School Construction Strategies for Universal Primary Education in Africa: Should Communities Be Empowered to Build Their Schools? (Africa Human Development Series)

280 Pages·2009·2.55 MB·English

by  Serge Theunynck

AFRICA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERIES
School Construction Strategies
for Universal Primary Education
in Africa
Should Communities Be Empowered
to Build Their Schools?
Serge Theunynck

School Construction
Strategies for
Universal Primary
Education in Africa

School Construction
Strategies for
Universal Primary
Education in Africa
SHOULD COMMUNITIES BE
EMPOWERED
TO BUILD THEIR SCHOOLS?
Serge Theunynck
THE WORLD BANK
Washington, DC
©2009 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
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ISBN: 973-0-8213-7720-8
eISBN: 973-0-8213-7721-5
DOI: 10.1596/973-0-8213-7720-8
Cover photo:Arne Hoel / World Bank
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
School construction strategies for universal primary education in Africa : should
communities be empowered to build their schools? / World Bank.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8213-7720-8 (paper pack) — ISBN 978-0-8213-7721-5 (e-book)
1. School buildings—Design and construction—Africa. 2. Education , Primary—Aims and
objectives—Africa. 3. Education—Parent participation—Africa. 4. Community organization—Africa.
5. Rural development projects—Africa. I. World Bank.
LB2319.A4S36 2009
372.16096
2009018199
Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations xv
CHAPTER 1. THE CHALLENGES OF AFRICA’S PRIMARY SCHOOL
INFRASTRUCTURE 1
The Growth Trend in Primary School Classrooms 1
The Quality of Primary School Infrastructure 2
Conclusion 12
CHAPTER 2. SCHOOL LOCATION PLANNING AND
CONSTRUCTION NORMS 15
School Location Planning 15
School Quality Norms 19
Inefficiencies of Centralized Planning 24
Conclusion 25
CHAPTER 3. CLASSROOM CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY 29
The Classic Classroom 29
The School Shelter 32
Local Materials and Appropriate Technology Classrooms 35
Industrialized Prefabrication 40
Classroom Prefabrication 42
The Modern Construction Model 45
Conclusion 48
CHAPTER 4. TECHNOLOGY FOR SANITATION AND WATER 51
Sanitation in Schools 51
Water Supply for Schools 53
Conclusion 54
v
vi (cid:129) Contents
CHAPTER 5. PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT 55
Procurement Managed by Central Administration 55
Delegation of Contract Management 66
Decentralization of Contract Management 88
Conclusions 106
CHAPTER 6. SETTING UP COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT 111
Accountability 112
Community Empowerment 116
CHAPTER 7. SCHOOL MAINTENANCE 125
CHAPTER 8. CORRUPTION IN SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION 129
CHAPTER 9. THE DONOR FACTOR 135
CHAPTER 10. FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION 139
What Countries Should Do 142
What Donors Should Do 147
Areas for Further Research 148
APPENDIXES
1. School Infrastructure Matters: The Research Evidence 151
2. Architectural Design of Primary Schools: Examples of 2- and
3-Classroom Blocks 156
3. Examples of Appropriate Technology Schools 159
4. Examples of Latrine Technology 161
5. A Brief History of Industrialization in the Construction Industry Worldwide 162
6. Unit Costs of Some Contract Management Agencies
in School Construction 164
7. Implementation Schemes for School Construction Projects
Sponsored by NGOS 166
8. Decentralization of School Construction in Africa: Country Examples 168
9. The CDD Implementation Process in Benin and Uganda 172
10. School Construction by Local Government Implementation Arrangements 173
11. Stakeholder Roles for Primary School Construction in a CDD Approach 175
12. Toolkits to Harmonize Norms and Standards and Implementation Strategies 177
13. Illustrations from the Senegal Social Fund Community Handbook 179
Contents (cid:129) vii
14. Detailed Projections of the Classroom Needs 180
15. Summary of the Various Implementation Schemes 183
16. The Situation of School Construction Programs in Selected African Countries:
Who Does What and How 184
17. List of Projects Reviewed 215
REFERENCES 225
INDEX 247
BOXES
2.1 School Buildings as a Learning Aid at No Cost 22
3.1 School Construction Programs: A Chance for the Informal Sector 31
3.2 The Shelter Model in Ghana 35
3.3 Three Experiences with Prefabricated Classroom Construction 46
5.1 Contracting to NGOs—The Case of Guinea 78
5.2 Community Delegation in Mauritania 93
6.1 Norms to Be Established by MoEs 114
6.2 Essentials for a Community Request 115
6.3 Essential Elements of a Financial Agreement 118
6.4 Community-based Procurement: Key Features 119
6.5 Handbook Essentials 120
7.1 Budgeting for School Maintenance in Pakistan 127
8.1 Factors That Facilitate and Limit Corruption in School Construction 131
8.2 Approach to Limit Corruption at the Community Level:
The Senegal Social Fund 132
9.1 Characteristics of Sectorwide Approaches 137
10.1 Essential Elements of Stocktaking Exercise 143
10.2 Technical Audit and Beneficiary Assessment: Key Features 147
TABLES
1.1 Growth in Classroom Stock, Needs versus Actual 2
1.2 Number and Condition of Primary Classrooms 3
1.3 Availability of Latrines and Water 4
1.4 Cost of Furniture per Classroom 6
1.5 Indicators of Overcrowding 9
1.6 School Construction Needs, 2005–2015, for 33 African IDA Countries 12
2.1 School Size and Minimum Village Population Required 18
2.2 Average Net Classroom Area (m2) Over Time 21
2.3 Office and Storage as Percentage of Classroom Area in 10 Selected Projects 23
2.4 Unit Cost of Teacher Housing in Selected Countries 24
3.1 Range in Unit Costs of the Classic Classroom Technology in Senegal 33
3.2 Unit Cost of Local Material Technology Compared to Informal Sector 38
3.3 Comparison of the Cost of Prefabricated Classrooms Compared with the Clas-
sicModel 43
viii (cid:129) Contents
4.1 Unit Cost of Latrines in Selected Countries 52
4.2 Cost of Water Supply per School in Selected Countries 54
5.1 Costs of ICB Combined with Community Participation Compared to Other
Methods 60
5.2 Evolution of Gross Unit Costs of Classrooms Procured through
ICB and NCB 64
5.3 AGETIP Performance at Inception Compared to Previous Administrations 71
5.4 AGETIP Performance Compared to MoE Administration through Other
Arrangements 71
5.5 Unit Costs of Classrooms Built by NGOs (3 approaches) Compared with
OtherMethods 76
5.6 Cost of Classrooms Built by Social Funds Operating as Contract M anagement
Agencies, Compared to Other Agencies 85
5.7 Cost of Classrooms Built by Social Funds with Community I mplementation,
Compared to Other Agencies 86
5.8 Cost of Classrooms Built by Deconcentrated Branches of Administration
Compared with Other Agencies 91
5.9 Cost of Classrooms Built by Communities Compared with Other M anagement
Arrangements 95
5.10 Status of Decentralization of School Construction in Selected Countries 96
5.11 Cost of Classroom Construction Built by Local Government through Different
Modalities Compared with Other Agencies 98
5.12 Examples of Gross Unit Costs Obtained in Benin, Ghana, Senegal, and
Uganda 100
5.13 Regression Estimates of the Impact of Project- and Country-Specific Variables
onthe Classroom Construction Cost per Gross m2from Various Classroom
Construction Projects 102
5.14 Parallel Centralized and Decentralized Projects/Programs During 2000–04 in
Selected African Countries 104
5.15 Local Government Expenditure as a Share of GDP and Government
Expenditure, 1997–99 104
5.16 Status of Decentralization of School Construction in Selected Countries 105
7.1 The Cost of Maintenance 128
10.1 School Construction Needs, 2005–15, for 33 African IDA Countries 140
10.2 Financing Needs for EFA in 2015 in 33 African Countries 141
10.3 Estimated Annual Cost of Maintenance of the Programs to Be Built in the 33
African C ountries During 2005–15 142
10.4 A Stock-taking Exercise on Who Does What and How in Primary School
Construction: Example with Ghana 145
A12.1 Norms and Standards 177
A12.2 Toolkit for Donor Harmonization in Implementation Strategies 178
FIGURES
1.1 Typical School Furniture in African Classrooms 5
1.2 Gross Enrollment Rates and Distance to School in Chad, Guinea,
Mali, and Niger 7