DESCRIPTION

The proposed Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project (SSEIP) will support investments, institutional capacity building, and reforms in secondary education. The project is aligned with, and will support the implementation of, the SESP 2014 -2018 (and subsequent SESP 2019- 2023).

PROJECT RATIONALE AND LINKAGE TO COUNTRY/REGIONAL STRATEGY

Education indicators for Pakistan are grim, with a low adult literacy rate, low expected years of schooling, as well as considerable challenges in terms of access and quality of learning. Educational challenges in Sindh are more acute than in Pakistan generally. They include limited access to education, poor quality education, and weak education governance and management. The performance of the education sector is weak in Sindh, especially at the secondary education level. At least 4.9 million 10 16 year olds are out of school in Sindh. Sindh's grade 9 and 10 net enrolment rate, at 25%, is significantly lower than the average of 62% for lower middle income countries. Fully 31% of grade 5 public school students drop out before middle school. There are wide disparities in access to schooling across gender, geography, and socio-economic quintiles in Sindh. The net enrolment rate for girls at the lower secondary level was 20% in 2015 nine percentage points below that for boys, while the gap in literacy rate for girls and boys aged 15 24 was 17 percentage points. Public girls' schools make up just 33% of all public high schools in the province.

The project will support the strengthening of inclusive growth, which is a key objective of ADB''s country partnership strategy 2015 -2019. The SSEIP is in the draft Pakistan country operations business plan 2018- 2020 as a firm 2018 program.

CONSULTING SERVICES

ADB will recruit individual consultants to implement the TRTA. Consultant requirements are estimated at 18.5 person-months of international inputs and 29 person-months of national inputs. Additional technical consultants and resource persons may be recruited in areas such as teacher training and accountability, PPPs, examination reform, gender, safeguards, and as well as in areas such as school design and procurement. The project may also recruit a firm to conduct an analysis of, and identify suitable sites for, schools to be constructed under the project. This will involve several key tasks, including (i) identifying school sites to ensure that the project maximizes its impact on target groups such as girls and rural populations; and (ii) assessing the suitability of sites for construction of project schools. Consultants will be engaged in accordance with ADB Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and the associated project administration instructions/technical assistance staff instructions.

PROJECT CONTACTS
Project Officer
LaRocque, Norman I.A.
Central and West Asia Department

Executing Agencies
Planning & Development Department
c/o Mountain Inn Hotel
Chitral, Pakistan

School Education and Literacy Department,
Government of Sindh
Tughlaq House (Old Sindh Secretariat
Building), Karachi

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main