Appraisal of the National Education Sector Plan 2018-2022

The principal objective of the consultancy is to conduct an appraisal of the Eritrean Education Sector Plan (2018-2022) to confirm its credibility. The expert service will provide a fair review of the ESP strengths and areas of in need of improvement before the plan will be endorsed by partners to confirm their commitment to support the implementation of the ESP. Specifically, the consultancy will provide technical assurance on the ESP process as country-led, participatory and transparent, soundness and relevance of the plan, methodically dealt with issues of equity and efficiency and learning, coherence, feasibility, implementability and monitorability. The consultancy will also conduct financial appraisal of the ESP which would include evidence that a positive policy environment exists for productive investments in the education sector and that capacity constants are addressed to facilitate policy implementation. The appraisal will give attention to areas of government leadership, knowledge and data, institutional and human capacities, and dialogue among education stakeholders.

Duration of Contract: 01-20 January, 2018 (15 working days)

Section: Basic Education, Child Participation and Participation (BECPP)

Location of Assignment: Asmara, Eritrea

Reports to: Chief of BECPP, UNICEF ECO

Broad accountability to the Director General, Department of Administration and Finance and chairperson of the EWG

Eritrea is a relatively a new nation born after 30 years of armed struggle. It gained its de facto and de Jure independence from Ethiopia on May 1991 and 1993 respectively. Since its independence, building the education sector has been a priority for the Eritrean government with commitments to free education for all Eritreans across all levels including secondary and tertiary education.  The 2010 National Education Policy also underlines the Ministry of Education commitment on reaching the unreached and the goal for creating a literate society that can provide good quality education to all children and at all levels. It calls for the provision of free and compulsory basic education; the use of the mother tongue teaching at the elementary level; and the expansion of secondary and tertiary education opportunities as the most essential components of the education system. Anchored on the principles of social justice, the government of the state of Eritrea policy documents embraces the equity dimension in efforts to expand access to general education.

In line with the sustained efforts to universalize access to basic education and meet the commitments of Education for All initiative, sizeable progress was made in expanding general accessibility to basic education including early childhood education services across the country. Consequently, the number of primary schools over the years 2000/01-2015/16 expanded from 491 to 958 and the GER and NER stretched from 85.4% and 58.8% in 2000/01 to 106.7% and 82.1% in 2015/16 respectively. In lower secondary school the GER and NER expanded from 62.8% and 16.7% in 2000/01 to 75.4% and 40.9% in 2015/16 respectively. The number of secondary schools increased from 43 in 2000/2001 to 104 in 2015/2016.

Despite efforts to meet national and international commitments and the declaration of free education at all levels, Eritrea like countries in the region, faces the dual challenge of increasing access to educational opportunities and improving the quality of education at all levels in the school system. Recently the out-of-school country study report (2016) revealed that yet over 220,000 children of 5 to 13 years of age remain out-of-school. The analysis also disclosed a bulk of these out-of-school children are from pre-primary (73.0%)and middle school (40.9%) levels of education. Consequently, the critical issues and the overriding concern of the sector relates to ensuring equity of access to schooling throughout the country. Wider disparities in the general level of participation among regions/Zobas, gender gaps, low levels of participation of children with disabilities, children from nomadic communities and those from geographically hard to reach rural areas typifies the education sector. 

Besides, improving the nature and quality of education especially at basic education level has been a public concern. Studies carried out to monitor the learning achievements (MLA) of children to generate comprehensive information, support policy suggestions and reform in 2001, 2008 and 2015 indicated a declining trend in learning achievements. Findings from the third-round MLA survey (2015) flagged a falling trend in performances at Grade 5 where only 25.4% of students attained the minimum mastery level (MML) compared to 49.9% in 2008. The inadequate coverage of teachers, heightened teacher attrition compounded by numbers of untrained and unmotivated teachers, impacted adversely the quality of education. Limited involvement of parents and communities and poor monitoring and evaluation practices also influenced the provision of quality services in the sector.

Since 2003 Eritrean Ministry of Education has been guided by an Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP- 2003-2011) and Education Sector Plan (ESP -2013-2017). These sector strategic plans have provided a framework for policy directions, strategies and targeted goals including programs and action plans for ECE, Primary, Middle, Secondary, Adult literacy and TVET education sub-sectors. Currently, learning the lessons from and building upon these strategic plans, the Ministry of Education has embarked an extensive education sector analysis (ESA) to provide the basis for a new Education Sector Plan (2018-2022) which is expected to provide an improved framework for future efforts in the ECE, primary, middle, secondary, TVET and non-formal education sub-sectors.

Once the ESP 2018-2022 is developed, cognizant of the need to undertake a critical review of the ESP, the Ministry of Education intends to engage expert services/ consultancy services (both National and International) to undertake ESP appraisal. The main purpose of the appraisal will be to review the ESP preparation process including the level of participation and inclusion of a range of stakeholders, as well as the partners who will be in charge of implementing the plan at the local level. More importantly, the appraisal will also include quality review of the plan on issues related to equity, gender, evidence base, relevance of the policies and programs, adequacy and credibility of the financial framework and provide recommendations for improvement among others. Overall, the appraisal of the ESP is to evaluate and ensure that it meets the standards defined in the GPE/IIEP/UNESCO Guidelines for Education Sector Plan Preparation.

Objective of the Consultancy

The principal objective of the consultancy is to conduct an appraisal of the Eritrean Education Sector Plan (2018-2022) to confirm its credibility. The expert service will provide a fair review of the ESP strengths and areas of in need of improvement before the plan will be endorsed by partners to confirm their commitment to support the implementation of the ESP.  Specifically, the consultancy will provide technical assurance on the ESP process as country-led, participatory and transparent, soundness and relevance of the plan, methodically dealt with issues of equity and efficiency and learning, coherence, feasibility, implementability and monitorability. The consultancy will also conduct financial appraisal of the ESP which would include evidence that a positive policy environment exists for productive investments in the education sector and that capacity constants are addressed to facilitate policy implementation. The appraisal will give attention to areas of government leadership, knowledge and data, institutional and human capacities, and dialogue among education stakeholders.

Scope of the work and Methodology

The appraisal will be conducted by an international consultant who will be working remotely but in close contact with a local consultant. 

The consultant will review the ESA and appraise the ESP 2018-2022 in line with the IIEP/GPE plan preparation and appraisal guidelines, find the gaps if any, and address those:

Assess the quality of the ESP 2018-2022 preparation process, including analysis of the role of the Government and the role of the EWG in the process.

Analyze the coherence between Sector Analysis, strategies and actions planned in relation to their cost.

Assess if the issues of quality, equity and efficiency are soundly addressed in the education sector plan.

Assess the technical and financial feasibility of the ESP (implementation of major educational reforms envisaged, monitoring and evaluation system); Verify if the risks associated to the implementation of the ESP have been sufficiently assessed, the risks associated to capacity for public financial management, and mitigation measures were identified.

Identify potential areas of action that have not been sufficiently considered in the ESP.

Identify areas of vigilance and risk related to the implementation of the ESP.

Assess any institutional and human resource capacity gaps and identify whether an institutional capacity development plan and/or plan to mitigate gaps is in place.

More specifically, the review should cover (in a coherent manner) the general questions and sub-questions outlined under the following five key dimensions and sub-dimensions of the GPE/IIEP Appraisal Guidelines.

Below an overview of the guideline is provided.  See also Annex I - for details of the Appraisal Guideline incorporating full list of questions to be utilized when apprising the ESP:

1. Leadership and Participation:

Has the plan preparation process been country-led, participatory, and transparent?

(i) Leadership and Ownership: To what extent is national leadership and partners ownership reflected in the ESP?

(ii) Participatory Process: What is the level of involvement among the local stakeholders and development partners?

(iii) Capacity Development: To what extent was the plan preparation used as an opportunity to develop national capacities in education policy and planning?

 2. Soundness and Relevance:

Does the plan constitute a solid corpus of strategies and actions addressing the key challenges of the education sector?

(i) Evidence-based education sector analysis: What empirical evidence was available and was it used effectively?

(ii) Relevance of Policies and Programs

(iii) Soundness of the financial framework

(iv) Soundness of the action plan

 3. Equity, Efficiency, and Learning in Basic Education:

 Are the key dimensions of equity, efficiency, and learning soundly addressed to increase sector performance?

(i) Robustness and relevance of the strategies: Do the proposed priorities and programs form a relevant response to the challenges?

(ii)Change strategies: Is the financial framework adequate and credible?

(iii) Results Framework: Does the action plan provide a sound operational framework?

4.Coherence

Does the plan constitute a consistent and coherent corpus of strategies and actions?

(i)Coherence among the strategies, programs, and interventions: Is there consistency between the various components of the ESP?

(ii)Comprehensive costing and aligned with the budget: How consistent are the scenario and the costing with other parts of the ESP?

(iii)Coherence of monitoring and evaluation indicators: Are the M&E indicators consistent with the policy priorities and the planned programs and activities?

5.Feasibility, Implementability, and Monitorability

 Do the financing, implementation, and monitoring arrangements offer a good perspective for achievement?

(i)Financial stability: Is the financial plan adequate and realistic?

(ii)System capacity: Does the plan identify and address capacity constraints that would

affect plan implementation?

(iii)Governance and Accountability: Are there strategies in place to improve and establish good governance practices and management accountability across the system?

(iv) Risks to implementation and mitigation of risks: Does the ESP design take into consideration possible risks and constraints in implementation?

(v)Robustness of the monitoring and evaluation framework: Does the M&E system provide robust indicators based on valid and reliable data to monitor the progress toward the achievement of outputs and outcomes described in the results framework? Are the reporting, feedback, and consultation mechanisms transparent and adequate to maintain broad ownership during implementation?

The consultants will also be expected to use and run the ESP Assessment Methodology for Appraisers and Bridging Table.  This document provides a qualitative assessment of the seven quality standards of a credible education sector plan as defined within the GPE and IIEP Plan Preparation Guidelines and bridges these with the GPE and IIEP Guidelines for Education Sector Plan Appraisal. 

Once the review is complete and gaps are identified, the consultant will share the findings to the technical team of expertise from MOE and supports addressing the gaps as per the review findings. UNICEF, as Grant Agent of the Education Sector Plan Development Grant (ESPDG), will share the final appraisal report with the GPE Secretariat and the Donors/partners in the EWG. The consultant will also be expected to:

Consolidate, summarize and present for discussion the results of the review and key recommendations to the Education Working Group (EWG) and consider their comments at the time of revision prior to finalization.

Support Ministry of Education and EWG partners in understanding the recommendations of the review if any, concerning suggestions to strengthen the three-year action plan and the monitoring system of the ESP.

Job Qualification and Experience

• An advanced University degree in Education, Social Sciences, and or International Development with a focus on education;
•  Experience of at least 8 - 10 years in the evaluation of programs in the education sector, especially in developing countries with specific experience of sector plan assessment;
• Evidence of experience as regards support for the assessment and endorsement of a Strategic Sector plan;
• Deep knowledge of the endorsement procedures of GPE;
• Notions of the financial dimension of a strategic plan (the simulation model analysis, action plan and gap financing) to work with the financial expert;
• Strong expertise/knowledge/experiences regarding quality, efficiency and equity in education;
• Excellent command of written and spoken English
• Excellent writing, analytical and synthesis skills

Conditions

• Payments will be made upon satisfactory completion of all the work. All remuneration will be within the contract agreement.

• Consultant will use his/her own laptop/IT equipment.
• Consultant will have access to PMU and /or UNICEF facilities during the office hours, such as internet, electricity, telephone for local calls, photocopier, and scanner to accomplish the tasks.
• Consultant will sign the Health Statement prior to taking up the assignment, and submit proof of health insurance.
• Institute the relevant penalty applicable in the event of the consultant not meeting the timeframe and quality of work

Note: The consultant must have completed the ESP appraisal training online prior the commencement of the assignment.

Payment Terms

The consultant will receive remuneration in line with UNICEF pay scales as per the negotiated fee. Payments will be made upon satisfactory completion of all the deliverables. All remuneration will be within the contract agreement.

How to Apply

Applicants are requested to send their submissions on UNICEF vacancy website by the 16^th December 2017.

Applications must include:

• Current CV and Signed P-11 form
• Cover letter, including indication your ability, availability and daily rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above.  Applications submitted without a daily rate will not be considered.