Author: African Development Bank
Publication Type: Report
Date of publication: 2020
The Government of Chad adopted an Interim Education Plan 2018-2020 (PIET 2018-2020) to improve the situation in the education sector. Through this Plan, the Government is making considerable efforts to upgrade the education system to strengthen its human capital.
The goal is to support the Five-Year Development Plan (PND 2017-2021) and contribute to Strategic Pillar IV of the PND 2017-2021, which aims to improve the quality of life for the people of Chad. PIET 2018-2020 covers all levels of education and some crosscutting themes including equity, bilingualism, capacity building, ICT in education, and risk and disaster reduction. The Government has also adopted and promulgated a National Gender Policy (PNG) in 2017, which targets gender discrimination and aims at gender equality.
The new project aligns with the Bank’s Country Strategy Paper for Chad (2015- 2020). In the CSP’s mid-term review, the second pillar “Supporting reforms to increase the effectiveness of public action and the attractiveness of the economic framework” was extended to include investment in the social sectors, particularly girls’ education. The project will help to improve both the quantity and quality of human capital in the country.
Therefore, it is squarely in line with the second pillar of the CSP since the availability of quality human capital is a factor in the country’s economic attractiveness, particularly for private investment.
The Government of Chad adopted an Interim Education Plan 2018-2020 (PIET 2018-2020) to improve the situation in the education sector. Through this Plan, the Government is making considerable efforts to upgrade the education system to strengthen its human capital
The project is also aligned with the skills and technology pillar of the Ten-Year Strategy 2013- 2022, the fifth High 5 to “Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa”, the Human Capital Strategy (2014-2018) and the Gender Strategy (2014-2018) which are both currently being extended, as well as the Bank’s second Climate Change Action Plan and the Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in Africa.
Under PEFAF, the aim is to contribute to the fight against poverty and inequality through access to education, particularly for girls, the development of skills for jobs and the improvement of women’s productive capacity through functional literacy programs, vocational training and the development of income generating activities.
The project is also in alignment with Chad’s national contingency plan for preparing and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of May 31, 2020, Chad has recorded 778 cases of COVID-19 and 65 deaths.
In this context, the AfDB is supporting the Chadian Government through the Regional Emergency Budget Support Program in Response to COVID-19 – the Chad component and Supporting G5 SAHEL countries in response to the COVID-19 crisis for a total amount of UA 16 million, including UA 2.15 million for specific activities in Chad.
The AfDB is also funding a project to support the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) countries and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the tune of UA 10 million. The aim of these projects is to support the Chadian government in filling the budget deficit caused by the drop in oil prices, to support health systems (supply of equipment for 3 health centers and 2 laboratories), and most importantly to set up social safety nets to support the poorest in the face of the health, economic and nutritional crisis.
Given that the COVID-19 pandemic also caused an educational crisis by closing schools for 2- 3 months as part of the lockdown measures, the AfDB, through the PEFAF project, is supporting the Government of Chad to strengthen the digitalization of learning centers (libraries, computer rooms, etc.) as potential levers to mitigate future breakdown of the traditional supply of education. 1.2 Rationale for the Bank’s Intervention
A Local Group of Education Partners (GLPE) led by the Ministry of National Education and the Promotion of Civic Responsibility was set up in 2012. It comprises a Committee of Technical and Financial Partners, currently coordinated by French Development Agency (AFD). The World Bank is Chad’s leading donor in the education sector. Other partners also investing in the education sector in the country include the Swiss Cooperation, the Saudi Fund, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Global Education Partnership and Education Cannot Wait (ECW).
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is financing a Project to Strengthen Education and Literacy in Chad (PREAT), which UNICEF and UNESCO are implementing. UNESCO is implementing the literacy component of PREAT, while UNICEF is implementing the primary school classroom construction component. The PEFAF project will enable the Bank to re-engage in the education sector in Chad and strengthen its position within the GLPE.
Key Performance Indicators
The key performance indicators of the project’s impacts are women’s underemployment rate, the early marriage (before age 15) rate among girls and the female literacy rate. The impacts will be perceived through increased access of girls to quality secondary education.
These will include the renovation of girl’s secondary schools and construction of new schools, a 20% increase in the number of girls enrolled in the target schools and, simultaneously, an increase in the proportion of girls enrolled in science courses (29%). The country counts 12 inhabitants per km² (2018), compared to an average of 30 for Africa. 10 The aim will also be to strengthen the economic empowerment of women beneficiaries of functional literacy programmes. In this regard, it is expected that the income of those women will increase by at least 15% thanks to the project.
These will include the renovation of girl’s secondary schools and construction of new schools, a 20% increase in the number of girls enrolled in the target schools and, simultaneously, an increase in the proportion of girls enrolled in science courses (29%). The country counts 12 inhabitants per km² (2018), compared to an average of 30 for Africa.
At the output level, the project will measure 25 specific indicators that will report on the implementation of various interventions carried out. Details of the outcome and output indicators are provided in the logical framework. Various Bank supervision missions and periodic progress reports will be used to monitor the level of achievement of these indicators. A monitoring/evaluation system will also be set up to track the indicators.
Project Feasibility
Financial and Economic Performance
3.1.1 The Report on the State of the National Education System (RESEN 2014) states that “despite a relative improvement, school life expectancy in Chad is one of the shortest in Africa and not reflective of investment efforts in education”. The gross enrolment rate for middle school rose from 16% to 29% (18.6% for girls) between 2001 and 2013. However, the rate is still low compared to that of the 20 comparable countries (52%).
At the secondary level, the net enrolment rate increased from 7.2% in 2000 to 30% in 2013. This is below the average (27%) for the 20 sub-Saharan African countries. The gross access rate increased from 10% to 13% between 2004 and 2013. In terms of disparities and equity in primary and secondary education (MDG 3), it appears that girls enrolment is lower than boys (11-point gap in 2014) and they also leave the school system prematurely. Disparities in enrolment are also associated with the household income level (31-point gap between rich and poor) and location (23-point gap between urban and rural areas) 9 .
According to the ECOSIT3 results, the unemployment rate is 22% and generally affects the 15-30 age group, which illustrates the vulnerability of a high proportion of young people. The underemployment rate is estimated at 35% of the employed labour force. The job offers registered by ONAPE in 2012 reveal that 67.7% comes from oil sector businesses. Underemployment is still high (54% among young people aged 15 to 30, 82% of whom are men). 3.1.3 Given that youth represent half of the population, the Government’s objective is to work towards their socioeconomic integration. According to the results of the RGPH2, women and youth, under 15 remain the majority of the population (50.6%10).
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