[{"bbox": [88, 153, 403, 183], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 1.2 Summary of the Action"}, {"bbox": [96, 199, 1163, 464], "category": "Text", "text": "In recent decades Mozambique achieved huge progress towards universal access to schooling³ and gender parity⁴. Education has been a **priority sector in the government policy agenda**, namely in the 5-Year National Development Plan 2020-2024. This has been translated in consistently high financial allocations to the sector but investment per student is still low. Yet, the majority of children are leaving school without the basic literacy and numeracy skills. The system struggles with very low primary completion rates, low quality of education and high and systemic inequalities, with the northern provinces and the rural areas being most disadvantaged. This has been further aggravated with the security crisis in the north and the COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing mass schooling expansion with the extremely high population growth, coupled with the impact of the recurrent cyclones, the learning crisis, limited organisational capacity and ambitious education reforms make it challenging to ensure students gain the required competencies, knowledge and skills needed for long-term development of the country."}, {"bbox": [96, 481, 1163, 643], "category": "Text", "text": "**Investing in human development is essential**⁵ for the EU to achieve the 2021-2027 MIP objective to support Mozambique's transformation through economic, social and political inclusion and contribute to long term inclusive development. The proposed action **SER: Supporting Education Reform** in Mozambique contributes to the MIP Priority 2: Growing Youth, with the specific objective: 'Improved completion of inclusive and equitable early childhood, primary and secondary education with a focus on gender equality'. This is in line with SDG 4 on quality education and contributing to other goals, including SDG 10 on reducing inequalities."}, {"bbox": [96, 661, 1163, 822], "category": "Text", "text": "SER will support the Ministry of Education and Human Development to implement the main education reforms outlined in the education law⁶, translated into the Education Sector Plan (ESP 2020-29) and the 3-year operational plans⁷. The ESP establishes three priority axes: (a) access, participation, retention and equity; (b) quality of learning; (c) governance. It outlines highly ambitious reforms, severely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a major extension of early childhood education, expansion of basic education to 9 years, and a strengthening of teacher education. The specific objectives of the proposed action are consistent with the Education Sector Plan:"}, {"bbox": [135, 836, 775, 862], "category": "List-item", "text": "* More inclusive and equitable access to quality basic education"}, {"bbox": [135, 864, 1118, 891], "category": "List-item", "text": "* To improve effectiveness of teaching and learning, including learning outcomes for girls and boys"}, {"bbox": [135, 893, 857, 919], "category": "List-item", "text": "* To improve resilience of education system and school level governance"}, {"bbox": [96, 944, 868, 971], "category": "Text", "text": "The education action will be implemented through two complementary components:"}, {"bbox": [96, 997, 1163, 1130], "category": "Text", "text": "a) The **Education Sector Support Fund (FASE) Component (EUR 50 000 000)**: FASE is a multi-donor pooled fund that supports Ministry of Education priorities as defined in the ESP, benefiting more than 8.5 million young Mozambican girls and boys and 100 000 teachers a year, towards access to quality education and achieving learning outcomes. The EU will focus the policy dialogue on education quality and equity issues, including gender equity and inclusion of children living in vulnerable situations and increased focus on learning outcomes."}, {"bbox": [96, 1130, 1163, 1343], "category": "Text", "text": "Currently nine partners contribute to this coordination mechanism: Five Member States - France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, one bilateral donor, Canada and three multilateral partners: UNICEF, World Bank (WB) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). WB is acting as Grant Agent⁸ for the GPE. USAID expressed interest to join in 2022. This component will allow the EU to have a key role in the structured sector policy dialogue and influence crucial sector reforms, being one of the top contributors to the fund and improving the **coherence of the collective EU effort in Mozambique, working together with five Member States** using the existing sector coordination, monitoring and reporting mechanisms. The FASE component will be implemented via indirect management with a pillar assessed Member State agency."}, {"bbox": [96, 1360, 1163, 1415], "category": "Text", "text": "b) The **Equity Component (EUR 9 700 000)**, to ensure a stronger and more consistent focus on equity and service delivery for children living in vulnerable situations as a complementary measure to FASE. This includes promoting"}, {"bbox": [86, 1464, 545, 1483], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ From 1.8 million students in 1998 to 7.2 million in grade 1 in 2018."}, {"bbox": [86, 1484, 481, 1504], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ Net enrolment ratio of 92.5% for girls and 93.1% global."}, {"bbox": [86, 1504, 1143, 1541], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ International Future Current Path Projections: Prospects and Challenges: Mozambique's Growth and Human Development Outlook to 2040, Institute for Security Studies."}, {"bbox": [86, 1542, 513, 1560], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ National Education System Law no. 18/2018, December 2018."}, {"bbox": [86, 1561, 1143, 1600], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ Currently the OP 2020-2022 is in place but many activities were not completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic response and the crisis in Cabo Delgado. In 2022 the new OP 2023-2025 will be elaborated, including outlining the main High Level Reforms."}, {"bbox": [86, 1601, 1006, 1620], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸ Since Mozambique joined the GPE in 2003 it has benefited from 4 grants, all supervised by the World Bank, for a total of USD365.9 M."}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1143, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 29"}]