1. Background Introduction

The Puntland State of Somalia has made significant strides in political, social, and economic development since its leaders declared the territory an autonomous region in 1998. The region has managed to maintain relative peace and security in recent years, which has enabled it to establish political and administrative institutions, basic social services, an active civil society, and a growing private sector. Progress has been made in the education sector especially in expanding public education opportunities with significant donor support.

Despite notable improvements in recent years, educational provision, participation, and completion in Puntland are among the lowest in the world. The GER for primary and secondary education is estimated to be about 71.3% (girls: 66%; boys: 76.6%) and 20.5 % (female: 16.2%: male: 24.5%) respectively[1]. The major challenges experienced in the education sector in Puntland are related to weak institutional and technical capacity of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), low participation of children from marginalized groups such as those from pastoralist communities, and concerns of quality of education and TVET provision, which does not address the needs of the target groups.

The MoEHE with the help of development partners finalized an Education Sector Analysis (ESA) in 2016 culminating into the development of a five-year Education Sector Plan (ESSP 2017-2021) and an accompanying three-year Action Plan for the period 2017- 2019. The ESSP focuses on access to education, quality of education, equity in education, and strengthening the capacity of the education sector. As this period has ended, a new Puntland Education Sector Analysis (ESA) and five-year Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP 2022-2027) are currently under development.

The MoEHE has continued engaging with the stakeholders during the implementation of the ESSP 2017-2021, and this ensured that progress was being made in the achievement of the set targets. The ESSP 2017-2021 highlights the need for concerted efforts by all partners to maximize utilization of resources and impact on equitable education access and quality assurance. The Joint Review of the Education Sector (JRES) will assess the performance of the sector at large against the costed ESSP, its action plan, and targets. The JRES will also review all sources of funding in the sector (i.e., other donors and the private sector), in order to evaluate progress against set benchmarks, but also to identify synergies, complementarities, and overlaps.

2. Objectives and Purpose of JRES

As the Global Partnership for Education’s (GPE) Grant Agent for the Education Sector Plan Development Grant (ESPDG), CARE will hire an external consultant to facilitate the JRES exercise in consultation with the MoEHE. The consultant will work with the MoEHE and education partners to assess performance of the sector in 2019-2021. The JRES exercise will culminate in a JRES workshop which will provide an opportunity for the MoEHE and its partners to convene and jointly analyze sector progress, drawing upon the assessments and the results.

The Fifth JRES was conducted in January 2020 in Garowe and covered two years (2018-19) of ESSP implementation. The key objective of the Sixth JRES is to review sector performance in 2019-2021 (school years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021) against the ESSP targets across education sub-sectors and government policy documents. The specific objectives the Sixth JRES include the following:

· To assess the overall achievement of sector targets and established ESSP indicators.

· To identify unmet targets/variances, lessons learned, and recommendations that could be integrated into the action plan for inclusion in the new ESSP (2022-2027).

· To examine budget execution of the sector for the relevant fiscal years, identify bottlenecks, provide recommendations to improve efficiency, and engage in discussions on sector investment needs.

· To review the level of coordination of various actors in the education sector.

· To follow up on recommendations of the Fifth JRES.

· To develop an Aide Memoire that captures sector review preparations - including field visits - discussions, key findings, and recommendations.

· To discuss any issues related to the wider policy context in the Puntland State of Somalia (for example: presence of humanitarian actors, macro reforms taking place, etc.). This should culminate in the development of specific policy papers where necessary.

This consultancy of which this contract will be a part is to contribute to the enhancement of the capacity of the education sector by supporting the MoEHE in Puntland in leading and coordinating a high-quality Sixth JRES, leading to the institutionalization of an annual process of data collection, analysis of primary and secondary data, evidence-based planning and reporting for future JRESs.

3. Methodology

JRES will principally be a consultative process involving major stakeholders and the members of the Education Coordination Committee, and the MoEHE. The focus will be to assess the progress on key areas of ESSP sub sectors. The key sub sectors of focus would be:

a) Primary Education Sector (including Early Childhood Education)

b) Secondary Education

c) Teacher Education and Training

d) Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

e) Special Needs Education

f) Non formal Education (NFE)

g) Alternative Basic Education (ABE)

h) Education in Emergencies (EiE)

Additional cross cutting areas to explore the progress made include:

· Enhancement of the organizational capacity of the MOEHE to manage/regulate the education sector, development of learning materials based on approved national curriculum framework;

· System resilience in light of ongoing shocks (COVID-19 and other natural disasters, conflict)

· Attainment of gender equity and parity in the educational system;

· Strengthening of in-service teacher training systems for all subsectors;

· Establishment of a system-wide monitoring and supervision system, including supportive supervision by regional/ district offices and quality assurance officials as well as the role of participatory governance mechanisms;

· Establishment of system-wide use of EMIS data;

· Supporting of decentralization of education service delivery and higher education;

· Financial planning and domestic financing; and

· Risks and mitigation measures.

4. Description of the assignment

The consultant will support the Puntland MoEHE and its partners to assess the performance of the education sector against the ESSP since 2019. The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical input to the JRES in Puntland to facilitate discussions on key issues that have arisen in the education sector since the previous JRES, and, subsequently, to update the Education Action Plan 2019/2020 based on the ESSP. The consultant is expected to draft an Aide Memoire that identifies priority actions and milestones to address performance issues in the coming year, reflections from the implementation of the ESSP, lessons learned, recommendations, and ways forward.

5. Geographical area to be covered

Puntland State of Somalia (all nine regions) - Bari, Cayn, Gardafuu, Hayland, Karkaar, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag and Sool regions

6. Target groups

The JRES process will involve the MoEHE, including its decentralized structures, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and international cooperation, Ministry of Religious Affairs, development partners, civil society organizations, the private sector and school communities. The process should be consultative involving all major stakeholders of the education sector in Puntland. The review will be coordinated by the MoEHE in collaboration with the Education Sector Committee.

7. Specific work

The consultant in close coordination with the MoEHE will be responsible for the design of the JRES; primary data collection and analysis where applicable; secondary data analysis where applicable; facilitation of the JRES workshop; updating of the Education Action Plan 2019-2020 and development of the Education Action Plan 2021-22 (including the financial and costing plan as well as the monitoring and evaluation framework), and preparation of an Aide Memoire and JRES report. The consultant will oversee the whole process while working in close partnership with the MoEHE of Puntland, the Education Sector Committee, and other development partners.

Specific tasks to be implemented include:

a) Desk Review

The consultant will support the MoEHE to undertake a technical and financial review of the ESSP to gauge the level of implementation in 2019-2021 while also identifying gaps, priority actions, and milestones for the coming year. In addition, all existing relevant project documents, reports, studies, evaluations, and legislation will be reviewed in cooperation with the target MoEHE and development partners. The consultant will be responsible for secondary data analysis as applicable. The analysis is expected to provide a snapshot of the overall progress but also to focus on progress towards gender equity and social inclusion in each subsector.

b) Primary data collection and analysis

Based on an initial review of the available data, the consultant will be responsible for identifying gaps that may require primary data collection. The consultant will be responsible for the design of primary data collection tools, sampling strategy, data collection process, and analysis, with logistical support from the MoEHE and CARE.

c) Consultative Meetings

The consultant will meet and discuss with officials from the MoEHE, the education partners, civil society organizations, and other relevant stakeholders to gain further insight into the progress made by the education sector, in general, and critical issues. Meetings will be planned by the consultant to facilitate discussions in areas prioritized by the MoEHE. The notes from those meetings will contribute to the Synthesis Report (below).

d) Synthesis Report

The consultant will provide a synthesis report and a PowerPoint presentation covering an overview of the current state of the education sector in Puntland in relation to the ESSP, based on data and statistics, documents, field visits and meetings. The synthesis report will include data analysis, graphs, and charts, as well as a narrative portion. An initial draft of the synthesis report will be circulated prior to the JRES for review and comment. A second draft of the synthesis report, incorporating the feedback received, will provide the basis for discussions during the JRES workshop. A PowerPoint summary of the report will be presented at the JRES workshop.

e) Joint Sector Review Workshops

The consultant will assist the MoEHE in preparing for and conducting a two-day JRES workshop with wide stakeholder participation in Garowe, Puntland in February 2022 The JRES will be an analytical, collaborative process, calling upon the MoEHE and education stakeholders to review progress against the implementation of the ESSP, including forward planning.

f) 2020 Education Action Plan Review

The consultant in close coordination with the federal MoEHE and partners will ascertain the level of implementation of the action plan. This will be collaborated through field visits. In this regard, the consultant will prepare a sectorial report reflecting progress on the key indicators in each sector, reporting on implementation of the 2019-2020 action plan and an assessment of the findings, financial reporting and follow up of the recommendations of the 2019 JRES.

g) Aide Memoire and Final JRES Report

The consultant will provide an Aide Memoire summarizing the issues raised, key findings, agreed action points and recommendations of the JRES meetings. The consultant will submit a draft and final versions of JRES report, which is expected to include the final version of the Synthesis Report (incorporating the feedback received during the JRES meeting), the 2021-22 Education Action Plan and the Aide Memoire, as well as relevant annexes.

h) Work Plan and Time schedule

The consultancy timetable is given below:

No

Deliverables

  1. Desk Review 10 days

  2. Consultation Meetings and Field Visit 8 days

  3. Primary Data Collection and Analysis 7 days

  4. Draft Synthesis Report 4 days

  5. Second Draft of the Synthesis Report 2 days

  6. Joint Sector Review Workshop 2 days

  7. Draft Aide Memoire 1 day

  8. Final Aide Memoire 1 day

  9. Review of the Annual Education Action Plan 2019-20 - 6 days

  10. Draft JRES Report 3 days

  11. Final JRES Report 1 day

Total No. of Days 45

8. Requirements

Key requirements for this position include:**

a) Qualifications and skills:

· Advanced degree in relevant field, preferably public education, social sciences, or policy and research.

b) General professional experience

· Advanced degree in social sciences preferably in public education or economics.

· 10 years of relevant experience, of which at least 3 years of supporting the Education Sector of developing and/or transition countries experiencing multiple crises; and experience in education sector planning is a distinctive asset.

c) Specific professional experience

· Have hands-on experience with designing, implementing, and monitoring system strengthening programs, particularly in education.

· Strong background in data analysis, planning, and policy development at the national level.

· Excellent command of the English language and Somali with demonstrated analytical and report writing skills, presentation, and facilitation skills.

· Ability to work in difficult international environments; previous experience of working in fragile contexts or transition countries is an asset.

· Specific knowledge of the education sector in Somalia/Puntland.

· Availability and commitment to complete the assignment within strict deadlines.

· Computer literacy and familiarity with Microsoft Office.

· Ability to read, speak and understand Somali language is desirable.

9. Reporting requirements

The consultant will submit the following reports in English:

· Provide a complete set of physical and electronic data collection documents, filed, and organized as per guidelines provided by the CARE, upon completion of data collection and entry.

· Draft and final Synthesis Report covering an overview of the current state of the education sector in Puntland in relation to the ESSP, based on data and statistics, documents, field visits and meetings. The synthesis report will include data analysis, graphs and charts, as well as a narrative portion. The second draft of the synthesis report will be circulated a few days prior to the JRES and provide the basis for discussions during the JRES workshop. A Power Point of the report will be presented during the JRES itself. A final version of the Synthesis Report will incorporate feedback received during the JRES workshop.**

· PowerPoint presentations on field visits and synthesis report findings.**

· Draft and final versions of the Aide Memoire summarizing all stages of the JRES, on issues raised, key findings and recommendations. **

· Update the 2019-2020 Education Action Plan and develop the Education Action Plan 2021-22 including costing, monitoring aspects, and ensure the activities proposed in the plan incorporate priorities and key strategies.**

Draft and final versions of the JRES report, incorporating any comments received from the concerned parties on the draft reports above. The final report shall be submitted no more than ten (10) days after receipt of comments on the draft reports highlighted above. The detailed analyses which underline the mission's recommendations as well as the final versions of the Synthesis Report and Aide Memoire. The updated 2021-22 Education Action Plan will be presented as an annex of the main report. The report shall contain a sufficiently detailed description of the different options to permit an informed decision by the Ministry of Education and relevant donor missions. **

An evaluation of the consultant´s work will be done by the MoEHE and the ESC based on the timely submission of deliverables, a clear format of the comments, final reports provided, accuracy and quality of the products delivered, and approval by the beneficiary MoEHE. Technical inputs will also be provided by the MoEHE and the partners.

8. Timeline

The JRES workshop is scheduled for 27th-28th February, 2022 and the contract start date will be on 10 February 2022.**

This vacancy is archived.

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