EDUCATION RFQ.doc

STATEMENT OF WORK

CONSULTANT MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

POSITION DESCRIPTION

A. COUNTRY BACKGROUND

Mali, ranked 173rd out of 177 countries according to the UNDP’s 2007 Human Development Index, has a rapidly growing population of children and youth, but an education system incapable of producing the human capacity necessary to generate sustainable long-term economic and social development. After two decades of near stagnation in the 1970s and 1980s, Mali is currently on a better track to increasing education supply. Since 1990, the Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) has almost tripled, from 26.5% in 1990 to 77.6% in 2007. However, growth in primary school admission and enrollment rates has not been matched by comparable increases in the quality of Education. To address these issues, USAID/Mali supports the Ministry of Education in implementing their ten year education strategy (PRODEC) and Education Sector Investment Program (PISE) through a basic education program focused on the objective to “expand access to quality education, with an emphasis on achieving lifelong literacy in Mali.”

Under the Basic Education Program Objective, USAID/Mali currently funds the following six programs:

- Road to Reading (PHARE), a five-year, $30 million program focused on “Improved Instruction to Reinforce Literacy and Numeracy in Grades 1-6” and “Improved Access to Quality Basic Education for Targeted Populations” of USAID/Mali’s Basic Education Program Objective. PHARE engages the Ministry of Education in developing student, teacher, and teacher supervisor Competency Frameworks (reading and writing), then use these as the basis for teacher training and other activities to improve the quality of reading instruction in Grades 1-4. A cornerstone of the PHARE program is the development of Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) programs aimed at improving the instruction and acquisition of French literacy skills, and the use of Early Grade Reading Assessments (EGRA) to measure student learning. PHARE pilots the application of different Information Communication Technologies in education. In addition, the program focuses on improving access to educational opportunities for rural and nomadic populations, as well as for children with special needs.

- Education Decentralization Program (EDP), a five-year, $22.5 million program focused on “Improved Capacity of the Ministry of Education to Implement Decentralization” and “Improved Coordination between School, CAP, and Commune-Level Planning” of USAID/Mali’s Basic Education Program Objective. Activities to promote the Ministry of Education’s capacity to implement the GRM’s decentralization policies focus on key services of the Ministry at the national level, 15 regional education offices (AEs), and 70 district-level education offices (CAPs). The program promotes effective system management, information and resource flows, and responsiveness to decentralized education planning. In approximately 75 target communes and 800 target schools, the program works with locally-elected authorities, Parent Associations, and School Management Committees on effective planning and partnership with the Ministry of Education. To further program objectives and reinforce decentralized management.

- Shared Governance (PGP2), a five-year, $8.5 million program managed out of USAID/Mali’s Governance and Communications (GovCom) program and aimed at improving local governance in approximately 75 target communes. It is multi-sector in nature, and includes a focus on the delivery of basic health and education services. PGP2 is partially funded through basic education funds and will work at the commune level to improve education service delivery. It will collaborate closely with the EDP program on issues related to decentralization and commune-level engagement in education sector planning and management. Given the high level of synergy planned between these two programs, EDP and PGP2 will create joint work plans and report jointly on a set of performance indicators that capture areas of coordinated program interventions

- Ambassador’s Girls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP), a Washington-managed regional scholarship program that focuses on increasing girls’ access, attendance, and retention in primary school, as well as improving students’ academic achievement. AGSP is implemented in 109 public, community, and Islamic schools (medersas) in three northern regions of Mali (Gao, Tombouctou and Kidal). It targets students in Grade 4-6 (Grades 1-6 in Kidal) with scholarship packages that include school supplies, books, lanterns and cloth to make uniforms. Other complementary AGSP activities include working with local Mothers’ Associations and women role models to provide mentoring and other forms of support to scholarship recipients. The main focus of the AGSP program in Mali is on girls. However, starting in September 2007, a limited number of boys have also received scholarships.

- Peace Corps Participating Agency Program Agreement (PAPA) under which USAID/Mali has a two-year, $300,000 PAPA with Peace Corps/Mali to support the design and piloting of a new education sector program. It is anticipated that Peace Corps will recruit 15 volunteers annually (for a total of 30 in-countries at any one time) and co-locate them with USAID-funded projects whenever feasible. Anticipated focal areas for the new Peace Corps program include promoting community participation in education, promoting community-based literacy programs, supporting girls' education and leadership, supporting youth development and leadership, and contributing to USAID/Mali’s programs in the education sector.

· Out-of-School Youth Entrepreneurship Program (PAJE) is a $ 30 million project co-funded by USAID/Mali Education and Accelerated Economic Growth programs. It aims at equipping youth who have dropped out of school with relevant basic literacy skills, entrepreneurship skills, and vocational competencies and to accompany them toward employment or agro-enterprises creation.

· Lower Secondary School Assistance is a new project aiming at improving access to quality education in the second cycle of basic education.

The curriculum reform:

In 1998 the government of Mali unveiled an ambitious ten-year education reform (PRODEC). The center piece of the plan was to be a curriculum that was competency-based and more relevant to the lives of Malian children. The new curriculum uses national languages in the early grades and transition into French in later primary years. Since 1999, USAID has been one of donor partners assisting the Ministry of Education in the development of a new primary curriculum. Throughout these years, USAID has offered general expertise in curriculum design and testing.

For many years, the curriculum reform was put on hold due to high political sensibilities and internal division within the central Ministry of Education, Literacy and National Languages [Ministère de l’Education, de l’Alphabétisation, et des Langues Nationales (MEALN)]. However, the Minister of Education has recently made the firm decision to resume the curriculum reform and to generalize its application in Mali.

According to the Education Orientation Law (1999, article 3), the curriculum is the set of mechanisms and operations (goals, learning outcomes, learning programs, timetable, learning material, methodologies and means of evaluation) which contributes to ensuring that students acquire competencies.

The curriculum is currently being applied in approximately 2,500 schools, and the Minister of Education has decided to expand the application of the new curriculum to all schools from the Bambara linguistic area (it will be introduced in other linguistic areas in further years) at the start of 2011-12 school year. This represents approximately 5,000 more schools.

In the schools already applying the curriculum, teachers encounter difficulties which the Ministry of Education wants to quickly address:

· teachers are poorly trained in the application of the curriculum and lack guidance and supervision

· the teacher guide is too complex and too theoretical: it needs to be revised and simplified

· there is no clear methodology for learning reading and writing in early grades

· no reading material is available in the classes, nor has been any specifically designed by the MEALN for the new curriculum. However, reading documents in national languages exist which needs to be assessed to select the most appropriate ones for immediate use in classes.

A report on a study which analyzed the curriculum implementation (COGMA, December 2009) identified the following factors as critical for a successful application and expansion:

- a solid steering system

· coherent / consistent curricular documents

· relevant textbooks for all students and clear and concrete teachers guides

· a relevant teacher pre-service and in-service training

· a students’ performance assessment system consistent with the new objectives

The MEALN has set up a Steering Committee which is currently developing an action plan for this expansion in order to put in place all the conditions and to initiate actions for a successful implementation. This includes:

- the revision of the curriculum documents, including the teacher guide,

· the development of a teacher training program for August 2011.

· the review and printing of instructional material

· the design of a Monitoring and Evaluation plan

The goal of the activity will be to assist the Ministry of Education of Mali in revising its curricular material and in designing a simplified teacher guide.

B. Role of the consultant:

The Curriculum Consultant will provide a technical support to the Ministry of Education Curriculum Division and will assist in:

· Reviewing Level 1 Mathematics Standards Framework (Reading / Writing Standards Framework was already reviewed by USAID/Road to Reading program)

· Design the framework of the new Level 1 Teacher Guide, and assist the team in the development of the guide

· Assess existing reading material with the Pedagogy National Direction and identify the most appropriate ones for Basic Education Level 1 students To achieve these objectives, the consultant will facilitate two workshops in July and August (dates to be agreed upon with the Ministry of Education) which will gather MEALN curriculum specialists.

The consultant will have an introduction meeting with USAID/Mali Education team upon arrival and a debriefing at the end of the consultancy. Additional meetings may be required as needed.

Deliverables:

· Level 1 Math Standards Framework

· Level 1 Simplified Teacher Guide Both documents are to be validated by the Ministry of Education.

· Final report to USAID/Mali Education Team

REQUIRED/DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE POSITION:

1. Education: Minimum of a Master’s degree in education.

2. Prior Work Experience/ Knowledge: At least 10 years of professional experience in international development programs in basic education is required. Previous experience dealing with Education Development in francophone Africa is required. Demonstrated technical skills in country national curriculum development.

3. Language Proficiency: Fluent speaking and writing skills in French and English are required.

G. SELECTION CRITERIA: