Terms of Reference For an institutional consultancy

Project title: Evaluation on the contribution of the UNICEF school construction component to the overall programme goals of access, quality and systems capacity enhancement.

Section: Basic Education and Youth Development

Key partner: Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

Location: Lilongwe, Malawi

Duration: 50 days

Start date: TBD

End date: 4th December 2016

Closing date:Apply before or on 13 October 2015

Background and justification

School infrastructure development component under the child friendly schools programme of the current UNICEF MCO country programme has been designed to contribute chiefly to two key components of the national Education Sector Implementation Plan (ESIP)

I. improved access to equitable education

II. improved and relevant quality education

The education sector in Malawi also aims to establish standards, norms and effective processes for school improvement generally through the national Primary School Improvement Programme (PSIP). In that framework, school construction is meant to enhance participation, capacity, sustainability and efficiency of the sector. Access and quality of education in Malawi has long been affected by an extreme shortage of classrooms. While primary enrolment increased by 45% between 2004 and 2013, the number of primary classrooms rose by only 12%. A recent study (USAID, 2014) identified classroom shortage as one of the major factor leading to student absenteeism, repetition and dropouts. Analysis of PET-QSD Survey data also confirms this. Hence, the target of the Malawian education sector as laid out in the ESIP II (2013/14 2017/18) is to construct at least 20,000 classrooms to meet increasing population of school age children.

It is within, and in response to, this context that the Basic Education and Youth Development (BEYD) section seeks to meet the objectives of improved educational access and quality for all children through a broad School Construction component contributing to both volume and quality of school infrastructure in Malawi. School infrastructure development includes multiple inputs such as building of classrooms, latrines and teachers houses as well as contribution to the development of school construction norms and standards including capacity for school construction. The proposed evaluation is important in assessing the extent to which the School Construction Component enables UNICEF Malawi to contribute to those broad objectives for key learner outcomes in education.

UNICEF has utilised the Child Friendly School (CFS) quality framework as guidance to meet the MCO commitment to the education sector. This includes emphasizing the importance of inclusiveness and equity for marginalised children. In the context of Malawi this has reflected in a strong focus on girls education due to the many factors related to school environment and infrastructure that hinder girls from enrolling, enjoying and completing basic education. As an example girls drop out of school in large numbers when reaching puberty due to lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities. The CFS framework also highlights the need to consider school infrastructure as a holistic approach to improved learning environment; including both hard-ware and soft-ware aspects.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Hard-ware aspects include building of classrooms while soft-ware aspects include issues such as maintenance and attitudes towards the school environment. ]

This evaluation will assess the extent to which the School Construction component of the Child Friendly Schools Programme has contributed to a) the development of standards, and capacity for their implementation within the wider BEYD goals of strengthening institutional capacity and b) the learning environment.

PURPOSE OF THE EVALUATION

The purpose of the evaluation is threefold:

1) to determine school infrastructure contribution to the basic education programme objectives of improving access and quality through child friendly school construction and design

2) to assess effectiveness and efficiency of the inputs and processes

3) to identify lessons learnt and provide recommendations for future of school infrastructure and other strategies in the new 2017-2021 country programme

The evaluation is to improve UNICEFs accountability and provide for lessons learnt on schools infrastructure projects. Findings from the evaluation will support UNICEF and its key partner the Ministry of Education to make evidence based decisions for future programming and planning within the field of education.

Goal

To determine the contribution of the School Construction Programe as carried out under the current Country Programme to the BEYD education programme objectives to improve learner outcomes (access and quality) through child friendly education and capacity enhancement.

Specific Objectives

1. To assess the contribution of the school construction component to the BEYD programme objectives of improving access to quality basic education for all, especially of the most vulnerable and girls

2. To assess the achievement of the school construction component in contributing to the child friendly education approach in in focus areas and targeted schools;

3. To assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the inputs and process of the school infrastructure project in meeting the above leaner outcomes, standards and capacity enhancement objectives;

4. To identify lessons learnt and make recommendations for the new country programme (2017-2021).

Scope of WorK

Within the OECD evaluation framework (relevancy, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability) the key dimensions to be evaluated will be threefold focusing on expected outputs linked to learner outcomes; processes; and the chosen inputs and particularly the child friendly education and the school improvement approach.

The impact evaluation is to focus mainly on 35 primary schools constructed in 5 districts of Malawi under the BEYD Child Friendly Schools Programme between 2012 and 2015. Whereas the type and level of construction and subsequent interventions vary between school sites, the consultant will have to apply relevant and applicable assessment, examination and review methods as appropriate in order to fulfil the outlined scope of work. Each dimension is laid out below with key supporting questions and tasks intended to assist and guide (but not limited to) the evaluator in his approach.

1. Assess the focus of the School Construction Component in line with the BEYD education outcome objectives of increasing equitable access and also quality of education where possible given that the country programme still has one year to go;

Were the programme objectives appropriate in the overall problem context; needs and priorities?

What value (and for whom) did the School Construction add relative to other education initiatives?

Given progress to date, are the School Construction objectives still relevant?

2. Examine efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the School Construction Component inputs and processes within the child friendly school quality framework;

How well did the various activities transform the available resources into results?

What measures were taken to ensure cost-effectiveness in procurement and implementation?

What measures were taken to ensure effective financial implementation, monitoring and reporting?

How well did the School Construction predict and react to risks?

To what extent did the project enable local participation and ownership of the project?

To what extent will maintenance be sustained by local partners/beneficiaries once the funding comes to an end?

3. Examine key outputs and standards in light of the child friendly quality framework

To what extent did the School Construction deliver expected results?

To what extent has the design enabled the improvement of the school environment?

How well has the School Construction component contributed to the improvement of standards and systems; especially in terms of institutional capacity?

To what extent was progress made against key objectives of improving access and quality of education?

Increased enrolment

Decreased drop out

Improved pass rates

4. Assess the extent to which the School Construction Component of the programme has ensured capacity of key stakeholders through participation, training and guidelines;

The evaluation will examine impact of the approach in terms of contributing to establishment of systems/institutional capacity;

The evaluation will consider extent to which policies and strategies have been established including cross-sectoral and gender responsive approaches;

The valuation will examine extent to which capacity of stakeholders and ensured ownership including participation, maintenance and monitoring.

5. Review the overall safety and inclusiveness of the school environment, the level ground and environment.

How well did stakeholders (head teachers, teachers, school management committee members and students) in the targeted schools participate in the process; by providing leadership harmonization, utilization and maintenance of the built environment?

What are the key factors most likely to provide an understanding of success or bottlenecks associated with the implemented interventions in the targeted schools?

Improving access and quality education and achieving a child friendly school environment can never depend