Second Lower Secondary Education for the Most Disadvantaged Areas Project (LSEMDAP2) (ADB Loan 3201-VIE)

Name of Client:
Central Project Management Unit (CPMU), Ministry of Education and Training (MOET)

Country:
Viet Nam

Length of Consultancy Assignment:
Start Date:  24 October 2016
Completion Date:  30 June 2021

Detailed Narrative Description of Project:

The main objective of the TA was to help develop an investment project suitable for ADB financing, taking into consideration the needs of the country and ADB’s country partnership strategy with Vietnam. The project design took into consideration the Government of Viet Nam’s policy to reduce disparities in socioeconomic development between regions and ethnic groups through the more equitable access and retention of disadvantaged groups to lower secondary education (LSE) in the four identified project areas. The project that was designed under the TA is expected to help improve the employability and competitiveness of the country’s young labor force by 2020. More specifically, the project will continue and scale up successful initiatives that were piloted in the first phase and introduce new initiatives, as mentioned above. The project will cover the coastal regions impacted by typhoons and floods in addition to the three other regions covered by the first phase project (viz., northern mountains, central region, and Mekong River delta).


PRIMEX, as the lead firm, was contractually responsible to ADB for the implementation of the PPTA. The focus of the Team was on improving the quality and expanding LSE for ethnic minorities and girls in the most disadvantageous regions. The major activities of the TA Team included: (i) a review and assessment of the performance of the LSE subsector in Viet Nam, particularly schooling for ethnic minority and other disadvantaged groups, (ii) identification of challenges in LSE; (iii) designing the proposed investment project and subjecting it to feasibility-level analysis and due diligence; and (iv) assisting the ADB Mission Leader in preparing the loan processing documents. More specifically, the PRIMEX Team: (i) reviewed and assessed the performance of the LSE subsector, particularly for ethnic minorities (EMs) and other disadvantaged groups; (ii) reviewed the achievements of the first LSEMDRP and incorporated lessons learned in the design of the second phase project; (iii) conducted a stakeholder analysis to identify key national and subnational stakeholders from among a broad section of government and society; (iv) assessed the performance of key sector institutions and governance structures and, in so doing, craft the appropriate policy agenda, identified key investment areas, and explored options for institutional development; (v) identified the key issues that need to be addressed in the design of the proposed investment project; (vi) prepared the design of the investment project and conducted a study to evaluate its technical, organizational, financial and economic viability; and (vii) conducted the necessary due diligence and prepared the appropriate social and governance safeguards. The main output of the TA was a feasibility study report that included, among others, the proposed project design, including policy and investment components, based on sound technical, organizational, and economic analyses as well as an in-depth assessment of social (including poverty, gender, and indigenous peoples), environmental, and governance status and issues. The key documents produced by the TA included: (i) feasibility study report; (ii) the draft and final Report and Recommendation of the President (RRP) for the proposed project and linked documents; and (iii) a Project Administration Manual (PAM). In addition to the required ADB reports, the Team prepared the Project Outline and Feasibility Study Report, using the Government prescribed contents and format, for submission to, and approval by the Government of Viet Nam. The project that was prepared under this TA has been approved by ADB and is now in the last year of project implementation.