Job Description

1. INTRODUCTION

Save the Children, a leading global organization dedicated to children's welfare, has been active in Somalia since 1951. Their efforts focus on providing humanitarian aid and development programs to support vulnerable children and their families. Their work covers various sectors such as education, child protection, health and nutrition, food security and livelihoods, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. At the beginning of a new project, Save the Children will conduct a baseline assessment with local stakeholders. This assessment will measure the initial status of project indicators and key elements, serving as a benchmark for future progress. The baseline report will be crucial for monitoring and guiding the project's implementation over its three-year duration.

1.1.   Education Context:

Education Structure: The Somali education system is a blend of centralized and decentralized functions, involving multiple stakeholders at various levels. The Federal Government of Somalia's Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education (FGS MOECHE) oversees the sector, providing overall guidance and administration. At the Federal Member State (FMS) level, state ministries of education manage the sector, with Regional Education Officers (REOs) handling regional responsibilities and District Education Officers (DEOs) managing district-level education. In 2016, the FGS MOECHE and FMS ministries signed a Cooperation Framework and Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate collaboration. This was further strengthened in 2019 with a Communique that outlined the FMS ministries' responsibilities for financing state-level education activities, running schools, and managing teachers and other school personnel. The education sector in Somalia is managed by public, community, and private entities, leading to a fragmented system with varying quality standards. Non-state actors are the primary providers of education, accounting for 90% of the provision. As of 2020, only 10% of primary students were enrolled in public schools, where the government covers all costs.

Educational Framework: The legal framework and key policy documents guiding the education sector include the national Curriculum Framework (2017), the General Education Act (2021), the National Education Policy (2020), the National Teacher Policy (2021), the Private Education Policy (2020), the Gender in Education Policy (2020), and the National Policy on Special Educational Needs, Disability, and Inclusive Education (SEND & IE, 2020), and the Accelerated Basic Education Policy and Curriculum Framework (2021). The education sector also operates within the wider government legislative framework that includes the National Public Procurement Act, Concessions and Disposal Act, the Public Financial Management Act and the national Civil Service Law.

Education Access and Quality: According to the 2022 EMIS data, 746,483 students were enrolled in primary education across the FMS (Puntland, Jubaland, Southwest, Hirshabelle, Banadir), representing a Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) of 32%. Enrolment is typically concentrated in urban areas and the largest barriers to access, and retention includes the lack of capacity of the educational system to serve the number of potential students, and insufficient family resources to cover school fees and manage family subsistence without tapping into coping behaviors that undermine school attendance – such as child labor, early marriage, and family

 relocation. Girls face additional barriers with 43% of girls never having access to school compared to 32% of boys, and 15% of girls dropping out of school compared to 13% of boys. The limited availability of qualified teachers and their uneven distribution across the country are key barriers to equitable access and quality of education. According to the 2022 EMIS data there are around 17,675 primary teachers across the FMS (Puntland, Banadir, Hirshabelle, Jubaland, Southwest, Galmudug, Banadir) and only 1 in 3 teachers in primary schools is considered qualified10. Female teachers only make up 14% of primary teachers.

1.2.     Background of Global Partnership for Education (GPE) System Transformation Grant (STG) Program

The Federal Government of Somalia, through the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education, has secured funding from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). Save the Children International is managing the GPE-funded System Transformation Grant (STG), which aims to support the government's priority reforms outlined in the 2023 Partnership Compact and the Education Sector Strategic Plan (2022-2026). The three-year STG grant focuses on improving equitable access to quality and inclusive education in both rural and urban areas, with a special emphasis on gender and social inclusion. The grant aims to benefit 240,700 children through various initiatives. One key objective is to strengthen the teaching workforce by adding 3,000 new teachers, increasing the teaching staff by 16%, and enhancing teacher qualifications by training 6,000 educators, thereby raising the ratio of qualified teachers to 58%. The program also aims to increase the proportion of female primary teachers by 20%. Another goal is to improve student academic achievements, targeting a 65% score in the EGRA assessment for third graders and a 90% primary school completion rate in targeted schools. These improvements will be supported by strong community and education authority engagement to ensure sustainability. Recognizing the significant role of households in education, the STG will foster collaboration between schools and local communities, encouraging greater investment in educational activities. The program also plans to establish a National Education Fund with the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education (MOECHE) to attract contributions from the local private sector and diaspora, boosting domestic financing. Additionally, the program aims to implement an effective education financing framework with accountability and transparency, improve teacher management through the National Teachers Policy, and strengthen the Somali government's capacity to deliver education services efficiently.

The overall program beneficiaries’ targets 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).

1.3.       Program Objective/Components

The overall objective of the program is to enhance equitable access to quality and inclusive education in rural and urban areas. This will be achieved through three outcomes:

• 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.

 1.4.       Program Participants

The program aims to significantly enhance the quality of education for 240,700 children through various interventions. Key targets include:

• Introducing 3,000 new teachers, resulting in a 16% increase in teaching staff.

• Enhancing teacher qualifications by adding 6,000 trained educators, raising the ratio of qualified teachers to 58%.

• Boosting the proportion of primary female teachers by 20%.

• Improving student academic achievements, aiming for a 65% score in the EGRA/EGMA assessment among third graders.

• Elevating the primary school completion rate to 90% in targeted schools.

1.5.       Baseline Purpose

A baseline assessment will be completed at the start of the project, with local stakeholders, to measure the status of all indicators and to understand the starting point of key elements of the work against which later progress will be measured. This will enable project indicators at output and objective/outcome level to be measured and tracked.

2. OBJECTIVES

2.1.   General Objective:

To establish a foundational understanding of the current state of the education sector in Somalia, identifying key areas for intervention and setting benchmarks for the System Transformation Grant (STG) program to enhance equitable access to quality and inclusive education.

2.2.   Specific Objectives:

• Establish a comprehensive baseline for assessing the current state of equitable access to quality and inclusive education in rural and urban areas.

• Determine the current Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) of primary education, disaggregated by sex, locality (IDP, urban, rural), and disability status

• Measure the current Gender Parity Index for primary education

• Quantify the number of learners currently enrolled or retained in education through existing program support

• Assess the mean score of grade 3 students in Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA)

• Determine the current primary survival rate and completion rate

• Evaluate the percentage of teachers currently using effective teaching approaches

• Measure the current level of domestic financing for education as a percentage of the national budget

• Quantify the number of guidelines and agreements related to education that have been developed and implemented

• Assess the percentage of students passing summative competency tests (grade 8 examination)

• Identify key opportunities and challenges which may affect the implementation of the proposed activities.

• Provide recommendations to inform and refine STG program strategies

• Determine baseline values for applicable indicators.

The primary aim of this assessment is to meticulously evaluate the following key indicators of the project. These indicators are crucial in understanding the impact and progress of the GPE STG initiative within the educational landscape.

Experiences and Qualifications

Skills Required

Attachment

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