based Committees Operational Budgets aims to provide operational budget for local management committee to plan, implement and monitor the scholarship program at the school/community level.

4. Monitoring and Management aim to build capacity for central and provincial MoEYS planners and managers in poverty targeted program planning and budget allocation. This activity also aims to strengthen MoEYS monitoring, evaluation and operational research capacity in assessing poverty impact of the program.

Program Management and Monitoring » Up

The program management will be highly decentralized with schools/communities assuming key management responsibilities. In the short-term, DGE will be the designated central BMC for the program, responsible for policy and strategic planning and management and accounting for funds. In addition, the central BMC will be responsible for: (i) formulating targeting criteria and coverage of the program using EMIS and other poverty surveys; (ii) prepare operational guidelines and indicative provincial and school allocations; and (iii) overall program progress monitoring and impact assessment.

The Provincial Education Departments will set up a Scholarship Management Team (SMT) for provincial-level management and monitoring, and providing technical support to schools and communities. At the school/community level, a Local Management Committee (LMC) will be set up at the selected schools, chaired by the school directors, for the day-to-day operations of the program. LMCs will be responsible for student selection, scholarship funds disbursement, progress monitoring and financial management and accounting. The DGE will arrange sample technical audits with Gender Mainstreaming Team participation and IG will arrange sample internal financial audits.

Financing Plan » Up

The financing plan focuses on the recurrent budget of the scholarships program. Additional funds from some donors (e.g. JFPR, BETT) will be reflected in the capital budget, but managed through the same MoEYS management operation in DGE. The costing for 2004 onwards for the latter are based on continuation at this same level of provision in 2003.

» Topic List
	Objectives and Justification Scope and Coverage Summary of Main Activities Program Management and Monitoring Financing Plan