National consultancy(Development of a National Action Plan for the Integration of Majalis (Koranic) Education Centers into the Formal Education System ( Open to Gambians only)

Contract

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1. Background

Country Context The Gambia is located on the West African coast and extends about 500 km inland, with a population density of 174 persons per square km, against a backdrop of a rapidly increasing population with over a third of the population below seventeen years of age. The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa, and is bordered on the North, South and East by the Republic of Senegal and on the West by the Atlantic Ocean.

At the household level, the Integrated Household Survey of The Gambia (IHS 2015/16) shows that poverty has remained flat in the last decade with the 3 per cent GDP growth barely keeping up with a population growth of 3.1 per cent. Poverty has also been a push factor that triggers young Gambians to leave the country by irregular means to Europe and other destinations.

The recently concluded MICS 2018 has shown that, while The Gambia has also shown a considerable progress in securing children’s rights and development in a number of areas, in other areas, progress has been slow, and many children continue to be exposed to the risk of significant rights’ violations and an inability to thrive and achieve. Despite a strong commitment to improve development outcomes for children’s through enacting of comprehensive laws and policies, these have not adequately translated into desired results for children. Realization of children’s rights to basic services such as health, education, adequate food and protection from abuse are still challenging.

Another important national challenge is disparities among regions, sexes and ages, uneven performance of The Gambia in meeting children’s rights and key development targets as results remain starkly uneven by geographic area and in terms of particular groups of children. The children from poor families, children living in rural locations and informal urban settlements, children with disabilities were found to have considerable gaps in their access to services and achievement of outcomes in health, nutrition, education, WASH and social welfare.

Background to the Consultancy Assignment

The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE), in the 2016 – 2030 Education Policy, has committed to consolidation of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) with the aim of “providing an alternative form of education with minimum curriculum standards to children and youth who are placed in the custody of religious leaders with responsibility to teach them the Holy Quran and other Islamic values”. These traditional Quranic learning centres commonly known as Majalis are non-formal education outlets operating on a limited curriculum. The students are called ‘Talibeh’ and are also categorized as out-of-school chidren. The majalis is generally residential for most Talibehs and are non-fee-paying. The Talibehs contribute to their sustainance to farm work, rearing of animals and in some cases street begging. These livelihood activities subject the Talibehs to high degree of vulnerabilities and compromise their education and well-being. The CCT is complemented by literacy and numeracy programme which is intended to enhance the transition from Majalis to formal conventional schools or learning of a trade at a later date.

A 2019 study conducted by Mimbarr Foundation in collaboration with MoBSE reported a total of 2,798 Daara/Majlis & Tahfidh that were surveyed across the country. About 147,076 students and 7,006 staff were reported. Most of the Daara/Majlis & Tahfidh 2,089 (74.7%) are owned by individuals and there is a heavy dependence on farming 1,176 (42.0%) as a source of revenue. We have observed that 1,607 (57.4%) of Daara/Majlis & Tahfidh do not have any permanent structures and only 526 (18.8%) were permanent structures, mostly concentrated around West Coast Region.

UNICEF’s partnership with and support to the MoBSE included the development of the National Majalis Strategy, support to the literacy and numeracy programme and provision of supplies to improve bedding and sanitation service. The support also covers the capacity building of the national Network of Majalis Operators.

With the updated National Majalis Strategy in place there is need to develop an action plan for the implementation of the strategy, which included developing option for integrating Majalis into the formal education sysytem. The action plan should identify all players and specify their specific responsibilities and contributions to the strategy deliverables and results. The Action Plan will also map out linkages and areas of collaboration between action partners.

Purpose of the Consultancy Assignment

Considering that Majalis has a very strong tradition of being a centre for islamic religious education and deveolopment of character and conduct, amidst high-level of deprivation, it survived many decades of exisitence. For it to remain relevant it needs to reform and align itself with existing educational institutions to maximise its benefits. This consultancy assignment is therefore intended to produce an Action Plan that will improve the Majalis Education sysytem and eventually integrate it into the formal education system. The Action Plan should keep a balance between the core mandate of Majalis and the urgency to reform to facilities the integration of Majalis into the formal education system.

The overall objective of the assignment: 1. To conduct an extensive review of best practices of integrated Majalis Education into the formal education system, recommend options for the implementation of the National Majalis Strategy drawing lessons from other country experiences with similar country context. 2. To develop an Action Plan framework in consultation with partners that should propose key results, broad/main activities, responsible partners and an indicative budget. 3. Prepare a narrative report of not more than 30 pages which will detail the work process, reasons for selecting key activities, institutional arrangements and guidance on how the action plan will be implemented, monitored and reviewed.

Methodology

The strength of any application will partly depend on the soundness of the methodology proposed. To this end, no methodology will be prescribed. However, whatever methodology is proposed in any application must include wider stakeholder consultation as a key strategy. 1. Schedule of Tasks, Deliverables, Duty-Station & Timeline

The following are the key tasks, deliverables for the consultant. The consultant is welcome to modify to be in line with his/her methodology. However, the deliverables will remain unchanged. Bearing that consultant may have multiple assignments running simultaneously, the assignment engagement will remain 26 working days and should be completed within two months period.

Task Deliverable Duty-Station Anticipated Timeline & Number of days 1. Desk review, preparation, and submission of inception report (Brief outline of the final report, subject to further development) Inception Report Home-based 5days

2. Field data collection including wider stakeholder consultations Data collection completed Home-based 10days

3. Preparation and submission of first draft report for comments with power point presentation (PPT) First draft report & PPT Home-based 5days

4. Submission of second draft report for further comments and validation Second draft report Home-based 3days 5. Finalization and submission of final report with final updated PPT Final Report Home-based 3days

Total number of working days for the Consultant (Days) 26days

Duty station matters and official travels • The Consultant will work from home, no office space will be provided. • The Consultant will be contracted for 26 working days over a period of two months. • The consultant will be responsible for his/her own internal travel arrangements or any other logistic requirements. • UNICEF and key Majalis stakeholders will be available for consultations, debriefing and validation of the preliminary findings.

2. Estimated duration of contract; Remuneration; Other Terms and Conditions

The consultant will be engaged under short-term individual contract on part-time basis, for an estimated period of 26 working days from Septmber to November 2021. The Consultancy fees will be negotiated based on value for money and in line with UNICEF standards and terms of payment are stipulated below.

Payment Schedule Deliverable 1st payment: 30% Submission of inception report 2nd payment 30% Submission of First Draft Report Power Point Presentation summarizing the draft report and preliminary findings Final Payment: 40% Submission of final report accepted by UNICEF Final Power Point Presentation

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, does not meet the quality standards of both UNICEF and the Government of The Gambia, not delivered or has failed to meet deadlines.

UNICEF does not provide or arrange health insurance coverage for the consultant. The Consultant will make his own transport arrangements (including airfares, local transportation, etc.). Obtaining entry visa to The Gambia for the team members shall be the responsibility of the Consultant. UNICEF may support if necessary.

All travel costs including daily subsistence allowances of the team members or any such expenses are the responsibility of the Consultant. The Consultant will be responsible for arranging accommodation while in The Gambia, however, UNICEF shall extend administrative/logistical support to facilitate this.

3. Supervision and Reporting Arrangements

The contractor will be supervised and report to the UNICEF Education Specialist with briefing and de-briefing to the Programme Manager PIC and the UNICEF Deputy Representative about the progress of the consultancy. The consultant will work with UNICEF and relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), participating UN agencies and Cooperating Partners, as well as other intervention stakeholders, including beneficiaries.

As part of quality assurance mechanism and ensure ownership, a reference group comprising of Government and UNICEF will be established to provide oversight to the study and provide comments to the deliverables.

4. Qualifications & Experience required

The Consultant must have the following qualifications: • Master’s degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Sciences, or related child rights/well-being graduate qualifications; • Demonstrated expertise and capability in conducting programme planning, development and implementation using approaches that are friendly to children; • Proven record of participation or conducting similar assignment in programme/projects relating to Early Childhood Development or in social sector; • Experience with UNICEF and other UN agencies will be an advantage • Excellent communication and interview skills • Excellent report writing and organization skills • Proficiency in English Language • Demonstrated ability to deliver quality results within strict deadlines, through a proven track record.

5. Intellectual property rights

UNICEF retain the right to patent and intellectual rights, as well as copyright and other similar intellectual property rights to the survey protocols and tools, discoveries, inventions, production or works arising from the consultancy. Neither the Consultant/consultancy firm nor its personnel shall communicate to any other person or entity any confidential information made known to it by UNICEF in the course of the performance of its obligations under the terms of this Agreement nor shall it use this information for private or company advantage. This provision shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement. The right to reproduce or use materials shall be transferred with a written approval of UNICEF based on the consideration of each separate case.

6. How to apply UNICEF accepts applications from individual contractors. The Selection Committee will review applications and make a final decision of a successful application based on a review of the quality of the Technical Proposal (70%), the Financial Proposal (30%). An interview with potential candidates will be held as the final stage of the selection process. All applications should contain the following documents: I. Technical Project Proposal, which would include at least: - Statement of how to address each of the key issues/questions of the consultancy assignment; - Conceptual framework of the methodologies to be used - Consultant’s profile/portfolio - Proposed timeframes (days/weeks) - Names and contact details of reference persons. - List of publications or analytical reports (if applicable) - Any other additional information to support the application (optional). II. Financial Proposal: - Detailed budget breakdown (in US Dollars).

Please send your application through the online platform accessible through this link: http://jobs.unicef.org/

Deadline for applications: 20th August 2021

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UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.