BACKGROUND

Equitable Education is a key contributor to ending poverty and realizing lasting development. Uganda's education sector has experienced challenges overtime especially; inadequate competencies among teachers, high absenteeism, low motivation, poor management and limited teacher supervision, lack of sufficient teaching and well as limited learning materials in schools.

The sector has also suffered as a result of weak governance and support systems in schools, varying parental involvement in school management committees, weak accountability channels and limited facilities to support the ever-growing numbers of pupils in schools. In the past six years (6), the education sector witnessed declining government investment in comparison to others sectors of the economy. The absence of clear systems for providing Early Child Education has also affected Early Childhood Development (ECD) in the country.

It is for these reasons that the Government of Uganda (GOU) received a grant worth US$100 from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE)/ World Bank, to be used for the implementation of the Uganda Teacher and School Effectiveness Project (UTSEP) and as support towards implementation of the broader Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP), which  is aimed at addressing these challenges.

The Government of Uganda (GOU) signed the US$100 million grant agreement with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) on August 19, 2014. The grant is to be used for the implementation of the Uganda Teacher and School Effectiveness Project (UTSEP) as support towards implementation of the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP).

The World Bank is acting as the supervising entity for the grant. At the national level, project implementation is the responsibility of Government, mainstreamed in the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports (MoESTS) through Basic Education & Teacher Education Departments, Directorate of Education Standards (DES), the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB), the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), Instructional Materials Unit (IMU) and Construction Management Unit (CMU), under the coordination of the Department of Education Planning & Policy Analysis that also houses the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. The districts are charged with implementation of the construction sub-component under component 2; while school management will take charge of ensuring the instructional practices improve at the school level consistent with training programs that are to be provided to teachers and school management teams.

The Results Based Financing (RBF) model is being used under this project, based on Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) drawing from the broader Results Framework (RF) of the project. The project commenced on 15th August 2014, became effective on 24th March 2015 and is expected to close by 30th June 2018. As per financing agreement, the year zero DLI targets (15th August 2014 - 30th April 2015) were agreed upon and satisfactory completion would trigger release of funds for components one and two of the project.

This report presents the progress made on Disbursement Linked Indicators for year zero.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE
The Project Development Objective is to support the Government in improving teacher and school effectiveness in the public primary education system. This will be implemented through:

  • Component 1 (Effective Teachers): Improving teacher quality and performance with specific reference to instructional practices for early grade reading use of instructional materials in teaching, and presence in school.
  • Component 2 (Effective Schools): Improving the school environment in the form of enhanced school management, accountability, and learning conditions including school facilities (classrooms, offices, water and sanitation facilities, teacher housing).
  • Component 3 (Technical Assistance and Capacity Building): Financing advisory, technical, monitoring and evaluation, implementation, and capacity-building support on the level of the education system.

Project Beneficiaries

The 3 year project is expected to benefit the following:

  • Approximately 8,100,000 pupils from new textbooks;
  • 1,000,000 pupils from improved teacher effectiveness in early grade reading teaching;
  • 112,000 pupils from new classrooms;
  • 80,000 pupils from trained childhood caregivers;
  • Approximately 20,800 teachers in primary schools trained in teaching early grade reading, improved in-service tutoring, early childhood education, and school leadership.
  • 8,000 school management committee members and Headteachers trained in school management and accountability;
  • Parents and communities with children in schools covered under the program are to indirectly benefit from higher quality education, greater information and enhanced voice in school management; and,
  • Staff in the Ministry of Education and Sports as well as district staff managing teachers and education service delivery to be trained.

Please find the project brief attached below.

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