1. Summary and Overview

1.1 Introduction to the Norwegian Education Trust Fund

1. The Norwegian Education Trust Fund (NETF) was created in 1998 in response to a request from the Africa Region of the World Bank to develop a special initiative that would assist Sub- Saharan African (SSA) countries in resuming growth toward universal primary education (UPE). The core objective of the Fund is to support the preparation of high-quality education sector development programs in SSA countries. Since its creation, the NETF has supported such preparation of sector programs in about thirty-nine countries and it has significantly contributed to consensus- and capacity-building, as well as knowledge generation and sharing among countries and development institutions.

1.2 The Eighth Annual Consultation

2. Since the establishment of the NETF, a two-day consultation meeting has been organized annually between the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the World Bank. This report has been prepared as background for the Eighth Annual Consultation, which is to take place in Oslo, Norway on October 12-14, 2005. The consultation will comprise two parts: (i) review of the work supported by the Fund in the past year and discussion of the program proposed for the coming years; and (ii) a seminar on education development issues in Africa, which this year will focus on “Building Capacity for the Education Sector in Africa”. This report covers the key features of the NETF, including achievements and expenditures since the Fund’s inception. The first chapter gives an overview of objectives, rationale, scope, and operational guidelines as well as a financial summary, both cumulatively and for the current reporting period. The subsequent chapters are organized along the focus areas supported by the Fund, with each chapter presenting in detail the activities, achievements and the expenditures for the work financed in the past fiscal year. More extensive documentation will be supplied to the Ministry, if required, for more exhaustive reporting and expenditure monitoring.

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