[{"bbox": [97, 152, 1134, 340], "category": "Text", "text": "To date, SRBC-1 and other IFI interventions/conditionality have largely focused on establishing core state administrative functions and capacities in “centre of government” functions (such as PFM/DRM, mainly at FGS level). By focusing on a critical social sector, in addition to progressing the fiscal settlement and reforms in core aspects of PFM/DRM, this operation intends to facilitate more explicit linkages between improvements in country systems and enhanced fiscal resources for more and better public services. This echoes findings from a recent World Bank (WB) study on Somalia’s Social Contract regarding the **need for formal structures to start meeting citizens’ expectations when it comes to providing basic public goods such as security and education**."}, {"bbox": [97, 350, 1134, 508], "category": "Text", "text": "The **focus on education** is justified by the fact that with an estimated 62% of children currently out of school (GER for primary education is just 27.4%), the needs are enormous while the sector remains hugely underfunded. Education is also a sector in which gender inequalities are profound. Reversing this situation is a shared priority of the new FGS administration and of the EU, and a critical enabler of other key priorities, such as stimulating economic growth through the creation of foundational skills, and improving the condition of women and girls in Somalia."}, {"bbox": [97, 521, 1134, 603], "category": "Text", "text": "Expanding the public provision of education services over the medium-term requires significant additional resources. An EU budget support operation will strengthen the case of the Minister of Education to push for additional budget allocations. Currently FGS allocates only around 4% of the budget to education."}, {"bbox": [97, 613, 1134, 747], "category": "Text", "text": "Much of donor financing is channeled through NGOs, and there is a need to better incorporate into public policy the role of non-state actors in the provision of education services. More generally, the SRBC II could provide a platform to pursue critical reforms that pave the way for sector budget support in the future, moving away from the current NGO dominated delivery model, which has been the EU approach to supporting education in Somalia for the last 30 years."}, {"bbox": [97, 760, 1134, 815], "category": "Text", "text": "Identification of main stakeholders and corresponding institutional and/or organisational issues (mandates, potential roles, and capacities) to be covered by the action:"}, {"bbox": [97, 825, 1134, 968], "category": "Text", "text": "The Federal Republic of Somalia authorities (both at federal and member states levels), particularly the Ministries for Finance (MoF), and for Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE); the Office of the Auditor General of Somalia (OAGS); the World Bank and the IMF; EUMS (particularly Germany, Finland and Italy) and other likeminded development partners such as FCDO and USAID; NGOs/CSOs and other non-state actors active in the delivery of education services and in the scrutiny of economic and financial affairs."}, {"bbox": [97, 980, 1134, 1123], "category": "Text", "text": "The EU is considered a well-respected partner in the Education sector, enjoying the trust of both FGS and FMS, as well as other actors in the sector. In light of recurrent FGS-FMS political tensions, this is a critical aspect for strengthening intergovernmental arrangements needed to establish basic building blocks of Somalia's embryonic education system e.g. reaching agreements on school financing via conditional transfers; or the application of uniform standards for curriculum and examinations, teacher proficiency, school supervision etc."}, {"bbox": [97, 1136, 1134, 1277], "category": "Text", "text": "The current education portfolio consists of projects implemented by NGOs for direct service delivery, and TA to strengthen the capacity of the Education Ministry. The EU is also the coordinating agency for the Global Partnership for Education. Engagement on some key sector policy areas as part of the first SRBC has also been successful, and the overall portfolio and leadership role in policy dialogue positions the EU as a key interlocutor in the sector."}, {"bbox": [85, 1307, 497, 1336], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.3 Additional Areas of Assessment"}, {"bbox": [85, 1353, 286, 1381], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### 2.3.1 Public Policy"}, {"bbox": [97, 1394, 1164, 1502], "category": "Text", "text": "Somalia's National Development Plan (known as NDP-9) remains the overarching policy document for guiding and coordinating Somalia's development efforts: it builds on the progress made and lessons learned from 2017–2019 NDP, and presents a comprehensive strategy to reduce poverty. It also includes an implementation arrangement framework with associated risks and a strategy to fill the large data gaps."}, {"bbox": [97, 1512, 1164, 1620], "category": "Text", "text": "The NDP-9 is organized around four pillars of **inclusive politics, security and the rule of law, economic development, and social development, with building resilience to climate shocks as a cross-cutting theme**. It is informed by good analysis of the drivers of poverty, which include political fragility, conflict, insecurity and lawlessness, and climatic shocks. Importantly, it implements the action plan developed in the 2018 Recovery and"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1680, 1144, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 26"}]