International Consultancy -Study on the impact of the decentralization reforms on education, East and Southern Africa Regional Office, Nairobi

Consultant Teaching & Training Programme & Policy

Contract

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TERMS OF REFERENCE

Title of Assignment

Study on the impact of the decentralization reforms on Education in Namibia, Somalia, Uganda, South-Africa and Tanzania

Section

Education

Location

Remotely, with regular communication with the Regional Office and Country Offices. Travel in one of the 5 countries as an option

Duration

65 Days

Start/End date

From:1-Dec-22

To: 31-Aug-23

Background and Justification

Decentralization, which is the transfer of decision-making responsibilities and of operations from central to local levels, holds the potential to improve quality of education service delivery. Through decentralization, closer support and supervision of educational institutions is provided. Moreover, governments become more responsive to the needs of learners and are better placed to promote community participation in decision-making.

In centralized education systems, the central government controls finances, personnel and resources, and also manages policies, programs, and evaluation. Deconcentration involves transferring some authority and responsibility to "lower" levels of central government and making them accountable for implementing rules. Decentralization, on the other hand, means that all or part of the responsibility and power is transferred to sub-national authorities, such as elected local governments. In the case of education systems, this means that local governments can then make their own decisions on many aspects such as the management of teachers, education resources and infrastructure, the allocation of budgets and materials to schools, and the implementation of programs, activities and regulations in schools. It should be noted that these transfers of responsibility can only be effective and successful if accompanied by the decentralization of finances, procurement and contract.

While the potential of decentralization is well-known, the process can be difficult and long to achieve. It also requires a lot of resources (human, financial, material, logistical, legal….) and a strong will from central leaders and politicians.

It is against this background that UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) seeks to undertake a study to examine the impact of decentralization on the performance of the education sector in selected countries in Eastern and Southern Africa (Namibia, Somalia, Uganda, South Africa and Tanzania). The study will focus on pre-primary and primary education and will look at financial, material and human resources planning, allocation, management and monitoring.

At a time when there is a call for rethinking education after the Covid crisis and anchoring it in local economic, cultural and environmental realities, this study will help to bridge the gap in knowledge about the implementation of decentralization reforms in the education sector and engage countries and partners in a dialogue on whether and how to support future decentralization efforts.

Scope of Work

1. Provide details/reference to AWP areas covered:

This assignment will contribute to the Education section outcome of the ROMP and the Output 2: “'Enhanced ESARO evidence generation, advocacy, resource leverage and partnerships to support COs for risk informed programming and financing that ensure that girls and boys, including those marginalized, excluded and with disabilities complete early learning, primary and secondary education with grade level learning outcomes”

2. *Goal and Objectives*****:

The main objective of this study is to generate evidence on how decentralization can be strengthened to improve education outcomes at pre-primary and primary levels in ESAR. The study will focus on in Namibia, Somalia, Uganda, South Africa and Tanzania and provide for:

• Assessing the nature and level of decentralization of pre-primary and primary education services, including fiscal decentralization.
• Investigating the extent to which decentralization reforms have contributed to improving the performance of the education sector, with a focus on access to quality and relevant education or learning pathways for all children and adolescents, girls and boys, including children with disabilities, refugees and children in humanitarian situations, as well as on system governance and community participation.
• Examining the robustness of intergovernmental fiscal transfer systems and other financing mechanisms, including by development partners, in contributing to equitable and sustainable financing of education service delivery at the local level.
• Drawing lessons, document good practices and challenges of decentralization to improve efficiency and effectiveness of education systems in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Guiding questions for the study

• *Component 1: Type of decentralization in target countries**:* What is the policy and legal framework for the decentralization? What type of decentralization is in place (delegation/devolution of responsibility, reform steps and timeline, status of decentralized planification, budgeting and supply/contract for infrastructure, goods and services) ? With regard to education, how the roles and responsibilities of local authorities and central government including deconcentrated units are defined in the texts as well as in practice, including with regard to the financing and supervision of schools, management of teachers, curriculum,...?
• Component 2: Implementation of decentralization: How is the decentralization of the education sector effectively implemented and do the local authorities in charge have the necessary capacities, tools and resources? What are the changes, challenges and improvements that decentralization has brought regarding the education resources management, including teacher? Has decentralization had an effect on school enrollment rates, school, teacher and learner performances, community participation and the implementation of local inter-sectoral collaboration and school-based programs? Does decentralization allow authorities to respond more quickly and effectively to emergencies or context-specific needs, including curriculum adaptation?
• Component 3: Education planning and budgeting at local level: How are education services at local level financed? How robust are the intergovernmental fiscal transfer systems? What are the good practices and challenges in education planning and budgeting, and also in the execution and reporting of allocated resources? Are local authorities informed and sufficiently involved in the development and implementation of partner programs for schools in their area?
• Component 4: Development partners efforts: how are development partners including UNICEF supporting education sector decentralization reforms? In what ways have development partners impacted upon efforts to deepen decentralization reforms, including aspects related to financing, accounting and reporting of education sector resources.

Finally, to what extent has COVID-19 accelerated/frozen/given new opportunities for decentralisation and decentralised school management? What are the lessons learned?

3. Activities and Tasks:

A mixed methods research is being proposed involving collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative information.

Step 1. Desk review. The consultant will review relevant literature including country constitutions, laws, policies, plans, government finance laws and spending, local government acts and expenditure, reports, studies and research as well as donors and UNICEF plan and reports in the targeted countries.

Step 2. Data collection and analysis. The consultant will develop a tool to remotely collect data on decentralization experiences, lessons learned, good practices and challenges using virtual means. The consultant will identify questions/issues to be discussed with key informant and will undergo interviews with the support of the country offices to compliment the analysis. Key informants in the target countries will include at least the Ministry of Finance/Budget, Ministry (ies) of Education, Ministry of Local Government, Development Partners, Private sector and NGO's that run pre-school and primary schools, Municipalities.

Step 3: Development of the case studies. The consultant will then compile the information and develop the country case studies that will cover and analyze the 4 components listed and further developed below: i) type of decentralization, ii) its implementation, iii) education planning and budgeting at local level, iv) partners effort. She/he will document good practices, gains and successes as well as constraints and challenges and will provide recommendations to governments and partners including UNICEF, on how to strengthen the gains of decentralization reforms in the education sector.

The process could end with an optional field visit to the country that UNICEF and the consultants deem most effective in order to gather more in-depth testimonies from the different local actors in order to enrich the research.

4. Work relationships:

The consultant will report administratively to the Education Specialist (Equity) at ESARO, but will be jointly supervised and with regular virtual meetings with relevant colleagues in the Social Policy and Education Teams of ESARO. The consultant will engage also directly with COs when collecting country information

5. Outputs/Deliverables:

Deliverables

Duration

(Estimated # of days)

Timeline/Deadline

Schedule of payment

Percentage payment

Inception report and tools

10

31 January 2023

5 February 2023

30%

5 Case Studies (max 15 pages long each)

35

15 May 2023

20 May 2023

30%

Draft report (max 50 pages long)

15

20 June 2023

Final report

5

15 July 2023

20 July 2023

40%

Desired competencies, technical background, and experience

1. Advanced degree in Education, and/or Social Sciences, Social Policy, Public Finance, Local Governance with relevant work experience.
2. Minimum 10 years relevant professional experience relating to local governance, local finance and decentralization in developing country contexts.
3. Strong experience in research, program management, monitoring and reporting.
4. Excellent interpersonal skills and previous experience communicating with partners at different levels.
5. Demonstrated ability in work planning and report preparation.
6. Demonstrated skills in professional high-quality writing in English.
7. Experience working in the Eastern and Southern Africa region highly desirable.
8. Excellent communication skills in English.
9. Experience working with UNICEF an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

1. Administrative Issues

The consultant will report administratively to the Education Specialist (Equity) at ESARO, but will be jointly supervised and with regular virtual meetings with relevant colleagues in the Social Policy and Education Teams of ESARO. The consultant will engage also directly with COs when collecting country information.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts. However, in the event that the consultant is required to travel on behalf of UNICEF, s/he will be required to demonstrate proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, before travel is authorised.

Conditions

The consultant will be based remotely and so will work from home and so will be responsible for identifying a work space and material.

Risks

As the Covid-19 pandemic is not over, the risk of schedule slippage due to other priorities may arise. It will be necessary to follow up closely with the consultant to adjust the methodology and schedule.

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should apply online using the button below. As part of their application, candidates should provide: 1. A technical note on the candidate expertise, methodology, resources/tools to be used (2 pages max)

2. A short CV (no more than 4 pages) 3. A financial proposal that should include the daily rate and total fees in USD for the assignment. (Any application without a financial proposal will not be considered) 4. 3 Referees.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org