TERMS OF REFERENCES FOR THIRD PARTY MONITORING SERVICES FOR GPE EDUCATION PROGRAM: SYTEM TRANSFORMATION GRANT (STG)
1. Introduction
The Ministry of Education, Culture & Higher Education (MOECHE) is the national lead entity of the education sector in Somalia and it is mandated to ensure that Somali citizens have full access to quality educational services in an affordable, sustainable and safe manner. The vision of the MOECHE is to have a national education system that leads to social cohesion, justice, peace and sustainable development. The mission of the MOECHE is to establishing an education system guided by regulatory frameworks; anchored on quality, equitable and accessible education services. For more information please visit the MOECHE website on http://moe.gov.so/
Save the Children (SC) has been working in Somalia for the last 70 years. Our vision is “every child in Somalia attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation.” As one of the largest INGOs in Somalia, supporting the education sector, SC has been a key strategic partner working with the Ministry of Education, Culture & Higher Education (MOECHE). In 2023, Save the Children was awarded the role of Grant Agent for the implementation of the Systems Transformation Grant (STG).
The System Transformation Grant (STG), funded by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), is a three-year initiative aimed at catalyzing sustainable advancements within the education sector of the Federal Government of Somalia. With a robust focus on the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP 2022-2026) and the Partnership Compact's outlined priorities, the STG endeavors to bolster primary enrollment rates, enhance literacy and numeracy, and establish a transparent and efficient financial framework. The Systems Transformation Grant (STG) program is fundamentally shaped by its core design principles, which emphasize a collaborative and inclusive approach. These principles include engaging in a participatory design process, ensuring government and local community ownership, adopting evidence-based methodologies, learning from past experiences, and working alongside other educational stakeholders. Additionally, the program strategically sequences and layers its interventions to optimize their effectiveness. In line with the ESSP (2022-2026) and Partnership Compact, the overall Systems Transformation Grant program goal is to: “Enhance equitable access to quality and inclusive education in rural and urban areas by addressing supply and demand barriers.” The program components are:
• Outcome 1: Equitably increased primary gross enrolment rate.
• Outcome 2: Equitably improved literacy and numeracy and completion rates.
• Outcome 3: Strong regulatory and financing framework.
The STG program aims to significantly enhance the quality of education for 240,700 children through various interventions. One of the key objectives under Outcome 1 is to bolster the capacity of teaching workforce by providing inservice training for 3,000 new teachers hired by the government, resulting in a 16% increase in teaching staff. Additionally, the program seeks to enhance teacher qualifications by providing inservice training for 6,000 teachers, raising the ratio of qualified teachers to 58%, and aiming to boost the proportion of primary female teachers by 20%. For Outcome 2, the program aims to improve student academic achievements, aiming for a 65% score in the EGRA assessment among third graders and seeking to elevate the primary school completion rate to 90% in targeted schools. These improvements are supported by robust engagement with local communities and education authorities to ensure the sustainability of program interventions. The overall program target beneficiaries include:
• 240,700 children – of which 87% are out of school; 50% are girls; 6% are children with disabilities (208,700 out of school; 120,350 girls; 14,500 children with disabilities).
• 6,000 teachers (of which 3,000 are new teachers and 3,000 are existing teachers in the system).
• Approximately 1,400 Community Education Committees (CECs) members.
• Approximately 45 government officials (DEOs, REOs, MOECHE, FMS MOEs staff).
2. Objective of The Consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to procure quality and robust Third-Party Monitoring services for the GPE funded System Transformation Grant (STG) program.
For the effective oversight and rigorous evaluation of the System Transformation Grant (STG) program, an essential element is the engagement of an independent third-party monitoring entity. This entity's primary role will be to impartially assess the program implementation, ongoing progress, and the tangible outcomes of its various components, including infrastructure projects, the distribution of capitation grants, the training of teachers, and the allocation and usage of Teaching and Learning Materials (TLM). The third-party monitoring entity will also be responsible for the verification of the program beneficiaries including teachers verification, schools verification and students verification.
The third-party monitor will employ rigorous methodologies to gather pertinent data, ensuring that the collection process is unaffected by internal program biases or external pressures. This will involve systematic field visits to directly verify program activities, detailed interviews with a broad spectrum of stakeholders to gather diverse perspectives, and a thorough review of all program documentation. Such a comprehensive approach guarantees that data collection covers the breadth of the program's impact, from direct educational outcomes to more nuanced effects on community engagement and stakeholder satisfaction.
By conducting both announced and surprise visits to project sites, the third-party monitor will capture a realistic snapshot of the program's execution and challenges. These field engagements will be complemented by stakeholder interviews that are structured to elicit honest and critical feedback, providing a multi-dimensional view of the program's effectiveness. Moreover, the exhaustive review of project documentation, including reports, financial records, and operational data, will support a holistic analysis of the program's adherence to planned objectives and budgetary allocations.
The culmination of the third-party monitoring process is the production of detailed reports that articulate the findings and conclusions of the assessment. These reports are crucial for providing the Grant Agent, donors, the MOECHE, FMS MOEs and other key stakeholders with an impartial evidence of the program's successes and areas for improvement. By documenting the achievements and the challenges faced by the STG program, these reports serve as foundational tools for transparent communication, learning and strategic planning.
The implementation of an independent third-party monitoring system underscores the commitment to transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement within the STG program. This approach will not only ensure that data collection and analysis are conducted without prejudice but also reinforce the program's integrity and its alignment with educational objectives in Somalia.
3. Scope of the consultancy
The GPE STG program will implement activities in Banadir, Jubbaland, Hirshabelle, Galmudug and Southwest State of Somalia. The third party services will involve on-site data collection in all districts/schools selected based on discussions with MOECHE, FMS MOEs and BRA.
4. Expected Tasks and Deliverables
For the third-party monitoring and verification system to function effectively within the System Transformation Grant (STG) program, a comprehensive set of deliverables is essential. These deliverables are designed to ensure impartiality, accuracy, and transparency in data collection and analysis, providing a solid foundation for monitoring the program's implementation, progress, and outcomes.
5. Programmatic Activites to be verified include the following:
1) Verification of the quality and standards of construction and rehabilitation of 1,400 classrooms, ECE centers, libraries, 4 teacher training institutes and 4 MOEs office buildings. Including:
• verification of the use of the newly constructed facilities.
• Assess the suitability of the facility's location.
• Verify that the approved design has been implemented as agreed.
• Ensure that contract deliverables have been met.
• Inspect the quality of construction materials used e.g., blocks, roof, concrete work, floor.
• Evaluate the safety of the constructed facilities for end users.
• Check gender-sensitive design elements (especially WASH)
2) Verification of distribution and use of capitation grants by 200 schools:
• Verify beneficiary schools in each location
• Verify to what extent the use of capitation grants adhered to agreed guidelines
• Verify number of OOS children enrolled in target schools
• Monitor school improvement plan implementation
• Verify record keeping and documentation
3) Verification of teachers training and coaching for 6,000 teachers through the life of the program:
• Varify Teachers daily attenadnace
• The uptake of the training programe for teachers
• The implemantaion of training programe as per the course outline shared
• Varifty the percentage of female attendance of female teacher in the training programe.
4) The verification of the distribution and usage of Teaching and Learning Materials (TLM) targettting
240,700 children throughout the life of the program:
• Where learning materials achieved by the end users
• The quality of the distributed materials
• Check vaulabulity and usage of the matetrails
• Ditribution books rati
• Satisfactuon level of the children
• Cross checking the distribution list agains the received materials
• Whether the materials distrusted on time or not
• Monitor storage conditions and management
• Check cultural sensitivity of materials
• Verify inventory management systems
5) Verification of teachers, including 3,000 recruited teachers, verifying their deployment, school records and their retention in schools:
• Varify whether deployed teachers in payrole are in schools as per the records.
• Verify their retention in government payroll
• Teachers daiy attendance
• Use of teaching approach
• Monitor teacher satisfaction levels
• Qualified Consultancy Firms are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals and Lead consultant and associated personnel CVs and other relevant documentation to Somalia.sstenderbox3@savethechildren.org
• The subject of the email should be Application for GPE STG Third Party Monitoring Services.
• Emails should not exceed 15mb – if the file sizes are large, please split the submission into two emails.
• Do not copy other SCI email addresses into the email when you submit it as this will invalidate your bid.
• All applications MUST be submitted on or before the closing date below to be considered for the assignment.
• Interested consultant (s) who meet the consultancy requirements are requested to submit their bid and each application package should include the above required minimum requirements.
• Only shortlisted bidders will be contacted.
Closing date for Applications: Interested consultants shall submit their applications through the above procedures on or before 16th November 2024.
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