The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), with support from the World Bank, is set to launch a Performance-Based Financing (PBF) grant worth $19.2 million. This initiative will impact a total of 5,074 primary schools covering the full cycle of classes from 1 to 6.
According to Mr. Ambrose Sesay, the Project Coordinator for the Free Education Project Secretariat (FEPS), the PBF school grant is designed to benefit both Approved and Non-Approved schools. This includes government schools, government-assisted institutions, and certain community schools. Mr. Sesay explained, “The school grant is to be paid per term, which is three times in a year. However, following Crisis & Emergency Risk Communication (CERC), this provision has been revised, and the grants are now to be paid two terms in a year.”
The disbursement of these funds will be tied to specific performance indicators. Among these indicators are pupil attendance, teacher attendance, the quality of school management, including sub-indicators like School Management Committee (SMC) meetings and the preparation of School Improvement Plans (SIPs). Additionally, indicators will assess pupils’ reading competences and consider equity factors such as whether the school is approved or unapproved, serves a poor community, is a ‘small’ school, or accommodates disabled pupils.