THINKING ABOUT SCHOOL GRANTS?

Some questions to �guide design*

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Juan David Barón

Management Capacity & Service Delivery Thematic Group

jbaron@worldbank.org

May 5^th, 2022

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* This presentation is based on a brief note prepared with Marie Tamagnan

MAIN MESSAGES

• Have clear objectives for School Grants – What are they supposed to achieve?
• Quality, Access, Equity, improvement conditions?
• Conditional or unconditional?
• Challenge: Programs is assessed on objectives that were not

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• Processes matter, small decisions have ripple effects
• Tranches, cumbersome procurement requirements
• Access to funds, access to Banks
• Challenge: money does not flow on time (!), if money doesn’t flow, accountability measures and objectives will not be achieved

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• What are the roles of different stakeholder?
• Principals, parents, district officers, central ministries
• What about capacity?

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• Monitoring & support:
• How data will be collected, cost of collection
• Simplicity
• Important for RBF

Questions come from experience on the ground in countries that have School grant programs

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Simplicity is key for school grants – should match capacity

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2

SCHOOL GRANTS – A FEW QUESTIONS?

OBJECTIVES AND HIGH-LEVEL PARAMETERS

1. What are the objectives for school grants? Why do you give school grants?

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• Funding envelope for program in a multi-year budgeting process

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• Eligibility and selection criteria for schools to receive grants

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• How much money will schools receive? Is this a fixed or per capita sum? Formula

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• Criteria rural, disadvantaged or isolated schools

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High-level objectives and parameters are key for successful school grants

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It is here where RBF can be incorporated

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3

SCHOOL GRANTS – A FEW QUESTIONS?

PROCESSESS MATTER

1. Procedures for low-capacity settings (e.g. rural)
2. At what frequency do schools receive the grants? Are grants given in tranches?
3. What documents do schools need to receive the money? For example: financial reports.
4. Sanctions or penalties for misuse of funds
5. Details on incentive or conditionalities for the use of funds
6. Is there an operation manual for the process and use of school grants?
7. Are there protocols and guidelines regarding procurement?
8. Positive or negative list of eligible or non-eligible expenditures?

Overly cumbersome processes delay implementation and do not prevent misuse of funds

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Focus energy on simple process, implementation and support

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4

SCHOOL GRANTS – A FEW QUESTIONS?

STAKEHOLDERS AND MONITORING

1. How are funds monitored? For example: call center, hotline, or use of texts/SMS with community members.
2. How is the school capacity created or strengthened for the planning and use of the funds?
3. How is information on the school grants shared with communities? For Example : public Schools report cars.

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• What role do school inspectors have in the school grant process?
• What’s the role of parents ?
• At the school level, who is implicated in the decision-making process for the use of the funds?
• Who is responsible for the grant money? For example: the school principal, a school management committee, etc.?

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Stakeholders, data, and monitoring are very important for program success

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5

SCHOOL GRANTS – A FEW QUESTIONS?

THINKING ABOUT SCHOOL GRANTS?

Some questions to �guide design*

​

Juan David Barón

Management Capacity & Service Delivery Thematic Group

jbaron@worldbank.org

May 5^th, 2022

​

* This presentation is based on a brief note prepared with Marie Tamagnan