Economics & Development

The Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance, and Results for Jobs Project for Ghana has the development objectives to expand access to, and improve the quality and relevance of, secondary education. Component 1: Increase equitable access to secondary education. Sub-components: Sub-component 1.1 Rehabilitation and upgrading of existing secondary schools will eliminate double-tracking and rebalance demand by rehabilitating lower-category schools and strategically upgrading selected schools from Category C to B and from Category B to A through additional classrooms, laboratories, information and communications technology infrastructure, libraries, gender-responsive water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, sports facilities, mixed-use workshops with changing areas for female students, staff and student housing, and climate-resilient features, with a focus on inclusive design across Senior High Schools, Senior High Technical Schools, Technical and Vocational Institutes, and all-girls and special or integrated schools; Sub-component 1.2 Construction of secondary schools will add capacity by building new schools in underserved districts and high-demand peri-urban areas, completing selected E-blocks to unlock stranded assets, equipping all new schools for quality instruction aligned to local labor market needs, and establishing two new special schools while ensuring all facilities are accessible and climate-smart. Component 2: Improve quality and relevance of programs in secondary schools. Sub-components: Sub-component 2.1 Strengthen the quality of teaching and learning in secondary education will provide structured continuous professional development for teachers, instructors, counselors, and school leaders on learner-centered pedagogy, practical and investigative instruction in science and technical subjects, competency-based approaches for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, gender-responsive practices, climate and safety awareness, and the use of artificial intelligence-assisted tools for lesson planning, alongside the provision of printed and digitized textbooks to reach a one-to-one student-to-textbook ratio in selected subjects; Sub-component 2.2 Build labor market relevance in secondary education will mainstream digital skills across the curriculum, support program rationalization guided by labor market assessments and national qualifications frameworks, embed employability and entrepreneurship skills, and pilot structured industry partnerships that include instructor industry immersion, work-based learning such as internships and apprenticeships, and practitioner-led teaching in priority sectors including green skills, renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture and agribusiness, digital technologies, sustainable tourism, health, and value-added manufacturing. Component 3: Strengthen systems, communications, and evidence-based decision-making. Sub-components: Sub-component 3.1 Strengthen data systems, monitoring, and project management will consolidate a sector Education Management Information System integrating unique student identification, school, learning, and geographic information system mapping data, improve agency-level data flows, establish a sector-wide grievance redress mechanism, and finance project management, monitoring, and independent verification; Sub-component 3.2 Mobilize demand and address school-related gender-based violence will deploy communications and demand-generation campaigns aligned to the placement cycle to promote equitable enrollment, counter gender norms that constrain girls’ participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and establish gender-based violence service mapping, referral pathways, and training for school personnel and counselors; Sub-component 3.3 Strengthen student placement and teacher deployment systems will improve the Computerized School Selection and Placement System to reflect verified effective seat capacity and optimize the deployment of qualified mathematics and science teachers across schools, with performance-based conditions disbursing against verified updates to placement data and verified teacher deployment. Component 4: Contingency Emergency Response Component will enable rapid reallocation for an eligible crisis or emergency in accordance with agreed procedures.

Ratings of the Niger Adaptive Safety Net Project 2 for Niger were as follows: outcome was moderately unsatisfactory; Bank performance was satisfactory; monitoring and evaluation quality was substantial. Key lessons indicate that adaptive social protection (ASP) systems can function effectively in fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) settings when projects are explicitly designed to anticipate and respond to shocks and retain flexibility as contexts evolve. Future operations should embed triggerable mechanisms for crisis response within project design to maintain service continuity during insecurity, as demonstrated by the shock response component, and leverage innovations that create longer-term efficiencies. Disruptive information and communications technology (ICT) solutions add clear value in low-income and FCV environments when they are tailored, tested, and iteratively refined in context; this includes tools such as an early warning system (EWS) for faster, data-driven scale-up. A strong gender focus is essential: measures that increase women’s income and decision-making power yield multiplier effects for household welfare, adaptive capacity, and community resilience. Proactive donor coordination enhances impact and continuity for beneficiaries; structured partnerships with humanitarian and development actors can sustain critical programs during pauses in financing and should be institutionalized. Fiduciary risks can be mitigated through robust, hands-on implementation support and tighter controls; institutional arrangements should favor placing the project implementation unit (PIU) within the relevant line ministry rather than the Office of the Prime Minister to bolster ownership, capacity building, and oversight. Establishing an empowered oversight committee at the appropriate level is recommended to strengthen checks and balances and sustain governance quality through shocks.

This paper examines how Japan's employment insurance system adapts to protect jobs and support workers during disasters, offering insights into the design of adaptive social protection systems. The analysis is set against the backdrop of an increasing frequency of disasters and the need for social protection responses to crises to go beyond the traditional use of social assistance. Japan's multi-layered social protection framework uses employment insurance as a primary defense to protect people from crises with a dual support mechanism: unemployment benefits (basic allowance) for displaced workers and employment adjustment subsidies to help employers retain staff during crises. A case study of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake illustrates the system's effectiveness. About 51% of the unemployed in the three most affected prefectures received basic allowance benefits. Meanwhile, the Employment Adjustment Subsidies program prevented an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 job losses, demonstrating the critical value of job retention mechanisms. The paper concludes with actionable recommendations for other countries: First, embed flexibility into legal frameworks for rapid crisis response. Second, build strong, coordinated administrative networks. Third, design inclusive programs for vulnerable workers. Fourth, ensure sustainable financing through contributory schemes with government backstops. Japan's experience demonstrates that a well-designed social insurance system can enhance the foundation of disaster resilience.