Senegal Quality and Equity of Basic Education

The objectives of the Quality Improvement and Equity of Basic Education Project for Senegal are to: (i) improve learning outcomes for early grades, (ii) increase access to the science and mathematics tracks for secondary schools, and (iii) improve equity in access to basic education. There are three components to the project, the first component being quality improvement of basic education. This component aims at improving the accountability chain of the results chain for improving the quality of learning in the early grades of primary education at four levels. The first will be to provide performance financing education grants to District Education Authorities (IEF) under performance-based contracts (PBCs) between Regional Education Authorities and IEFs to improve the management of the education district and the quality and quantity of services they provide to schools in terms of supervision, support and advice, and teacher training. The second component is the strengthening equity in access to education. This component aims at reaching out-of-school children and providing them with a better quality education. This will be done by providing additional assistance to less advantaged areas in terms of new primary schools and by ensuring that all children notably in selected Daaras receive a quality basic education based on a well-defined curriculum. Finally, the third component is the supporting project management and capacity building.

The component 'Empowerment of Girls and Young Women in Education' was added with the final additional financing in May 2021 and supported the empowerment of girls and young women in 300 junior and upper secondary schools in the five poorest performing regions: Kedougou, Kolda, Tambacounda, Kaffrine, and Matam. Activities included: adapting the performance-based contract system to ensure it was gender informed; establishing a system to detect girls at-risk of dropping out; elimination of gender-based violence via codes of contact for personnel; provision of remediation; training to provide psycho-social support for adolescent girls; and provision of menstruation hygiene supplies and rehabilitation of school infirmaries.