Terms of Reference for Joint Annual Review of the Education Sector (JRES) in Somalia

Terms of Reference for Joint Annual Review of the Education Sector (JRES) in Somalia

I. General Information

Post/Title:

SECTORAL REVIEW EXPERT

Program

Global Partnership for Education Programme

Reporting to:

Director of Planning MOECHE

Duration

30 working days

Closing date

July 14, 2021

Reference #

Type

International

II. Background Information

Country background

As a result of a continuous period of political and institutional progress, Somalia today is a country transitioning out of fragility and protracted crisis. There is the evident commitment of the people and the leadership towards the greater good of the country. This commitment could have alluded to milestones such as the 2012 Provisional Constitution, the 2012 establishment of the federal government, and the subsequent formation of four new Federal Member States^[1]

Federalism laid a platform for sharing resources and power from top to the grassroots albeit the constitutional questions that are still yet to be answered. This created the optimism to manage developmental imbalances between the more stable northern regions and those in the south still emerging from conflict.

The country’s private sector has shown a lot of resilience, coordination between political zones, and unimaginable growth that has them explore both the national and regional markets. Somalia thus has several opportunities emanating from the economy transitioning from traditional, rural pastoralism to urban, trade, and services.

According to the World Bank, Somalia’s exposure to multiple types of shocks such as climate and water-related changes, the locust infestation, conflict and insecurity, and more recently, the COVID-19 global health pandemic, presents numerous challenges to a country at a nascent stage of state-building. The effects of COVID-19 are projected to have substantial headwinds on the economy, with growth downgraded from 3.2% before the onset of the health pandemic to potentially negative 2.5 to 3.0% , as consumption falls due to lower remittances and job losses, and exports of livestock decline. A shock of this magnitude is likely to result in structural changes in the economy, with potential job losses in the formal sector and informality further increasing.

1. Current Situation in the Education Sector

In the last three decades, Education in Somalia passed through various phases ranging from emergency education to a transitional phase, and currently, actors in Somalia are focused on delivering long-term strategic Educational outcomes while at the same time attending to emerging needs such as recurrent floods, drought, and the COVID-19.

During this decade, tremendous progress has been made in terms of expanding access to education, improving the quality of education, and strengthening instructional capacity. The progress made includes but not limited to conducting national secondary examinations since 2015, decentralization of the education and delegation of roles and responsibilities to the federal member’s states, expanding access to free education, implementation of unified curriculum (Grade 1 – Grade 12), and establishment of wide and decentralized EMIS system.

In 2012, the Ministry of Education, culture, and Higher education developed a transitional strategy document that guided transitional initiatives meant to support education. In 2017, a thorough Education sector Analysis informed the development of the Education Sector Strategic Plan (2018-2020). The document, which is still in place, expresses a call for expanded educational opportunities for the hard to reach, particularly girls and women, greater ownership, and better coordination across donor-funded investments. The ESSP has formed the basis for alignment and coordination of partner support to the education sector. Management systems continue to be established in Somalia, just as efforts to gather data and move towards information-based decision-making are being continued. The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) developed the ESSP through a consultative and participatory process, with the leadership of the Federal Government, and the Education Sectoral Partners. The Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP 2018- 2020) is guided by the National Development Plan, The Education Act, and key education documents, and it outlines the following thematic areas: Fragility and Education in Emergency; Early Childhood Care and Education (ECE); Primary Education; Secondary Education; Alternative Basic Education (ABE); Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); Higher Education; Cross-cutting issues – Enhance the organizational capacity of the MOECHE to manage/regulate the education sector, Develop learning materials based on approved national curriculum framework; Attain equity and parity in educational system for girls, Strengthen in-service teacher training systems for all subsectors, Establish a system-wide monitoring and supervision system, establish system-wide use of EMIS data, Support decentralization of education service delivery, and Higher Education, and Financial Plan and Domestic Financing; the Monitoring Plan, and the Risks and Mitigation Measures.

Progress made on the sector plans is set to be assessed and reported upon through separate Annual Joint Reviews of the Education Sector (JRES) workshops involving the Federal Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE), State level Ministries of Education from Southwest, Jubbaland, Galmudug, and Hirshabelle, development partners, civil society and the private sector in Somalia. JRES, as part of the sector-wide monitoring mechanism in the country, will also strengthen existing monitoring efforts from a neutral perspective.

This review of the Education sector performance in 2019/2020 in conjunction with other important educational evaluations and research reports will, in turn, feed the Education Sector analysis and the Education Sector Strategic Plan (2021-2025) that are in the pipeline.

1. Objectives and Purpose of JRES

The Federal Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education (MoECHE) will hire an external consultant to facilitate the JRES exercise. The consultant will work with the MoECHE and education partners, to assess the performance of the sector in the past one year. The JRES exercise will culminate in a JRES workshop which will provide an opportunity to the MoECHE and partners to convene and jointly analyze the sector, drawing upon the assessments and the results. **

The key objective of the JRES exercise is to review the performance of the sector for the period September 2019 to May 2021, against the ESSP targets and government policy documents. Specific objectives include:

• To assess the overall implementation of sector targets set for the period and verify achievements against established ESSP indicators.
• Identify unmet targets/variances, lessons learned, and recommendations that could be integrated in the action plan for the coming year.
• To examine budget execution of the sector for the period above and to 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 previous JRES to develop an Aide Memoire that captures sector review preparations – including field visits -, discussions, key findings, and recommendations.

This consultancy of which this contract will be a part is aimed towards contributing to the enhancement of the capacity education sector by supporting the Ministry of Education, Culture & Higher Education (MoECHE) in Somalia in leading and coordinating a sixth Joint Review of the Education Sector (JRES), leading to the institutionalization of annual Joint Reviews of the Education Sector.

1. Methodology

JRES will principally be a consultative process involving major stakeholders and the members of the Education Coordination Committee, the Federal Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE) as well as extensive consultation with State-level MoEs in Jubbaland, Southwest, Hirshabelle, and Galmudug. The main focus of the field visits will be to assess the progress on key areas of ESDP sub-sectors. The key areas of focus based on the ESSP would be:

1. Primary Education Sector (including Early Child Education)
2. Secondary Education
3. Primary Teacher Education and Training
4. Formal Education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training
5. Special Needs Education
6. Alternative Basic Education (ABE)
7. Fragility and Education in Emergency (EiE)

Additional cross-cutting areas to explore will be progress made on: Enhancement of the organizational capacity of the MOECHE to manage/regulate the education sector, Development of learning materials based on approved national curriculum framework; Attainment of equity and parity in the educational system for girls, Strengthening of in-service teacher training systems for all subsectors, Establishment of a system-wide monitoring and supervision system, establishment of system-wide use of EMIS data, Supporting of decentralization of education service delivery, and Higher Education, and Financial Plan and Domestic Financing; the Monitoring Plan, and the Risks and Mitigation Measures.

III. Description of the assignment

The consultant will assess the performance of the education sector and ESSP. The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical input to the JRES in Somalia, to facilitate discussions on key issues that have arisen in the education sector within the last year, and, subsequently, update an Education Action Plan 2021/2022 based on the ESSP. The consultant is expected to draft JRES synthesis report, synthesis presentation, an Aide Memoire that identifies priority actions and milestones to address performance issues in the coming year as well as final JRES Report which among other things captures reflections from the implementation of the ESS, lessons learned, recommendations and way forward for the future.

Geographical area to be covered

Federal member states consisting of Jubbaland, Hirshabelle, Southwest, Galmudug and Banadir Region.

Target Groups

The JRES process will involve the MoECHE, including its decentralized structures, 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 Somalia. The Review will be coordinated by the MoECHE in collaboration with the Education Sector Committee.

IV. Activity

a) Desk Review

The consultant will support Federal MOECHE to undertake a technical and financial review of the ESSP to gauge the level of implementation for the past year 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 MoECHE and development partners.

b) Consultative Meetings

Federal MoECHE will take a lead role in the consultations. The consultant will meet and discuss with officials from the federal MoECHE, State level MoEs, the education partners, and other relevant stakeholders to gain further insight into the education sector, in general, and critical issues, in particular.

c) 2020 Action Plan Review

The consultant in close coordination with the federal MOECHE, State level Moes and partners will ascertain the level of implementation of the action plan. This will collaborate through field visits. In this regard, the consultant will prepare a sectoral report reflecting progress on the key indicators in each sector, reporting on the 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.

d) Synthesis /Sectoral Report

The consultant in close coordination with the federal MOECHE and State level MoEs will provide a sectoral/synthesis report and a PowerPoint presentation covering an overview of the current state of the education sector in Somalia in relation to the Education Sector Strategic Plan, 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 synthesis report will be circulated a few days prior to the JRES and provide the basis for discussions during the JRES workshop. A PowerPoint of the report will be presented at the JRES workshop.

e) Joint Sector Review Workshops

The consultant will assist the Federal MoECHE and State level MoEs to plan for and implement a two-day JRES workshop in August 2021 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The workshop will be an analytical and collaborative process that will provide a platform for education stakeholders to review the education sector, as well as the implementation of the ESSP, including forward planning. A ToR of the JRES will be developed and distributed to the ESC for input. An Agenda for the JRES will be sent to ESC before JRES.

f) Aide Memoire

The consultant will provide a report on all stages of the Joint Review of the Education Sector, on issues raised, key findings, and recommendations.

VI. Key Qualifications

Key requirements for this position include:

• Advanced degree in Education, social sciences, or related field (provide evidence documents)
• At least eight years of relevant experience, mostly in supporting the education sector and experience in education sector planning, review and evaluation is a highly preferred asset; (provide previous similar contracts)
• Strong technical background in social services delivery especially in Somalia.
• Specific strong technical experience in working with the education sector. Experiences related to GPE programs and or MOECHE would be an added advantage

· Excellent command of the English and Somali languages;

• Must be willing to travel and work in a challenging environment.
• Availability and commitment to complete the assignment within strict deadlines.

VII. Core Values & Critical Key Competencies

• Strong analytical skills with an ability to conduct a robust data review as well triangulation of fragmented data to draw a road map for future support;
• Ability to think critically and strategically in difficult conditions
• Commitment to ensuring knowledge transfer and capacity building is central in the work;
• Excellent interpersonal communication, relationship building, and networking skills;
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines in stressful conditions;