Rehabilitation of Basic Education in Sierra Leone Example of a Public-Private Partnership April 11, 2002

Sierra Leone Context Post-conflict country, civil strife, political instability for the past decade GDP declined in the 70s and 80s, in % population under poverty line In 2000 recovery to 3,8% growth, in ,4% growth Positive prospects in the political and economic front Peace agreement reached in 2001

Sierra Leone Context Privatization 29 of the 44 State Owned Enterprises 2001 Strategic Plan for the Divestiture of the State Enterprises, and National Commission for Privatization Legal and Regulatory Framework underway

Education Sector in Sierra Leone Access, Equity, Quality, Efficiency 1990 GER of 51% for primary and 17% for secondary Steep decline in the 1990s 63% GER in primary 2000 and 70% in 2001 GER for Junior Secondary is 16% 68 % of youngsters yrs. Out of school Regional and Gender disparities: 34% of Girls in the north 119% of Boys in the Western area Freetown

Education Sector in Sierra Leone Quality- 10 years to reach complete literacy and numeracy (average in the region 7) 50% of the teachers are untrained 1 in every 4 children has access to textbooks 88% of the infrastructure has been partially or totally destroyed

Education Sector in Sierra Leone Total Budget for Education in ,3M 30,4 % of Total government revenues Public resources for primary education 1,7% of GDP Teacher salaries 4,2 % of GDP/capita Extremely weak management Lack of governance

Strengths of the Sector Private sector has been a key player in the delivery of education services In the post-conflict environment NGOs, missions and CBOs have been involved in the reestablishment of school services 80% of the government-assisted schools are managed by the missions

Public-Private Partnership to rehabilitate the school system Players: MYES, school proprietors (missions), new comers: NGOs, SMCs, NACSA MYES Financing regulatory framework and monitoring

Public-Private Partnership to rehabilitate the school system Service providers: missions, NGOs, CBOs, District Education Offices Management: Project Steering Committee with 60% government 40% non-government members Operational Manual for the Partnership Program

Partnership Program Operational Manual Legal Framework Roles and responsibilities Mechanisms for submission and approval of proposals Standards for the provision of services Financial and Procurement Management Monitoring and Supervision

Lessons learnt Much too soon to derive conclusions, although this is not an example of public- private financing, it is an example of public- private partnership in which each one has specific roles to play based on their comparative advantage. To what extent is this is a short-term strategy to cope with the emergency, and how much will be maintained as the system evolves is yet to be determined.