RFI - USAID Burma Higher Education Activity (HEA).pdf

Issuance Date: May 09, 2022

Response Request Due Date and Time: May 30, 2022, at 05:00 p.m. Burma Local Time

Subject: RFI-USAID/Burma HEA

Request for Information on USAID/Burma’s Higher Education Activity (HEA)

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission to Burma is in the process of designing a new activity to increase access to inclusive higher education opportunities for youth in

Burma. Subject to availability of funds, it is anticipated that this activity will be implemented over a period of three to five years. To that end, USAID is seeking information about the interests and capabilities of potential partners and sector information responding to the set of specific questions of this Request for Information (RFI) to inform the design.

This RFI is issued solely for planning purposes and is accepting information from all interested organizations. This is not a solicitation or a call for proposals. Any proposals submitted in response to this request will not be considered.

RFI Request: Responses to the questions of this RFI are requested to be submitted to USAID via email to burmaoaa@usaid.gov with subject line “RFI-USAID/Burma HEA”, by the date and time stated above. USAID welcomes concise and direct responses addressing all, or a subset of the questions, to help best inform USAID’s planning and activity design.

USAID will use information provided by respondents to inform planning, discussions with stakeholders, and planned future activity designs. Proprietary information should not be sent. Any information submitted in response to this notice is voluntary. Not responding to this request does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if any is issued.

Thank you for your interest and engagement in USAID activities.

Sincerely, /s/

Gregory S. Wang

Agreement Officer

USAID/Burma mailto:burmaoaa@usaid.gov

RFI-USAID/Burma HEA

Request for Information on USAID/Burma’s Higher Education Activity (HEA)

Questions for RFI responders:

Respondents are asked to provide input on some or all of the questions below considering how USAID could best achieve its higher education development objectives in Burma. Responses will help USAID shape its thinking during its current phase of activity design and stakeholder consultation.

1. What are the key barriers to university and post-secondary TVET education access within the current context in Myanmar, including those related to conflict, internally displaced persons

(IDPs), ethnicity, gender, or disability? How could HEA help to address these barriers?

2. What are the risks associated with this type of activity? How can USAID employ Do-No-

Harm principles to mitigate these risks over the course of implementation?

3. What technical approaches for supporting higher education in crisis and conflict settings have proven effective or are showing promise in Myanmar or globally?

4. USAID recognizes that it must use a flexible and iterative approach to activity design.

What best practices or models would be helpful for USAID to consider to promote adaptive management of the HEA activity?

5. What non-state entities or programs currently exist, or show future promise, to provide higher education services to youth under the current crisis and conflict conditions? What evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of these programs?

6. Is there demand for accreditation of higher education and TVET courses? If so, how could the accreditation of higher education and TVET courses be expanded? For instance, could digital passporting provide a pathway towards accreditation?

7. What are the biggest priorities for capacity building amongst non-state providers of higher education/TVET? What opportunities exist to provide support?

8. Please provide any suggestions you have regarding consultations that may be useful for USAID to conduct during the design period.

9. Are there other factors, recommendations, or considerations regarding university and/or post-secondary TVET education in Myanmar that USAID should be aware of?

10. Finally, please provide brief information that describes your organization’s capability and interest in implementing activities to achieve the objectives of USAID/Burma’s

Higher Education Activity.

Request for Information on USAID/Burma’s Higher Education Activity (HEA)

I. Background:

Higher education context in Burma. In the 2017/2018 academic year, Burma’s higher education (HE) system was serving approximately 853,000 students1. HE has historically been highly centralized in

Burma, with little autonomy of higher education institutions (HEIs) in decision-making in the areas of management, academic profile, curriculum, partnerships, and research. Burma’s 174 HEIs are spread across eight ministries, with the Ministry of Education with oversight responsibility over 134 of them. In terms of equity, HE has been an eminently urban phenomenon, with most major HEIs in the Yangon and

Mandalay regions. While female participation has been growing faster than that of males in recent years, great inequities remain between rural and urban and in ethnic areas. Higher education quality has also been a major issue.

Current challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic had already had a devastating impact on the education sector in Myanmar prior to the military coup and takeover of government institutions, including the 174

HEIs, in February 2021. With the exception of a brief reopening of high schools between July and August

2020, public schools and HEIs at all levels were closed for the entire academic year due to COVID-19.

Conditions deteriorated further after the military takeover. As early leaders of the Civil Disobedience

Movement, thousands of educators were reportedly suspended after going on strike. In May 2021, a reported 19,500 higher education staff and 125,900 basic education teachers were suspended from their duties (estimated to be 55 percent and 31 percent of all staff respectively)2. These conditions have raised serious concerns of the structural viability of Burma’s state-run education system and the impact on the rights of children and youth to education in Burma. In the absence of functioning HE services, Burma is at risk of losing the ability to prepare its young people to guide the country’s current and future development. The U.S. government’s current policy is one of non-engagement with de facto authorities and governmental institutions; the Higher Education Activity will support activities with non-governmental, civil society, and/or other non-state educational entities that are not associated with the current regime.

Alignment with USAID/Burma priorities and the USAID Education Policy. USAID intends to target politically-disempowered, socially-excluded, geographically-isolated, and economically-marginalized populations in all of its programming in Burma. USAID will implement a conflict-sensitive approach, working in conjunction with Do-No-Harm principles1 to integrate ongoing and rapid conflict assessments to inform implementation approaches and to mitigate, rather than exacerbate, potential conflicts and build resilience within communities and the country. The new Higher Education Activity will align with the

USAID Education Policy, particularly the following priorities: “Children and youth, particularly the most marginalized and vulnerable, have increased access to education that is safe, relevant, and promotes social well-being” and “Youth gain the skills they need to lead productive lives, gain employment, and

1 USAID/Burma Education and Youth Sector Assessment. July 2020. Data sourced from: CHINLONE. Myanmar’s Higher

Education Reform: Which Way Forward? 2018.

2 https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/more-than-125000-myanmar-teachers-suspended-opposing-coup-2021-05-23/ https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00X7QP.pdf https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/more-than-125000-myanmar-teachers-suspended-opposing-coup-2021-05-23/ positively contribute to society”. The definitions below are provided to ensure clarity and a common understanding of USAID’s use of higher education (HE) terminology3:

Higher Education: The OECD and the World Bank have adopted “tertiary education” to emphasize the inclusion of a range of both university and non-university institutions (teacher training colleges, community colleges, technical institutes, polytechnics, distance learning programs, and academically-linked research centers) within a diversified post-secondary education system. Higher education does not include youth workforce development activities at the pre-tertiary level.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs): A higher education institution is an organization that provides educational opportunities that build on secondary education, providing learning activities in specialized fields. It aims at learning at a high level of complexity and specialization.

Higher/tertiary education includes what is commonly understood as academic education but also includes advanced vocational or professional education. This may include public or private universities, colleges, community colleges, academically affiliated research institutes, and training institutes, including teacher training institutes.

For the purpose of this RFI, USAID/Burma is interested in exploring opportunities that would work with a wide variety of HE, including students being served by both university and/or post-secondary technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Non-engagement with de facto authorities and governmental institutions will be a decisive factor in determining whether and how USAID can support interventions under the new Higher Education Activity.

II. Activity Concept:

USAID/Burma recognizes the importance of youth having equitable access to quality higher education as a critical foundation for the overall development of the country. The Mission seeks to join with other education sector Development Partners (DPs), non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic organizations, and/or the private sector to address the prolonged learning crisis that has impacted the higher education sector in Burma.

End of RFI – USAID/Burma Higher Education Activity

3 USAID Education Policy November 2018 pg.45 https://www.usaid.gov/education/policy